MoM – MOVIE-oh-MULTIPLEX (26-Sept-2020)

In a corporate world most have known MoM as Minutes-Of the-Meeting, whereas my in-laws debut experience to watch one of their favourite kannada movie at the multiplex theatre was not in any way inferior since it entails a narration in its minutest detail!

Narration here is 8-10 years old during the early days of Online booking on PVR’s website to watch a favourite movie at a nearby Multiplex.  My better-half and I were committed to offer our in-laws the entire nine-yard knowledge – the stereophonic acoustics, an out-of-the-world experience with most comfortable seats, and a sense of satiated feel with a tub-popcorn and a large-drink.  This is quite an indulgence marked with an ensemble of a meal at our favorite restaurant, followed by the movie magic, topped with a cone ice-cream during our drive back home.

Our in-laws visited us often and the plan was for them to have a movie experience at the Forum Mall in Koramangala in Bangalore.  The lead up to the event was picture perfect, though not the actual event.  We booked tickets online and printed them.  It was a perfect start with a nice lunch at an exclusive restaurant at the Mall where the staff wore a traditional attire and a pagadi (turban) as they served a mountain of a menu via mouth-watering dishes, with no respite.  All the while we highlighted to our in-laws the subtleties in comparison with an older stand-alone theatre.  Our in-laws expressed they couldn’t have waited any longer for their very first movie experience.

Food that we had devoured had to be digested with a stroll around the mall, a given in that setting.  We skimmed through a not-so-long multiplex line after a close inspection of the print-out, and security cleared us into the designated area after a thorough frisking activity.  The theatre doors opened and due to the initial rush, we held back our in-laws for the ramp to clear out.  Once we stepped into the dark area with a typical search for our designated seats, we were astonished to see that our assigned seats were taken.

Screen lit up with commercials, so did our heated arguments.  The manager stepped-in to triage the situation and was equally appalled to notice that the same exact seat numbers were assigned to the other party too.  I became restless and unleashed a blitz of caustic remarks to highlight their mismanagement.  We reached an impasse and I put forth an argument that they should setup make-shift chairs in the front to accommodate the other party, mind you the other!

The manager scrutinized our print-out to notice Forum Mall – Whitefield printed at the top of the page.  We argued it was a security breach even to have let us in, only to mask our blunder and prove an emphatic moral victory!  We fumed out of the multiplex and any ice-cream thoughts evaporated since it would have melted away in our rage.  We ruled out the possibility of a drive cross-town since it was a good 2.5-hour in rush-hour traffic!  My in-laws were but muted spectators of what unfolded in front of their eyes.  They carried their bewilderment through the drive back home and into the bed with not even an iota of the day’s proceedings, while we cursed ourselves for the wrong pick of the multiplex location from the morning online transaction.

My in-laws could not comprehend the faux pas nor did we have the patience to explain to them an experience gone kaput.  Oh, that was indeed an experience for our in-laws - a surreal experience at the Multiplex, in their dreams?!