“What?”
That was all Granddad managed to say when I told him the movie had cost 350 INR per head. Popcorn, drinks and transport separate. This was last month,when we had gone to watch three witches unleash their magic on the silver screen. In a plush South Delhi theatre with a hundred other patrons alongside, that is indeed the sum you will have to dish out for a show. Insane? You bet. Especially when I have gotten used to the nice 80-a-flick at E Square, Pune. And in case you were turning up your noses in dreaded anticipation, that multiplex isn’t half bad.
Anyhow, the point is that amidst such drudgery, when you find tickets for 75 apiece, you gape. You plan weeks in advance for that charmed Thursday when PVR Saket gives away ‘Any Movie, Any Show’ tickets for 75 – about the price of a single scoop Baskin Robbins, last time I checked.
I did precisely that. I planned schedules in a way that would ensure Mom and I got to watch a movie together before I left for Pune. Notwithstanding the fact that nothing too exciting seemed to be playing, we decided to reach as early as possible and get us seats. They haven’t opened up these dirt-cheap armchairs for online booking.
Mom and I sifted through the humdrum choices. The ones we couldn’t be caught dead watching / The ones we could endure provided the brownie was nice / The ones we would ask for first. Considering it was a Thursday, the office crowd would be safely away. The just-out-of-school crowd would probably be browsing college websites. We had it all neatly planned.
“Now You See Me?” I asked happily. I had received several recommendations for this one.
“How about Yamla Pagla Deewana?” retorted the girl behind the counter, pointing to an over-coloured poster of the film, with the Deols in all their glory.
I gulped as I stared at the availability screen. EVERY show was sold out but the one the girl had told me about. That too at 11 in the night.
Mom looked dismayed. I matched her expression as we watched a group of children dance to the tunes of Battameez Dil. They were soon joined by Mummy, Daddy, Aunty and Neighbour. Even as we looked, the alleyways of PVR Saket flooded with people from all over the city. Drat it. For all my meticulous plans, we had overlooked the summer vacationing crowd.
Mom and I escaped the heat in a Mac Donald’s outlet. Thank God you can still manage a burger-meal for 75.
Of Paneer, Pulao and Pune 
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INR 350 for a cinema is quite expensive, here for INR 486 (I have to use currency convertor for this 😉 ) you get to see IMAX. But 75 is very cheap…here, mostly around 170
Hey Debo, nominated you for a bunch of awards, http://vishalbheeroo.wordpress.com/2013/06/14/very-inspiring-blogger-award/
Cheerio
V
You rock! 😀 Thanks Vishal. 🙂
The movie tickets truly have become so insanely expensive!! I once remember checking tickets on PVR and they were prices Rs. 1000 that particular week. I was shocked. That’s why me and my hubby stick to watching the movies in the old theaters in Bangalore. They are huge and well maintained and far less priced.
Rs. 1000! My God, the highest I have seen is 750 for those Sky Box tickets in Satyam Cinema. Atrocious!
Yes, there’s one like that in Pune – Victory Theatre. It looks like a cathedral, the tickets are reasonable and the popcorn is dirt cheap. 🙂
Lol. Non cinematic Thursday it turned out to be? Now You See Me is wonderful! I do hope you get to see it 🙂
Absolutely, Usha Di. 😦 Well, now that I am back in Pune, I hope I have a better chance at Now You See Me. 🙂
those were the days at esquare..college mein i made it my permanent home..i paid 50 bucks for movies but last time i visited Pune, dished 180 for Players which was a crap movie..I love E-square..crossword, food court. Time has changed, I guess:(
Oh, Crossword! That indeed is home to me. The people there almost wave a hello every time I walk in and prepare to snuggle into a comfortable chair with a book. 😀
cool! I would be a regular there too and ccd/barista. btw do u knw savera opposite fergusson college? I would be there frm minin to nite..when I went back, the anna rmbered me saying, kidhar hai abhi? I jumped wid joy::)
Sure I know Savera. I always have someone joking about how it is still open all day. 😛
Ha ha… it always is fun to feel a sense of belonging with places you have spent so much time in. 🙂
hhehe it is and it was supa awesome being der have a cup of tea and sit for 3 hrs:) i wil blog on savera some day.
Do, do! I would love to read it. Savera always inspires wonderful memories in my mind. 🙂
I remember back in college there was a morning show for 50 bucks which was quite a rage among us poor souls and we used to get up at seven to reach by 9 as the line used to be neverending! Days of 50 a ticket seem like ancient now 🙂
True, I have done a lot of that in Pune. I used to think there are few idiots who would give up sleep for a cheap ticket. At 8 in the morning. Turns out I was wrong. 😀
deoshree my friend if its idiots you are looking for then you always have me 😀
Haha! And me too! 😀
In Sathyam cinemas Chennai we sometimes get tickets for Rs10/- . The normal ones sell at around 100 bucks . These ten rupee ones are meant for wooden seats two feet ahead of the first row . Last minute deal is what they claim and sometimes you can see some labourers or ricks haw pullers occupying them for movies they can’t make head or tail of . They don’t mind the ten rupee expense for the ac and escaping the scorching city heat 🙂
Wow, that sounds fantastic! Few things unite like railway stations, cricket matches and cinema. 😀 I wouldn’t mind escaping the heat in an air conditioned theater any day either. 😀
I remember college days when we used to go for early morning shows at PVR Sonia to save some bucks 😄
Not sure they still do that or not..
Oh yes, early morning shows! What bliss. 😀
Really?? I didn’t PVR was trying deals like this. I guess it must be Delhi only?? Or Pune? Or everywhere?
Thank goodness you didn’t go for YPD-2! Rest assured you’d have cried your lungs out and preferred to spend the entire 300 rupees for a normal ticket for another movie! 😛
I haven’t seen the deal anywhere else…but then that could be because I never noticed.
Oh my, YPD and its likes are banned fare for me. With all due respect to the makers, I wouldn’t have watched it even for free. 😛
Free? I wouldn’t watch it even if they paid me to!! 😛
Ha ha..true that! 😛
Nice Article Debo…I have heard about this PVR too…The Thursdays are awsome here…Moreover I like the connection you build with the Baskin Robbins Single Scoop…:)
Hey Karishma 🙂 how have you been?
Ha ha…what are summers without icecreams? 🙂