Hours before I leave to watch a
movie, an army of expectations keeps parading between my thoughts. I won’t
label it paranoia. But I would agree upon the word - ‘excitement’. Punctuated
by restlessness and driven by the haste to be at the movie theater, marking my
attendance from the first frame till the last; about everything in general,
keeps me at the peak of my curiosity.
I've time and again tried to decode
this premonition and failed repeatedly. In between, having watched a movie and
while gearing up for the next, I've tried to practice mediation, to calm myself
down. The habit seems to show no positive signs of ceasing easily.
I think, I slip too deep in the skin
of an avid movie watcher’s real character. This edginess is deep rooted in the
frequency with which, I continue watching the movie trailers. Before deciding
to watch the movie, I get into a questioning mode – Will they delete a certain
scene? Will the movie get banned? Will some activists stall the movie
screening? Will the promo song play in the beginning or is set to act as
climax? Will there be a cameo by a secret actor? Will it prove the critics
wrong? Will it leave me feeling fully entertained and sufficiently satisfied?
In this modern era, movies are just
not limited to single screen theatres, multiplexes or video parlors. They have started
intruding the comforts of our palms and grown instantly watchable at our thumb’s
touch. The advent of iPad, tablets, phablets and other gadgets has a dual
impact on hyperactive people like me. Take for instance, I come across a recently
released movie, which is watched either by a colleague in the office or by a
fellow traveler in the train. An imaginary bulb of analytical nature starts flickering
in my mind. I start concentrating on a particular scene, thinking, is this the
beginning of the movie, is this the scene on the other side of interval or is
this the end? Just then, the original watcher, the owner of the motion picture
(definitely a pirated version) decides to act like a ring master. He sharpens
his index finger, places it on the screen and moves it vigorously (forward,
backward). The entire movie either gets rewound or is pushed many scenes ahead;
leaving me (the secret watcher) harrowed. Once again all hopes are pinned on
the next day, next show or last day, last show. And thus, once again, I grow
restless.
This composition of exhilaration
is not just limited to the upcoming experience of planning to watch the movie,
but it also extends to the time I shall spend to arrive at the movie screening.
Almost on all occasions, to avoid getting stuck in a traffic jam or to escape standing
last in a queue to procure my tickets booed online, I have found myself
reaching almost 60 minutes in advance of the actual screening time. When I am
alone, I am not bothered. But when accompanied by my calm mannered spouse, equally
calm mother and other family members, I am the most preferred subject to be
regarded as an irritant. For what I declare as punctuality, I am conferred the
title of being ‘a little too much’ of a manipulator.
I am planning to watch another
movie this evening, once again at a multiplex nearby. This movie that has been
earning rave reviews ever since it released has been playing itself within the
confines of my mind. Since it is a dark thriller, drenched thick in the hues of
revenge; how can I control myself? And yet I find myself in control. I think my
real test would be during the final hours of departure from my workplace and
the actual time of arrival at the multiplex. It is then, I shall get to know,
if the army decides to parade again! Till then, it is only the trailer, the
reviews of critics and the promo song playing back-to-back, like blockbuster
hits in my imaginary trails of the storyline. As insane as I should be getting,
I guess!
-vociferous
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