Falling in Love With Cinema

Movies Were Not Entertainment

I was not into movies. Movies were not even entertaining for me. I was happy with Pokémon and shows like Balika Vadhu that I was forced to watch at night (I low-key liked them). But on weekends, something used to change. My father would watch movies the whole morning before going to work, and I watched some along the way. I didn’t even notice what I was watching. I reluctantly watched and waited for my father to go so that I could switch to cartoons.

I didn’t even realize it, but I ended up watching some of the best comedy movies like Welcome, De Dana Dan, No Entry, All The Best, Dhamaal, Munna Bhai MBBS and whatnot. They were good but still not enough for me to switch to movies. But one experience changed everything.

I Went to the Theatre

One day my father took us to watch Kaminey. He didn’t want us to, but that was the only movie running in the theatre then. I don’t even remember the movie, but I remember sitting in the theatre and enjoying that experience. After that day, whenever I saw a trailer for a movie, I would ask my father to take me.

He would take me to watch movies in a local theatre that was in some village, as that was what he could afford. I watched movies like 3 Idiots, Dabangg, Yamla Pagla Deewana, and Mere Dad Ki Maruti there. It was a great experience along with a treat of Chole Bhature from the local vendor nearby.

I am Hooked

After all this, I got to know that I could get a cheap copy of four movies on a CD for 50 Rupees. I didn’t have money, but I had a computer, unlike my friends. So, I used to borrow their CDs and copy the movies for myself. I watched almost all the new movies of that time like this. I remember - SOTY, Khiladi 786, and Dabangg 2. They were not good movies, but I liked them. I remember I liked Salman Khan after Dabangg, and then I switched to Aamir Khan after 3 Idiots.

I also started watching whatever was on TV. I remember watching stupid classics like Nayak, Suryavansham, Baghban, and of course Vivah. My mom was obsessed with Hum Saath Saath Hain and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. I rolled my eyes every time I watched those (at least 10 times). I didn't even know they were two different movies.

Lost Touch

After a while, I lost touch. I used to watch movies, but only the ones with Aamir Khan. I outgrew stupid action movies. It was necessary when you are getting movies like Heropanti and Baaghi. I also got obsessed with watching cricket and spent a lot of time there. But cinema had its way of coming back to me.

Star Gold to Star Movies

I think my relative suggested I watch English movies to improve my English. I listened and discovered the level of explicit scenes in the movies. It’s like the day in your teenage years when you discover “Fashion TV”. I was hooked for the wrong reasons, but as I watched, I didn’t stop watching English movies without the explicit scenes as well.

One day while going through different channels, I saw Harry Potter on an English movie channel. I could vaguely remember it from “POGO” where it used to be in Hindi. I started watching that. Yes, I have not watched Harry Potter for the first time in order. But I liked it because it was something new. But I was still not hooked enough to obsess over it.

Do You Believe in God?

I have always struggled with that question. I used to struggle back then as well. Then one day I was watching Star Movies, and I saw Irfan Khan. He was going to answer the question - “Do you believe in God?” I watched the whole movie, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that - “What the hell did I just watch? This is what cinema can be.” I couldn’t put that into words, but it was just something so outlandish for me that I couldn't handle it. It was the movie that made me obsess for better cinema - Life Of Pi.

The obsession started. I watched all the famous English movies I could - Inception, The Dark Knight, Interstellar, Twilight, Harry Potter, and Marvel. I was blown away, and I thought Hollywood was superior and I would never go back to watching Bollywood again.

Now, how I went back to Bollywood is a different story for a different newsletter, but my obsession with movies never stopped after watching Life of Pi. I am always on the lookout to watch better movies. And the only thing I do on a weekend for fun is watch a movie. That’s where my world lies. So, I thought, why not share my love for cinema with you all?

So, this is what this newsletter is going to be. Just an honest attempt to share my love for cinema. And if you like it, please share it with your other cinephile friends. It will mean a lot to me.

Also, share your stories of how you fell in love with cinema.

Thanks for reading and cut!