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Honey, I shrunk the theatre

More people may be watching movies at home. At the same time, cinema halls are more packed than ever. SONIRA GULHATI on the phenomenon

With his Bubble he may just burst the big bad movie bubble. Steven Soderbergh, maker of films such as Erin Brockovich, Ocean's Eleven and Ocean's Twelve, released his latest mystery movie Bubble simultaneously in theatres, on DVD and even on cable TV over a four-day span!

Soderbergh definitely has foresight.

Cut to a present-day Indian metro.

The scene: A theatre in a growing metropolis.

The setting: Just when you sink into your seat with your popcorn and cola and begin to enjoy the movie whose release you'd been awaiting, a toddler decides to throw the mother of all tantrums. Can't blame him. It must be spooky to be closeted with hundreds of strangers in a dark hall.

That can be as annoying as the creep sitting just in front of you who's decided to not only answer his cell phone (which invariably rings at the most dramatic sequence in the film) but also has an exhaustive chat on the day's stock market movements he's mastered.

What do you do?

a) You want to take instant lessons on theatre etiquette for all those noisy people sitting around you.

b) You want to tear your hair.

c) You want to tear their hair.

d) You swear for the nth time never to step into a cinema.

e) You pray every film director on this planet does a Soderbergh.

Frustrating experiences such as this and skyrocketing ticket prices seem to be encouraging a lot more people to stay put at home and watch rented movies. With prices of DVD players dropping by the day, it is inevitable that many people prefer to watch movies in the comfort of their home. But does that mean theatres are going empty?

"No, actually," says a theatre owner. And if any of you have ever tried getting tickets at a multiplex on weekends, you'd probably agree with him.

"The biggest complaint we get from people is that it's hard to get tickets at our theatres. That itself shows there is so much demand and more and more people are flocking cinema halls. Moreover, with the advent of multiplexes, theatres have become more family-friendly. So coming to watch a film as a family is a planned outing," he adds. Though American statistics (poll by AP and AOL) show that more than 70 per cent of people prefer their own living rooms than going to a theatre, in India, the scene seems quite different.

Monish Anand, a 33-year-old entrepreneur and movie buff with a personal collection of about 450 films, likes to watch movies at home as well as in the theatre.

"I do admit that there is great comfort in being able to watch a movie lying on my couch, but the experience of a cinema theatre is irreplaceable. Especially certain movies such as Lord of the Rings or the Harry Potter series — are as much about the audiovisual experience as about the content — are a must-watch on the big screen," he insists.

And there are those like realtor Anwar who has a DVD player installed in his car. He hardly goes to a theatre. Anwar, who also has a personal collection of over 500 movies, says the DVD player is useful when he travels by road. "The easy availability of movies on DVD is advantageous for a person like me. But I still maintain that unless you have a state-of-the-art home theatre system with excellent acoustics, home viewing can't beat the theatre experience."

The crash of DVD player prices and the glut of new technologies also mean movies are more accessible to fans.

This has made audiences more discerning, and yet has not threatened the existence of cinema halls.

Repeat value

In fact, technology seems to be complementing rather than competing with theatre going, especially as far as the movies that have repeat value are concerned. A film buff today has the freedom to watch a movie he likes repeatedly on his DVD player.

This viewpoint is augmented by the well-known film director Girish Kasaravalli.

Kasaravalli says he enjoys watching movies at home because this enables him to stop and go back to the scenes he'd love to watch again and again.

"I think it's a good thing that VCDs and DVDs are so accessible today. Also a lot of films from different parts of the world are now available. This has created a more aware and film-literate audience," he adds.

An increasing number of producers is now beginning to realise that home viewing can be a good source of revenue.

To cash in on this trend and also to beat piracy, they have now shortened the time lapse before releasing DVDs of their movies.

So even if you miss a movie at the theatre, you always have a chance to see it at home.

Certainly, there are those who argue that characters in movies should be larger than life and what better way to experience it than on a giant screen.

Costly affair

An outing at the movies today costs a couple:

Tickets- Anywhere between Rs. 120 and Rs. 340

Popcorn and Pepsi combo- Anywhere between Rs. 80 and Rs. 120

And if you choose to eat a small meal, it'll cost another Rs. 150

Total cost for a movie for a couple:

With dinner: Rs. 350 to Rs. 500

Without dinner: Rs. 200 to Rs. 460

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