I'm a BIGGGG cinema-going person. There's something absolutely magical about briefly succumbing to the darkness of a movie theatre - regardless of whether you're alone or with people. On some days, being cut out from the rest of the world, for just a couple of hours, made disappointing trashy films also worth it.
Having said that, I still can't deny that in a pre-coronavirus world I often found myself complaining that the movie theatre was "too far" or simply - "Why can't they just release the film on Netflix? I already pay for it."
Little did I know..
Cut to the so-called 'unprecedented times,' my wishes have come true. Netflix & Chill (in the literal sense, only) is the way of life now and I've got to say.. it's not as great as I imagined it to be. Can we go back to regular programming, please?
I miss Mukesh. A little.
Well, okay, not exactly but I do miss everything that Mukesh represents. Those anti-smoking ads at the beginning were (are) the absolute worst but I do miss the familiarity that would follow. The collective aversion of the people present in the movie theatre, some avoiding it by pretending to be engrossed in their phones, others cringing with their eyes glued to the big bright screen, that sense of relief once the advert is over..
Need a night out with just me and my overpriced popcorn
Just to clarify, I'm still not okay with the popcorn being priced higher than the movie ticket but I wouldn't mind it just one more time, maybe? My relationship with the movie theatre popcorn was a bittersweet struggle that started with - To Buy or Not To Buy?
Once an affirmative decision had been made, I would have to channel ALL my strength into not shoving that sinful mix of cheese and caramel (more cheese though) popcorn down my throat before the movie had even begun.
It's been almost five months and I think I've finally realised the sentimental value of overpriced popcorn.
Picture abhi baaki hai..
Streaming films at home is just not the same without at least three trailers and two Vicco adverts leading up to the grand event. I know I've cribbed about what a 'waste of time' it is to sit through trailers I've already seen on YouTube but..
If I am going to be looking at a screen in between and before the film anyway, then it might as well be the biggest one right?
Burn the pause button
SURE, my OTT subscriptions allow me to pause what I'm watching as many times as I want but do I even want that anymore? Family movie nights are now incredibly annoying because we end up pausing the film *every* time someone has to get up to pee, answer a phone call, grab some snacks.. you get the drift.
I just wanna sit in a movie theatre with the conscious awareness that for the next one hour, my cinematic experience will not be disturbed by anything.
The punctual one loses the race
At this point, I have zero problems with people who arrive late for a movie. Is your late arrival interrupting my movie-watching experience? Barely. So what if I have to adjust my head for a few seconds? At least the movie is still on and the disturbance ends after a few seconds. If you arrive late, that's your problem. You miss out on the film, not me.
At home, I'm not even allowed to start the movie unless everyone has arrived from their respective rooms - which, surprisingly, takes a LOT of time. In a movie theatre, I liked that I was constantly awarded for my punctuality.
From crying babies to crying me
The price I would pay to watch a movie in a theatre right now is pretty damn high. Crying babies? Bring it on. I know I've complained about it endlessly in the past but if a crying baby can remind me of what it was like to sit in a giant hall filled with all kinds of people collectively experiencing cinema - I'll take it, no cap.
To be honest..
There is nothing like the comfort of your own home. Watching a film in my PJs with a half-eaten packet of chips is certainly more comforting than the experience of ocassionally looking back to shoot a death stare at the person who accidentally kicked my seat in a movie theatre. But here's the thing - I go to the cinemas to escape in entertainment and anonymity. Something I can't get an home because home isn't always an escape. And definitely not anymore.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)