“The corn did not pop enough!
The puff was hard and tough!
The movie was yet to be seen!
No choice though since it was a single screen!”
Do you know what is a zoopraxiscope?`
read on!
Going out for a movie during the times of single screens were an amazing experience! One of the best experiences I had watching movie was in an Open air theatre in Secunderabad! No! Not Hyderabad! People who are associated with army would immediately know this place which was connected to Hyderabad by the famous bridge!
Of course it had lots of other civilian facilities but for all practical purposes, Secunderabad was army all the way!
One of the places had this uber cool movie theatre which was the main attraction for kids like me! The ticket prices for army kids were low and most of the time we actually paid only for the snacks!
Since it was an open air theatre, my mother used to allow us to go even alone with friends assuming that they would not dare to show any adult movie in the open!
I still remember going for the movie 100 days with a younger friend assuming that it was a nice family drama! Turned out to be a thriller and the scene in which she gets her sister’s skeleton still gives me a shiver!
Initially we used to stay a little close to the theatre so most of the times we used to simply walk to the show! By close those days is within 5-10 km! Now you tell the kids to walk for more than one kilometer and they sigh in disbelief!
The only big issue with the open air theatre was that if there was heavy rain then the movie may not be shown! Light rain still we used to see the movie but of course all used to get wet! The projector room was safe inside so many times a light drizzle would not cause the movie to stop! Sometimes in between the movie, if it started raining heavily the projector would be halted for some time! We then used to chat and play in the rain! Of course during the time if we were with our parents they would take us and leave!
If there was an amazing movie going to be played soon we all only prayed that it does not rain!
If it did rain heavily then it literally meant pouring water on our plans!
So many times we would be ready to go and if it started raining, my careful parents would drop the plan! I would tell them that it is only a light rain and they would still play the movie! Later my friends who braved the rain or went alone would tell me all about the movie adding to my misery! I still remember how we missed to see the movie Parinda starring my favourite Jackie Shroff!
Some of the best and worst movies I have seen in that theatre! Sometimes for a good movie we would be scouts! If the movie is good only then our parents would come for the next day show!
Now since this was an exclusive army theatre, it was not open every day and it did not have any morning shows! Maximum it would be open once or twice a week for a couple of shows while other times the stage would be used for other functions!
Another big issue is that if you sit in the back, you may have a higher viewpoint but the speakers would either make you go temporarily deaf or give you a headache!
Sometimes in the special days we would get to see some good Hollywood movies which my mother would avoid and we would either go alone or with dad!
By the way those chairs were like the chairs of a school with absolute no cushion or cover! They were mostly wooden! Since they were at the mercy of the elements! I can almost hear my kids screaming that the seats are hard and uncomfortable!
Or the popcorn is not hot or having enough butter! Our standard snack was an old packet of potato chips made with questionable oil and if you are lucky then a single samosa which was the tastiest thing in the world! By the way the movie was good too!
Now coming to zoopraxiscope! Well (initially named zoographiscope and zoogyroscope) is an early device for displaying moving images and is considered an important predecessor of the movie projector. It was conceived by photographic pioneer Eadweard Muybridge in 1879 (and built for him by January 1880 to project his famous chronophotographic pictures in motion and thus prove that these were authentic)!
In short it was the precursor to the movie projector! or the great grand daddy of the projector! Another great, this time among musicians was birthday celebrity Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna!
Now he may not have many movie songs but then his songs will definitely bring back those lovely old memories!
Shubh ratri!
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