Indian cinema

The title of this post is really a misnomer, since we have seen no Bollywood movies while we've been here, nor do we have any plans to see one. The reason is simple--we don't understand Hindi. When you get the films in the United States, they're subtitled. Without the luxury of subtitles, we felt that sitting in a movie theater for several hours watching something in a language we don't understand might be a little much.

That being said, we have been to the movies--three times. The first was for Angels and Demons, the second for The Hangover (since Transformers 2 doesn't come out until August in India). The third was for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We decided that since we were going on opening day, we mind as well make the best of it and dress up. Despite the difficulty in acquiring costumes, we managed to throw together something that looked halfway reasonable and succeeded in garnering the stares of virtually everyone we passed walking into the theaters. The four of us dressed up as Hermione, Harry, Cho and Dobby. We were certainly quite a sight!

Watching an American movie in India is a bit of an experience in its own right. There are a couple big differences between watching a movie in America and one in India. When you walk into the theater, your seat is assigned, so there's no need to get to the theater early. When the movie starts, there are no previews to get you ready for the movie, so if you're a few minutes late to the movie, you'll miss the beginning. Before watching Angels and Demons, they played the national anthem before starting the movie. We thought that was a bit odd. Finally, halfway through the movie, they have an intermission. It sounds great in principle, but they usually stop the movie mid-scene, such that you're not really wanting an intermission when they give it to you. Such is the joy of watching a movie in India!

Note: Picture credits to Rachel Jackson.