I love cinema. At the risk of domestic bliss, I can add that we haven’t got much of it lately (IPTV is a godsend, but the W isn't exactly chuffed at the prospect of which I'm perfectly capable, namely a weekend watching two to four, maybe more)! It is not as if good cinema is my sole preserve in the household though. The difference lies solely in my preference for remote control (some may aver it’s the couch) driven variety versus the more social cinematic experience in a theater.
Interestingly, I grew up to almost no moviegoing, nor much interest in films. Through school, cinema was regulated like fresh air on a chilly winter night: you may be unable to shut it out entirely, but at least limit its intake. I reckon this was mostly in keeping with a general bias towards discipline in upbringing (to which I owe a number of my latter-day strengths). Economics may have played a part too (thrift is good); concern over my grades most certainly did. Thus, I averaged one to two films in the 'hall' (as we called them) a year over this period. These were thanks to a friend who consistently planned such as his birthday outing; and the occasional parental endorsement (Dweep Ka Rahasya was one such: I loved it).
Of course, the few I caught on TV (courtesy neighbours, till we acquired our own in '84) were not without a twist. Given that we did not stay out late, a chunk of these films were incomplete, missing 'climax'! I vividly remember the festive air in our middle-class community too, when Doordarshan decided to telecast movies on Thursday evenings, thus doubling frequency to a joyous twice weekly (the first such offering was Vachan, and I have good reason to forget all about it sans name). In short, the uninspired offerings and fragmented viewership did little to stoke my cinegoer buds (though an ill-understood Achanak or half-seen Ittefaq did plant seeds of love for crime-mystery-thriller genre that I have not shaken off ever since).
Later, the VCR came to town. It brought with it a rudimentary element of choice. Grainy picture quality (not that DD was any different) was small price to pay for the ability to watch what you wanted, and at the pace and time of your choosing. Naturally, video libraries, parlours etc mushroomed all over town. At home, the Pater made decisions of his own though (likely inspired by my scholastic record) and this contraption only entered the Jha household once the son had been packed off to College! Most of my movie-on-video, thus, was with friends. I emerged much enlightened from these soirees (I can sense your wicked smile, reader!) not the least of which was exposure to cinema beyond mainstream Hindi (a Khamosh or Prahar amidst The Godfather and The Medusa Touch). Not entirely unrelated, this included QSQT, a milestone in the sense I saw as well understood it (ah those vague, vicarious pleasures)!
Come College. My means stayed modest but the joys of freedom more than made up for it, strained by early stirrings of a sense of responsibility. Films played a part in this general process of self-discovery as always, occasionally as input, but often a companion in the journey. The plot stayed true at B-School too; save for a mild sharpening of the pen.
The intervening years have taught me how much I delight in having (almost one too) many balls in the air. As in life, so in the movies (or literature and friendships) and variety is an overarching theme. I can watch almost any movie once, and a few many times to this day. And thus, a remote control helps.
Interestingly, I grew up to almost no moviegoing, nor much interest in films. Through school, cinema was regulated like fresh air on a chilly winter night: you may be unable to shut it out entirely, but at least limit its intake. I reckon this was mostly in keeping with a general bias towards discipline in upbringing (to which I owe a number of my latter-day strengths). Economics may have played a part too (thrift is good); concern over my grades most certainly did. Thus, I averaged one to two films in the 'hall' (as we called them) a year over this period. These were thanks to a friend who consistently planned such as his birthday outing; and the occasional parental endorsement (Dweep Ka Rahasya was one such: I loved it).
Of course, the few I caught on TV (courtesy neighbours, till we acquired our own in '84) were not without a twist. Given that we did not stay out late, a chunk of these films were incomplete, missing 'climax'! I vividly remember the festive air in our middle-class community too, when Doordarshan decided to telecast movies on Thursday evenings, thus doubling frequency to a joyous twice weekly (the first such offering was Vachan, and I have good reason to forget all about it sans name). In short, the uninspired offerings and fragmented viewership did little to stoke my cinegoer buds (though an ill-understood Achanak or half-seen Ittefaq did plant seeds of love for crime-mystery-thriller genre that I have not shaken off ever since).
Later, the VCR came to town. It brought with it a rudimentary element of choice. Grainy picture quality (not that DD was any different) was small price to pay for the ability to watch what you wanted, and at the pace and time of your choosing. Naturally, video libraries, parlours etc mushroomed all over town. At home, the Pater made decisions of his own though (likely inspired by my scholastic record) and this contraption only entered the Jha household once the son had been packed off to College! Most of my movie-on-video, thus, was with friends. I emerged much enlightened from these soirees (I can sense your wicked smile, reader!) not the least of which was exposure to cinema beyond mainstream Hindi (a Khamosh or Prahar amidst The Godfather and The Medusa Touch). Not entirely unrelated, this included QSQT, a milestone in the sense I saw as well understood it (ah those vague, vicarious pleasures)!
Come College. My means stayed modest but the joys of freedom more than made up for it, strained by early stirrings of a sense of responsibility. Films played a part in this general process of self-discovery as always, occasionally as input, but often a companion in the journey. The plot stayed true at B-School too; save for a mild sharpening of the pen.
The intervening years have taught me how much I delight in having (almost one too) many balls in the air. As in life, so in the movies (or literature and friendships) and variety is an overarching theme. I can watch almost any movie once, and a few many times to this day. And thus, a remote control helps.
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