Movie watching

kkrish · Dec 8, 2011

I cannot call myself a movie buff nor am I a movie-hater. My disposition towards movies has always been neutral.

After I landed in the US the only movies within my reach were English.

To say I enjoyed all the fabulous English classics with Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Ginger Rogers, Doris Day, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck ….and so many others, would be an understatement. However, after a while I began yearning the sight of Kamal, Rajini and Sridevi.

With just a handful of folks from India making this part of the country their home, there was not even Zee-TV channel on television. Oh what I would have given to see someone in a sari or salwar on TV; never mind that I do not know any other Indian language besides Tamil!

Well, when “God closes a door He opens a window”; didn’t our sweet governess Maria (Julie Andrews) utter these prophetic words in the all-time favorite “The Sound of Music?” My window was the Video Cassette Player/Recorder. Remember this vintage contraption?

One weekend after the VCR’s arrival in our home, we went to the nearest city, a 3-hour drive away, where we used to buy Indian vegetables and groceries and bought three Tamil movie cassettes. They were so expensive! Ha, but who cared? Wasn’t the sight of Shivaji Ganesan, Kamal, and sound of my mother tongue worth a million bucks?

With much excitement we loaded the first movie, an old black and white film. The movie started but what we saw was a very scratchy title and what we heard was scratchier….. no... not music; it was cacophony!:rant

Being undeterred optimists we hoped that once the movie began it would get better! But all we saw was blizzard and some figures moving here and there! We could not make out which one was Sivaji Ganesan and which one was Savithri !

Totally fed up we took it out and loaded the second one. This time the quality was much better; at least we could identify who was Kamal and who was Sridevi! But the rain continued. Only it was not a downpour but more like a drizzle. An irritating drizzle! Well something is better than nothing we thought!

We thought too soon! Yep, right when Kamal was going to profess his love to a very angry Sridevi, the tape went blank. Whether Kamal succeeded in winning Sridevi’s heart or not we were destined never to find out.

The third movie was no good! Of course it had to be; because we never saw it! The tape just wouldn’t budge. On inspection we found that a torn part was repaired with cello tape!

After a couple more expectations-turned-sour experiences we went back to renting the dependable American English movies for some more time till the DVDs came into the market. (Now it’s on-line streaming).

Oh yes, there was so much improvement this time. We enjoyed good quality pictures in Tamil and Hindi (with subtitles).

After the fourth or fifth movie the trend became predictable. Boy meets girl, sings songs, one set of parents must oppose, fight with goondas, girl to marry America-returned IT professional, when America-IT boy about to tie mangal sutra hero comes to scene, girl changes mind, marries hero, the end.

By the time we were on the seventh movie:
I could watch no song and dance
My hubby could watch no romance
Using the fast-forward in the remote control
Watching a movie in one hour was our rigmarole.

Until one day my dear hubby
Made an important pact with me
If I let him watch the song and dance
He would let me watch the romance.

We are planning to watch a movie next weekend. While in other homes this means getting munchies, pop-corn and sodas ready, in my home the ritual is a little different.

Just before the movie starts I set out the cutting board, knives, veggies, etc. on the dining table. Some masala would be roasted and left to cool. A laundry basket piled high with clothes would be next to my chair.

· Every time the hero and heroine break out into a song and do their suggestive gyrations I go to my dining table and chop vegetables.
· When the hero is busy fighting the goondas, I grind the masalas. Amidst all the yelling they do my blender noise would not even be heard.
· The rest of movie I fold the clothes as I wonder all along “my, my … all this trouble to get married?”
:hide:
Would you like to join us for a movie next time? ... What? ...No? … :-(

vchelluri · Dec 8, 2011

:biglaugh:biglaugh:biglaugh:biglaugh:biglaugh
Kamala,
You made me laugh like anything.
I am also in the same boat of yours but slightly with a different experience.
My DH quietly gets into sleep sitting besides me as I will be eagerly watching for the improvement of the picture quality on screen atleast in the next few minutes.:rant So many times I had to literally drag him to the bed.:bonk
Upset with the quality of the prints, we opted to watch some old classics online and sometimes even bored prefer to watch just comedy clipping in youtube.

I had really felt like watching a classic movie with your description of how you are going to watch the movie next time.:rotfl

Hope you enjoy your movie this time upto your expectations without much disappointments.
Count me in to join you in watching the movie.:thumbsup

Regards,
Latha.

Srama · Dec 8, 2011

Good write up Kamala! You speak of those days when it was so difficult to rent a decent video. Do you want to hear my experience here? I went recently to ask for the movie "kuch kuch hota hai " i think and I was told very politely by our dear Patel bro "sirf 3year old movie milega, usse bhi peeche too old"! Can you believe this is considered dated? Now to do on my next trip to India - to bring along a couple of evergreen movies, personally!!

I am with you though! It's been some time since I have watched a good Hindi movie without taking a voluntary break! Most of the movies, I watch alone but what surprises me the most is my kids who only understand Kannada can sit glued to the TV when I am playing a Hindi movie! they have no clue about Hindi and I don't watch Kannada movies! I don't know what it is - so the days I pick for an Indian movies are getting quite rare. I need to think of the 3hrs you see if they are involved!

Well well well, if you go to the table to cut vegetables when the movie breaks in to a song, I am only assuming the vegetables are chopped more finely (at least in proportion to what you are feeling) and I am afraid to think of that masala....

