The Hindu Business Line : Dress circle

These days what one finds is one cinema hall being a clone of the other. It is like having the same dish, prepared in the same way, at different restaurants.

Once upon a time, we used to wear our best clothes and get dressed to visit the famous cinema hall in the city. We would squat on the chairs, buy samosas from the hawker for Rs 2, while our moms went to the `bathroom' (it wasn't called `loo' in those days ) to replenish their lipstick.

Every cinema hall (not multiplex, as they are now called) had its own character and history. Chanakya, in Delhi, for instance, had a different seating arrangement with the rear stall on the left and right.

Regal had boxes for people seeking privacy. One went to a cinema hall to savour the whole experience... and not just to watch a movie.

One waited for the heroine to make her entry, which was usually accompanied by whistling, hooting, shouting and loud comments. Ever heard multiplex audience whistle when Amitabh makes an entry or when Bipasha starts dancing on `n n n no entry', or when Patrick Swayze dances on the famous `I am having the time of my life'?

We are witnessing the end of that era. Unfortunately, all multiplexes look and feel the same. It is difficult to know one from the other. Even the ones owned by different companies look and feel the same.

In fact, you won't even know the difference even in another town. Watching a movie at PVR Anupam is much the same as watching a movie at Wave Noida. All of them offer the same popcorn, Pepsi and yes, Salsa.

Whatever, happened to the good old samosa or aloo bonda with chutney? In the good old days a movie hall in Ludhiana even served poori-aloo. And while in Hyderabad, I had the option of buying idli or dal vada with chutney while watching a movie.

Like the snacks, different cinema halls were also known for their different architecture and ambience and were frequented by different classes of people as well.

For instance, Regal in Connaught Place in Delhi was for the rich and upper-middle classes. Chanakya, one of the last old cinema halls to go the multiplex way, was known for its unique contemporary Indian architecture in the early 1960s.

Before Chanakya, Delhi boasted of popular cinema halls built during the times of Lutyen — Regal, Odeon and Plaza. Chanakya, however, boasted of a few firsts.

Moving away from the then traditional system of a lower hall and the upper balcony, Chanakya had two additional side wings. The water body on one side of this cinema hall at one time served as the `air-conditioning plant'. This cinema hall also had the distinction of hosting the first few film festivals.

Richard Attenborough's Gandhi premiered at Chanakya. With NDMC planning to take over the entire Chanakya block, it is `The End' of an entire movie-watching experience.

These days what one finds is one cinema hall being a clone of the other. It is like having the same dish, prepared in the same way, at different restaurants.

The atmosphere is too western... too urban, and is an uncomfortable reflection of the increasing divide between rural and urban India.

Sure, the multiplex revolution has its own benefits... but it makes an oldtimer like me crave for an era gone by.

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