First Day, Night Show & Black Ticket !

What could be a better way to celebrate diwali than going for a movie late at night when the entire city is sleeping after a tiring day with sweets, relatives, crackers and TV programs. This has always been a part of my festival skedule for the last 5 years. First day shows have been something i love even if i had to park my car three streets down the theater, jump down the main gate, wait for an hour to get into the theater, get smashed in the crowd, pay thrice the cost of the ticket, sit next to a man who is completely drunk and is all waiting to vomit on the guy in his front. But off-late, absence of this experience in jamshedpur had made me yearn for the those chennai breaks when i easily catch up atleast 2 movies in theaters.

I still remember, how two of our friends had to tickle the security men to let us into the theater when we tried catching up gemini on its first day. Ghilli was no better when lathi (policemen's defense sticks) missed gracing our ass by a whisker. We managed to save our ass (literally) by shouting "Ilaya thalapathi Vaazhga" in the last second. One of the Policemen on duty advised one of my friend, "Enna pa ! Rasigar Mandrama ? Rouse pannama padam pakkanum ! illa lock up le thalli muttiya pethuduven". Promptly replied a notorious friend of mine, "Maaaaannichiduuuuu thalaaaaai ! Chinna Pasanga, Theriyama Sound Koduthutom". Within a second after saying that, a huge guy grabed him by his collar and told him, " Dei, Innada nenaichitu irukeenga ? Yaaru padathule yaaru pera sollareeenga ?". Guess he was an vijay fanatic and he misunderstood the "thalai" my friend used to the way tamil moviegoers address Ajith (Another contender for superstar-ship). We then appeased him with one liners like, "Vijay Super anne ! Ajithavadhu hero vaavadhu", "Anne Thalapathy(we decided not to confuse thalai and thalapathy agai) padam pakkanumnu collegea cut adichitu vanthirukomne".

Coming from a college which was known for High Flying US admits and a recent XLRI factor into my life, people dont really believe when i narrate these memorable experiences. Most of us who have seen movies like this are now in IIMs, XL, UTA, CMU, STANFORD, etc... One of my friend who went to IIM B had even got beaten up on the Chandramukhi first show. Unkempt people, Drunken Men, Notorius Fans, Sad Policemen have not really detered the adventure seekers like us to catch up the glimpse of a movie on the very first day.

In a city like chennai where atleast 10 of your friends would have seen the movie in the very first day, stopping them from mouthing out the story is impossible. By the time you see the movie in the first weekend, there are 90 % of the chances that you would know the story scene by scene. With the movies themselves being so predictable these days, watching it under such pre established gyan and guidances adds no entertainment and fun value. So, Controlling the urge to watch it fresh with no expectation is really tuf. All my friend who watched 'Saami' on the second day would certify that. After a bad first half, most of us wanted to go back home. But we stayed back as we have no clue of what second half would be like. None of us had clue of wat the rest of the movie was gonna be like. That killer second half was worth all the surprises. You will never have such satisfying experiences if you watch it after a week or two in VCD or even in theater.

This ofcourse involves the risk of sitting for a movie like "Kangalal Kaidu Sei" on the very first day. Its as good a jumping into a deep well, but again one should appreciate the fact that these movies of the other extreme run only for a week and you will never get a chance to see them in theater and be a part of the elite crowd unless you are willing to take that extra bit of risk. My list of the First day shows extends from Dheena(my first encounter with the habit), arul, dhool, kangalaal kaidu sei, thotti jaya, Gemini, Thamizhan, Red, kakka kaaka, minnale, charlie chaplin, chocolate, Ji, Virumandi, Jhoot and many more. Some of these have even been the first shows and sometimes 2 shows on the same day. I had not gotten out of this habit even after going away from chennai. I caught up with 'Vattaram' with yashwanth (One of my closest pal. All the movies that we saw together had bombed at box office. God save Vattaram) a day back to mark my come back for Diwali.

Looks crazy for some, but for me, these remind me of those nostalgic times i shared with my friends in the best of my years. Its great that traditions are still alive and i can relive those days even after moving to XLRI. Vaazhga Chennai and Valarga kollywood.

~ JK