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Kela Aya Kela!

Reviews of Cinemas Around the World

England

Overall Score: Mediocre
Movie/Location:  HP7 Part II,  Odeon on Magdellan, Oxford


Seating: Average/slightly below average. Not much of leg room, not very comfortable, and I kept having to lean on my buddies Joe and Laura (like a pendulum going back and forth) to avoid watching the head of person sitting in front of me.
Screen: Tiny, the fact made worse by a balcony seating above which constricted the view of the screen for those sitting below.
Sound: Absolutely horrible. If you can imagine the entire cinema full of kids being quiet then you might catch what the actors are saying. It was the quietest sound system I've ever heard - my t.v. can get louder than that.
General atmosphere: Less than satisfactory. Too many lights were on - I wouldn't mind the small screen as much if there weren't two bright lights shining from the back directly on the screen.

Joe tells me that this was a horrible example of a British cinema though, so I'm willing to give it a second chance in future.

India

Overall Score: Has a character, but I don't think I like it.
Movie/Location: Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Nadiad

Seating: Really nice for an average theater. Plenty of leg room, seating is all going up so no one's heads are in the way, and you can recline!  I *have seen fully reclining seats in India too.  Much better than what it used to be 10 years ago.
Screen: Decent size. Not extraordinary but definitely satisfactory.
Sound: Terrifying. I hadn't been prewarned and my heart and brain nearly exploded at the first note. It's SO LOUD. You couldn't hear your own scream if you tried. It's nice for watching movies with people who talk too much, but STILL. It might kill my eardrums if I watch enough movies there.
General Atmosphere: Entertaining for an outsider. It's completely dark, it's loud as a rock concert, and then all of a sudden lights go out and the movie stops. Twice. And you suddenly start to hear people's really funny conversations - people are talking to the screen and what not.  Also, let's not forget the intermission when people come around asking if you want food.

Indian theaters have changed a lot in last ten years. Especially the seating and the sound system. The older cinemas still exist and sell cheaper tickets - I think the sound is mainly in response to the public talking at the screen. You make the movie so loud it doesn't matter. I guess it's better than the too-low-sound experience especially if you care about the movie.

Singapore


Okay, first of all, I last went to movie there 3 years ago. So memories are vague and review's not recent. But I thought I'd add it on the list.

Overall Score: Very Satisfactory
Movie/Location: Wanted (the English one), somewhere in Downtown Singapore

Seating: Decent. Not extraordinary but comfortable (could have used more leg room). I didn't have the problem of seeing people's heads in the way.
Screen: Big.<3
Sound: Okay, so it was unremarkable because I don't remember. I am guessing that means it was just about right volume with a lovely breakdown into a surround system. And it's Singapore so obviously everything's good quality.
General Atmosphere: Inside the theater, it was just about you and the movie. You could hear the dialogues but it wasn't so loud it could drive you crazy. People around behaved and didn't talk. It was perfect, maybe a bit too perfect if you didn't like the movie and were looking for other sort of entertainment. The seats were assigned and had different cost for different seats. I thought that was lame - I believe in socializing theater seating and leaving it up to luck. (I might be biased though because we got the last available seats and they weren't that great)

Outside the theater, there was a big mall and a nice seating/hanging out area. This pattern of mall/theater/hang out spots repeats throughout the downtown. Like I said, it's nice but maybe a bit too perfect.

United States


I've seen too many movies in a wide range of theaters here. So I'll make general statements.

You can get the street entertainment and see people selling drugs if you go to lovely theaters in some parts of Memphis. The seating's average but satisfying, so are the sound and the screen.

You can get the cozy feel by going to small town theaters in Maine where you sit on the couch and hope that maybe today Patrick Dempsey, who lives in the next town, will come here as well. Or you can just enjoy the show. The screen's small, but so is the theater so it's not a problem. You're close enough.

On a normal day you can go to the theater in Uptown NYC where the premiers are held and the screens are lined with lovely sculptures. The screen's alright sized (bit small for the theater but not so small you have trouble seeing) and the sound's just about right volume though not as much of a surround effect as you could get in Singapore.

The best part is that all over the cost of ticket is around the same (a little hiked in NY but it's NY), and the seating is first come first serve. Take your pick. You'll see a movie, maybe annoying people will talk but you'll still hear the dialogues. Tada.


xxx
I have lots of thoughts on religious intolerance in India right now that I'll write about when I get home 

All in a Rikshaw Ride

When you walk around in India, the poverty is staring at you in face. You see it all around. You can tell by the bony arms, the dirty clothes, the yellowing teeth. You can tell they've lived a hard life. You also see these beaten up self-made home/shelters, etc. But after a month in Nadiad, I hadn't seen a single person homeless and/or begging. 

Yesterday I went to Ahmedabad, one of the bigger cities around here. The drive to it was wonderful - new national highway, green fields on both sides. You could tell me I was in Ireland and I'd believe it. The ten minute drive outside of Nadiad put me in a position to say that. The entire hour long ride was smooth, people were driving in lanes, there weren't cows or goats running across the road, etc. Until, of course, we entered Ahmedabad and then you barely have room to breathe (1 billion people living in this country, you are eventually going to see them and see them in masses). 

Anyway, so Ahmedabad clearly looks like it's progressing to some kind of order (as opposed to the chaos everywhere in India) - it has established inner city bus system with special lanes for the buses, people wear seatbelts, etc. etc (still primitive but with a hopeful future). But this is also where I saw children sleeping on the street corners. Elderly women asking for some spare change for food. 

I don't know if you read the post about my commitment to sparing change few months ago, but honestly I didn't know what to do last night. There are so many, that you'd be out of money in a few minutes if you gave some to everyone. It's not one here and there - you'll find a dozen in one spot. What would you do??

Stories of real people

I don't know if you are the kind of person who pays attention to the UN interest in human rights around the world, but back in high school, I was a huge fan of following all the little acts against human trafficking and child soldiers and what not. Especially when UNICEF stepped in and had these petitions people could sign or write to their senators about (I wrote more than I care to admit). 

Anyway, all these concerns were based on the reports of numbers. So many million women and children kidnapped and shipped off into slavery. So many young men promised jobs abroad and they never come back home because they've been sold somewhere in the world. You see numbers, you feel sad and especially considering that United States is one of the major "importers" of these slaves, you feel a sense of obligation to do something. I did. God I was an active little high schooler. 

Story of Mehul 

Mehul was a marvadi boy, brothe-in-law of my ex-nanny, a Marvadi. I seem to recall years ago her telling me that he studied all the way, got married, and his parents spent tons of money (everything they owned and all their savings because they were really poor) on an agent who'd take him abroad and give him a job. He went to Malaysia, and they were so proud. Until weeks, months, years went by and no one heard from him. His new bride went back home, and his parents had no way of contacting him, finding him. 

By some miracle, Mehul was an exception though. He came back, seven years later, not rich or anything. Surviving. The whole town went to see him - but they only spoke in whispers. He had been in trouble. He had escaped and now he was home, his parents weren't going to let him out of his sight anymore. 

Story of Bharat
His parents didn't have much, but he put himself through school. School in the morning, work in the afternoon. He was in twelfth grade, a big deal for his family, and passing with high scores till now. Not to mention very attractive. Also related to the Marvadi family. One day, a month before he'd have finished school, he just did not come home from work. They put notices in newspapers, on billboards, everywhere. No sign. Bharat was nephew of the woman in the photograph below.

"Life is too short for hatred"