When the hero is busy fighting the goondas, I grind the masalas
Click to expand...

fine masala it is, literally what with all that pounding and grinding along with our hero in the movie!

Would you like to join us for a movie next time? ... What? ...No? …
Click to expand...

Well Kamala, you cannot get rid of me that easily! I will take up on that invitation - oh how I would love to eat that finely chopped vege preparation with even more finely ground masalas...and the added pleasure of watching you fold all that laundry murmuring 'seriously! all this for a marriage" Am I not signing up for a double treat Kamala? So keep that seat saved for me and to bring routine rituals to full force, i will arm myself with pop corn and soda and be there knocking on your door! So thank you for the invitation

Mindian · Dec 8, 2011

My dear kamala,

Hilarious write up that I totally enjoyed and related to, as it is very much the same scene in my home too. though my hubby never understands why I should be doing so many things when I should be just relaxing and watching the
screen.

Little does he realise that I am actually UNwinding from the movie by chopping the veggies or peeling the small onions.LOL.

Yes, nowadays its only online streaming and I watch Tamil,English and Hindi with him and Malayalam when he is away on official trips.we watch on weekends usually not because there are any great movies these days but only when we have nothing better to do.

Our current favourites are watching episodes of "how I met your mother "and of course "friends" even if we are watching it for the umpteenth time.

Riyakathir · Dec 8, 2011

ha haah ha ha... good one kamala ma...
this happenes between me and prak.... some time.. prak starts to snore in middle of the movie....
or.. he always run the songs very fast...
i wont get the satisfaction of watching...
no probs.. i will join you... also in chopping your veggies and grinding masalas.. will you accpet me.. ???

Chitvish · Dec 8, 2011

Thoroughly enjoyable post Kamala!!

I reserve "jobs" like picking out the leaves of a big bunch of methi or coriander leaves etc when I watch movies.Also love to munch (rather eat by teaspoons),
bisibela or Bengali kichdi!! Now most of the movies are centred around Madurai. I love to watch them only for my dear Madurai dialect!
Who has the patience to watch K hasan, S Devi etc?? Our new heart throb is Dhanush - no great loooks but scores by his "yadarthamana" acting!! I am so happy he has won the You tube golden award for his kolaveridi. The song literally grows on you!! I keep on listening to it on my tablet & no doubt Vish looks at me with amusement as though conveying "et tu"!! Who bothers???:hide:

Sabi, on sunday EVERY WEEK one of the hindi channels broadcasts
Kabhi kushi kabhi gum, kuch kuch hotha hai etc - such evergreen hits!! Somehow they never seem to bore me :biggrin2:

Mindz, do watch The Big Bang Theory on star world. My GDs are amused , rather shocked that I watch it. I love the serial Friends!!

ambika04 · Dec 8, 2011

//Whether Kamal succeeded in winning Sridevi’s heart or not we were destined never to find out//Ha ha Good post Kamala.

Arunarc · Dec 8, 2011

Dear Kamala
I wouldlove to watch with you, becoz I don't keep the chopping board knife and veggies on the dinning table but that goes direct into the TV room on the tea poy.
Both of us are movie buffs and love to sit and watch movies with some snacks around, he too hates to watch songs and want them to be forwarded. But for the 1st time I need to hear the songs when watching for the 2nd time the songs goes zupp....hehehe
Mostly we love to watch hindi movies and I love to watch cartoon movies and ghostly movies and I can do with these only when he is not around along with my veggies to give me company.
More then watching at home we love to watch them in the movie hall.
You know during my Fiji Island stay we use to watch 1st day but late night movies there was another couple friend who too were crazy like us and in fiji you always get hindi movies the day it is released in India it is realised in Fiji too. If the movie is flop or good we must go...hahaha
Many crazy stories with these movies I better stop or my post will get bigger then yours...hehehe
Some times we have come back seeing half the flop movie would go to some coffee shop and enjoy coffee at night... see me i am still not stopping.
Ok ok I can hear your blh blah better let me run from here.

Just enjoyed your post dear. I know after paying so much you don't get to view the movies you get so irritated. This use to happen to me in Malasiya where you get all pirated CDs and DVDs.

At present we are into watching everyday one movie from our collections. some of the movies you watch Nth time you still don't feel bored..

kelly1966 · Dec 8, 2011

Hi kamala..
quite Hilarious...Feel really bad for you not able to watch movies...
Indian movies whether hindi or tamil or any other are the most entertaining .. one just has to leave a certain amount of sensibilities while watching them... you just have to gettranslated into that make believe world ... however the western movies are too close to life and so you can't watch them to be entertained infact I think they get a bit strenuous at the end of a stressful day!!..
Unfortunately my Hubby is a non T.V. and NOn movie person ..he watches but not enthuiastically like me or my son..
K

kkrish · Dec 8, 2011

vchelluri said: ↑

:biglaugh:biglaugh:biglaugh:biglaugh:biglaugh
Kamala,
You made me laugh like anything.

.........

Count me in to join you in watching the movie.:thumbsup

Regards,
Latha.
Click to expand...

My Dear Latha
Thank you so much for your irst feedback.
I am so glad that I am not the only one with this "bad picture quality" experience. This really gets me, how they cheat us. Your husband sleeps eh? Hahaha...I can imagine the scene very well. ! I think his tactics is also a good one.

You sure are most welcome to my home. Let's "enjoy" the movies together cooking on the side; or may be the other way round.

Enjoyed your fb.