I was watching the television (and yes, I do watch Television a lot) and they were showing the Star Wars saga with all the six episodes slated to be shown. Star Wars has a special memory in my mind primarily because at heart I am a geek and no self respecting geek would not like the saga. Ask Leonard and Sheldon!!!! That and Star Trek on Doordarshan has evocative memories. I remember seeing Star Wars -The New Hope in the late 1970s at Sterling. My dad had taken me to this theatre in South Bombay(it was still Bombay then) for the night show and there was something new fangled called Dolby sound which to my 8-year old mind was as exotic as light sabres. I distinctly remember being awed (ok frightened) by this looming giant with a raspy voice who entered into the Hall of Villains as Darth Vader. We then moved to Panvel which was then a village struggling with an identity crisis of whether it was village aspiring to be a town but pretending to be a city. There were two theatres in Panvel. One was Gyan theatre which specialized in showing movies to be mildly put , qualified as Dirty Pictures. And no National awards for these dirty pictures!!!!
The other movie theatre was called Ratan theatre. It was nestled in a busy bylane of Old Panvel and was a landmark which in today's age sounds like an overkill to qualify as a landmark. But hey, even Bade Miya is a landmark and it just consists of a grill and umpteen wooden stools. Ratan theatre specialized in showing Hindi movies which appealed to the masses. For some unknown reason, the theatre started showing English movies on Sundays. And therein hangs a tale!!!
I used to cycle down to my beloved Barns School and on the way on a wall peppered with graffiti there was this slot for movies to be shown in Ratan theatre. And there I saw this movie poster called The Empire Strikes Back. My mother, obliging as ever and as only mothers can be, gave me 10 Rs for me and my brother to see this movie. And as a measure of luxury, I could buy balcony tickets. So in this theatre (with bedbugs et al) in this place called Panvel, I saw one of the all time classics.
Ratan theatre then hosted me for more classics like Modern Times, The Dirty Dozen and Guns of Navarone. I remember the Grindwell gang cycling to Ratan theatre to watch some movie. And then in the intermission , the mandatory message flashing that cycle thieves breed and multiply in the vicinity of the theatre. And we all rushing to ensure that the beloved cycles are safe and sound.
Then one day, the theatre stopped screening English films and then it just stopped screening films. But for that time it showed the classics, it was in a different time warp. And then I guess , the Force just dissipated!!!
The other movie theatre was called Ratan theatre. It was nestled in a busy bylane of Old Panvel and was a landmark which in today's age sounds like an overkill to qualify as a landmark. But hey, even Bade Miya is a landmark and it just consists of a grill and umpteen wooden stools. Ratan theatre specialized in showing Hindi movies which appealed to the masses. For some unknown reason, the theatre started showing English movies on Sundays. And therein hangs a tale!!!
I used to cycle down to my beloved Barns School and on the way on a wall peppered with graffiti there was this slot for movies to be shown in Ratan theatre. And there I saw this movie poster called The Empire Strikes Back. My mother, obliging as ever and as only mothers can be, gave me 10 Rs for me and my brother to see this movie. And as a measure of luxury, I could buy balcony tickets. So in this theatre (with bedbugs et al) in this place called Panvel, I saw one of the all time classics.
Ratan theatre then hosted me for more classics like Modern Times, The Dirty Dozen and Guns of Navarone. I remember the Grindwell gang cycling to Ratan theatre to watch some movie. And then in the intermission , the mandatory message flashing that cycle thieves breed and multiply in the vicinity of the theatre. And we all rushing to ensure that the beloved cycles are safe and sound.
Then one day, the theatre stopped screening English films and then it just stopped screening films. But for that time it showed the classics, it was in a different time warp. And then I guess , the Force just dissipated!!!
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