VT’s blog

Student days in the big, bad city called Delhi; far away from my sleepy home town in West Bengal. Every month began with the waiting for the monthly allowance from dad. That Rs.1500 Bank Draft meant so much (on a lucky day, it would even be 2000 bucks!).

What followed was the great Sutta party (Wills Navy Cut was the thing to kill for). Night Show at Priya Cinema. On the way back, a long stop over at JNU, Ganga Dhaba; to meet another set of friends over parathas and neembu paani. Come back home at 3 AM.

We were all Rajas then. The ones who had girl friends were Maharajas.

Priya and Chanakya Cinemas were the favorite hang outs. I had seen all the films Priya ever played from between 1992 to 1996. Quite a few of them more than once; Scent of a Woman ' a whopping 7 times (all days of the week). The front row, third class; ticket used to cost us 6 bucks.

Then the multiplex arrived.

The first one in Delhi was PVR in Saket (1997, I think). Me and my friend Shishir went there fully loaded with 200 bucks in our pockets and landed straight to the ticket counter, my friend pushed two hundred rupees notes down the counter and asked for two tickets.

Shishir kept waiting for the change, assuming a film ticket is this new and expensive place should cost around 60-70 bucks. The guy at the counter waits for him to move on.

Shishir says "Abe?? Tum ticket counter par baith kar ke black kar raha hai?" - (this is untranslatable).

The ticket counter guy says, matter of factly - "No sir, that is the price."

Shishir shouts back at me - "Oye Vikas, yeh dekh is namoona ko. English bolne ka 100 rupiya leta hai."

No one in the queue was amused, we went on to watch the film and came back home ' forget Wills Navy Cut, no money left for a 502 Pataka Bidi too.

The Great Indian Middle Class had arrived.

On the way back on my Bajaj Chetak scooter; Shishir broke the silence ' "We have got to make money, boss. Is tarah nahi chalega. Fateechar haal me Need to focus and do well in life?"

We focused. And we got busy making money, we are still doing it.

In the last seven years, I have not been to a movie theatre not more than seven times. Quite a contrast from the days when we saw seven films a week. And I don't even know if Priya and Chanakya still exist or a mall/multiplex has replaced them.

But we have the money now.