Big screen movie experience is always charming. Not as much now as I feel like an alien surrounded by boisterous college students and sometimes crying kids. With my kids relatively grown up, watching movies in theaters has become a calmer experience, as we are pretty much assured of an uninterrupted movie viewing pleasure. But, it is a huge ask to find movies that the entire family can watch together. So most such outings are confined to super-hero flicks and science flicks like Gravity and Interstellar, which are stunning to watch for their scale even if you can’t completely fathom them.
Growing up in 80s India, almost all new releases were watched on the Big screen. We had no satellite TV or multiple movie channels back then. Parents took us along for all the potboilers of those days. Apart from seeing everything in bright colors and large sized, what elated us about the big screen movie experience were things very different. Some of them are listed here:
The magical “Interval”
We used to really await the Interval, which is the mandatory break in movies when people rush to the loos or to get snacks. We all waited to get our favorite soft drink. Campa Cola and Limca along with Gold Spot were my favorites those days. Coke had been driven out of the country, and we had not even heard of it. We siblings would be grinning from ear to ear grabbing our bottle of precious soft drink with a small sealed packet of salty popcorn or thin salted/masala potato chips. No Sir, not the fancy stuff you get now but very rudimentary snacks. You could also get cold samosas but kids did not prefer that. Yes, soft drinks were had very sparingly those days and were a treat back then. Those were the days of sharbat, Rooh Afza and later Rasna.
The usher with the torch
There was an usher with a torch who would escort you to your seat if you got late because you were most likely to stumble and fall in the dead dark of the cinema hall. The stairs had no lighting and tumbling was a common sight. The seat backs were not lit either, and there were no cellphones that one could use to light up the proceedings. The seats were not the plush kinds now available in multiplexes. You had regular seats made of foam that could not be eased back. Sometimes, you would also encounter torn upholstery and someone’s left over snacks sticking to your clothes. While going to your seat, you would most likely trample on someone’s feet regularly.
The Stalls
And how can I forget the nomenclature and the thrills associated with each category. There were Stalls and Balcony with separate entrance and exits for both. Some theatres also had the Dress Circle.The Stalls were where you sat when you wanted a headache and were broke but still wanted to watch a movie. I remember watching Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak with my head at an uncomfortable obtuse angle to my neck, as I tried to glare at the monsters on the screen. In those days, the most rowdy crowds inhabited the stalls. Cat calls and vulgar dialogs were a part of the package if you were daring enough to watch the movies in the stalls. The Balcony was the safe haven with more decent crowd and families and lesser strain on the necks.
The ticket prices
Unlike today, you did not have to loot a bank to watch a movie on the big screen those days. These days, the tickets are obscenely priced, and the snacks are an even bigger rip off. Even as a cash-starved teen, I could watch a movie in the theater with my pocket money. I really wonder about the teens of today. Their parents must be giving them a fat sum every month, and I am dreading the day when my son starts asking me for the same.
Yes, walking down the memory lane was fun and also reminiscing about the bright lights of the silver screen.
What fond memories do you have of the big screen movie watching experience of yore?
Rachna says 
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