I hadn’t been to a movie in India yet, so I decided to do that today. I had wanted to see “Slumdog Millionaire” (in English) at INOX in Garuda Mall this afternoon, but got there only half an hour before the show, and it was sold out. Instead, I had a pint of Kingfisher in the Bull and Bush Pub, where it seemed to be Led Zeppelin day, and watched some more of the Australia vs South Africa cricket test match (I watched part of the first day at Pub World yesterday), then went for a walk through Commercial Street, which is actually an area of narrow streets jammed with people and vendors selling everythig from garlic to televisions.
It was a very hot day, 35 C, so I was glad to get home to cool down and dry off again. My backup plan was to go to Sigma Mall this evening, about a 15-minute walk from my hotel, to see “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. As usual, the theatre is on the top floor of the mall, but when I got there, I found out the box office is in the basement, in the parkade. The elevator had a uniformed attendant to push the buttons. Unlike Slumdog, there were lots of tickets left for Benjamin Button. Seats are assigned, with different prices for different seats. I had a choice of Gold or Silver, so I took Gold for Rs 200 (about $5), and had a perfect seat in centre of the theatre. Back upstairs, I had to pass through a metal detector and a pat-down before entering the lobby. A popcorn (I’ve been suffering popcorn-withdrawal since coming here) and Pepsi combo was Rs 110.
The theatre was great, comfortable seats and powerful air-conditioning, very welcome after a hot day walking around Bangalore. It wasn’t very crowded, maybe half full. Just like in Canadian theatres, the film was preceded by a large number of commercials, but most were in Hindi (something you don’t hear much here), some with some English, and all had the obligatory intro photo of the censor’s certificate (that applied to Benjamin Button as well). Just before the movie started, we all stood for the national anthem, with clips of the Indian army on Siachen Glacier. As I expected from all the Bollywood movies I’ve watched, there was an intermission half way through the movie; not really necessary for a “short” film like Benjamin Button, but still a welcome opportunity to get another popcorn fix. My movie review? Great makeup, boring execution.