Joy of celebrating movies...

I was an year old when my mother started taking me to an open-air theater in our army cantonment to watch movies. I obviously don't remember most of the movies during those times but she would later tell me that unlike most kids I would not cry and be trans-fixed to the big screen. I believe my love for movies started during those chilly nights. Later when I grew up, we would goto movies every Saturday and my job would be to run to the ticket counter to get the tickets.

The first movie I remember watching was Superman. For a month after watching that movie, I would jump from our couches with a cape trying to save the imaginary world. One of my most memorable movie moment was when we were watching some Amitabh Bachchan's movie in an open-air theater and it started raining. The movie was about to end but everyone was so engrossed in the movie that we all held our chairs over our heads till the movie ended. There were some other funny moments during those open-air era. The screen during those times were put against an Army vehicle and there were times when the wind would blow off the screen and we would end up watching part of the movie on the Army vehicle.

Movies became a staple diet after those early days, although the cinema halls and later the multiplexes took out the romantic charm of watching movies like the old days.

So today when we watched an excellent movie Slumdog Millionaire in a 50's style single theater, Garneau theater, it transported me back to good ol' days of watching movies.

There was a certain charm at first waiting for the tickets in a chilly evening, then waiting for the curtains to open and ending the movie with a round of applause. The movie itself was worth all the applause but it was the warm ambiance of the theater that transported me back to the days when movies were celebrated.