A Movie to Remember
I am a big movie buff and have loved watching movies since childhood.
The film screening was in analogue mode, and the film’s length was in ‘reels’. The size of a movie would vary between fifteen to sixteen ‘reels’, and a movie with twenty reels was scarce. A ten-inch ‘reel’ would run at eighteen frames per second for an hour. A film box contains the complete ‘reels’ and travels from the distributor to the exhibitor by bus or train. Before projection, the projection operator loads two to three ‘reels’ on another spool. There would be two projectors for seamless projection.
When I went to a movie, I always looked at the projection room. The operator was like a Superman, similar to a flight pilot. He would be in the projection room from the start to the end. Usually, he had an assistant to take over in case of any personal breaks.
I was delighted when I heard the news that my father got a job in a film distribution company after retiring as a teacher. His role included helping manage distribution logistics and office correspondence. He would make sure that the box got to the exhibitor on time and kept track of the centre’s inventory. Sometimes, the exhibitor would return the package with damaged film. My father’s assistant would check each box and reel for any damages, and the exhibitor had to compensate for any damages. After his inspection, the package would be ready for the next exhibitor.
The exhibitor would pay in two modes: a single amount or a collection basis. In the later model, a representative would supervise and certify the daily ticket sales, and the exhibitor made the payment based on his certification.
Being a small town, my father became popular with the distributors. The majority of them were his students, who had a lot of respect for him. Some of my father’s popularity rubbed on me, and I went around with my head high in the local film circles. The core benefit was I could see movies for free. I would walk away when I was not too fond of the movie. It was like giving up reading an uninteresting book.
I remember the day when I went to see a movie with a famous star. It was the first day and the first show. The ‘house full’ board came up in front of the theatre in minutes, and the gates closed in a few minutes. Several moviegoers had to return as the ticket window closed soon. The reservation system did not exist, and the tickets would be available only before the show. The theatre presented a festive look with colour buntings and decorations outside the theatre. Hero’s cutouts with garlands appeared outside the theatre, and ‘fans’ distributed sweets to all the ticket holders for the first show.
I did not buy a ticket as the theatre manager gave me a seat in the box. The manager was very confident that the movie would be a big hit and that he would make a good gross margin. The story’s theme was the hero’s journey from ‘rags to riches transformation. As in a typical south Indian movie, the screenplay moved along a storyline with a couple of hero’s songs with a famous heroine within the first hour. Clapping and whistling started and reached a crescendo as the hero appeared in a scene for the first time.
The trouble started after an hour. A specific sequence came on the screen again, to the dismay of the spectators. Whistling and shouting began, and the operator stopped the projection. The manager rushed to the projection room to understand the sudden stoppage. The operator struggled to find the reason for the repetition of the duplicate footage. He discovered that two fifth reels were in the pack instead of the sixth reel. The sixth reel was missing. The manager did not know what to do.
In the meantime, mayhem followed as the crowd went berserk in the theatre and threw chappals and other small things that came in hand to the screen. Some angry agitators threw lighted match sticks to set fire to the doors and the windows. With a limited staff, the manager was unable to control the situation. He called the police, who arrived after fifteen minutes, and the damage was complete before their arrival. The police used their sticks to clear the crowd from the theatre. Once outside, angry young men and women started pelting stones at the theatre building. The manager made quick calls to the distributor (my father’s office) on the situation. An identical situation happened in another theatre simultaneously on the same day. My father realised that the duplicity happened in two boxes — reel five and reel six. The exchange occurred in two hours, and the movie was ready to go.
The manager had to return the money to the moviegoers in addition to giving them free tickets to another show. The distributor had to make good losses in the two theatres.
The moral of the story is that anything and everything could go wrong.
