CINEMA

Alladin's lamp

Manavatti

Flashback –   A young girl is seen sulking the evening out as she had been left out from the group that visited the talkies in her native town of Thrissur. The film was 'Manavati' in Malayalam.  I am sure it was just not the film that made her sulk. It was the fun of going out with a whole lot of cousins herded by an uncle and a few aunties and of course missing the ghee roast Dosa from Mani's Cafe that followed the movie that made her sulk. Of course, I am  talking about myself. Above all, my favourite cousin, Bhuvana, who was just a couple of years older, was included in the group. This rankled me for a long time.

My next ED ( entertainment deprived ) was in Bombay when my parents  took off one afternoon on the pretext of visiting the factory  where my cousin worked. I later found out that they had gone to see “ Teesri Manzil.” I was livid with anger  and frustration. But tantrums will not work with my parents  and so I quietened soon enough. 

It was not that watching movies was always delightful. I have had some terrible experiences.  I was beside myself with fear when I watched an MGR film where he is subjected to merciless whip lashes by the villain. My greatest fear was that the next lash would land on my tender back. I shivered throughout the film though the situation  in the film changes midway. 

Another gruesome experience lasted much longer in my life. It was the Tamil adaptation  of Jane Eyre, “Shanthi Nilayam.” The maid who served  the family was portrayed in the most horrific manner which rendered me sleepless for several nights in my young life.

Notwithstanding all this, going to the movies was an event. The darkened cinema hall; the chuckles and the sniffles; the sniggers and the guffaws, the whistles and the howls add to the momentum of the film. Babies cry, toddlers  demand walking space, older smarties demand snacks and cool drinks and young men walk out when the hero- heroine dances around trees.

To be honest I hate jump scares. Many of the films have it and it hits me below the belt. And what is meant to thrill almost kills me instead. Meaningless violence, over the top comedy and loud drama put me off.

I have had some great watches as a kid in the theatre. Iconic films like “Hatari,” “ To Sir, With Love,”  “The Sound of Music,” “My Fair Lady” were delightful experiences.   I grew older  listening to the names of some iconic English films like "The Magnificent  Seven,” "It's  a Mad Mad Mad Mad World", " The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and many more which were drawing room conversations in my aunt's house in the  sixties. I just absorbed some names, that's all.

When I started going to movies on my own with friends it was  enjoyable. They were all typical Hindi masala films. Apart from the movie itself, it was the banter and comments on the heroine's costume and jewellery; the hero's hair and swagger;  humming the song as it is being played, laughing out loudly till we are “Ssshhhed” to silence were the high points of any theatre visit.

 Adulthood, marriage, motherhood and career  made visiting the theatres few and far between. Doordarshan (T V) was the only form of entertainment.  But very few movies have been watched fully. Occasional angst would surface that I am not able to watch movies in the theatres like scores of others. But I was ‘smart’ enough  to brush those feelings away deftly.

Today, I am in a glorious position. Master of my time: domestic chores much lighter, career done and dusted, following a few hobbies, albeit erratically, I have the ‘Aladdin's Lamp’ at my disposal. I have only to touch it ( not even rub it) to get my desired show or film. World Cinema and Shows at my fingertips.

 I don't yearn to watch any film in the theatres. If at all I step out, it's a rare occasion.  Watching it in the peace and comfort of my house is luxury enough for me. The connoisseurs of films say that theatre experience is the ultimate.  Yes, they are allowed to have such exalted opinions but technology has given us the privilege and pleasure of watching films and shows in the confines of our homes and I value it greatly.

I watch “Premalu” for entertainment  and “ Laapata Ladies” for emotional  satisfaction. I get a taste of foreign  production watching “Virgin River,” enjoy the grandeur of “Bridgerton”  and was in awe of "The Crown” and binge watched scores of other films and series. 

All you need is a touch of the finger to save yourself from something that is not interesting or palatable. 

This Aladdin's Lamp is a treasure trove, indeed.