No trip to India would be complete without a night at a Bollywood movie. The Indian film industry is the biggest in the world and is based in Mumbai.
We were in Jaipur, Rajhastan, which is practically the other side of the country. So a Mumbai visit was impossible. But Jaipur has a very famous cinema. It’s called the Raj Mandir and is ranked in the world’s top ten movie theatres. Many Bollywood spectaculars are premiered here. it was a must!
The blockbuster on offer was Baaagi 2 – a sort of hybrid between Indiana Jones, Rambo and Taken. The star was Tiger Shroff. yes that’s his real name and he is a Bollywood heart throb. We were a wee bit unsure about how much of the film we would actually understand but Bollywood has it’s own screen language – a mix of Hindi, Urdu and English – a little something for everyone. Besides the plot was quite simple: Special forces guy is contacted by his ex to find her missing child. Ex dies. Turns out he’s the real father of the child. There’s violence (he kills several hundred people and there’s barely a scratch on him. There’s romance, tears and a couple of dance numbers. What’s not to like?
The Raj Mandir itself is fabulously opulent. It is a single screen cinema more akin to an old theatre than a cinema. The outside is like a giant, pink, tiered, wedding cake. The inside is a huge, ornate auditorium with a massive screen and surround sound. There are 1000 seats arranged from poor to rich. The further away from the screen and the higher up you are, the more expensive the tickets. We were in the fancy seats which included waiter service during the intermission. I’ve never before been served popcorn with a bow!
Bollywood movies are interactive experiences. The audience laugh, gasp, shout, boo and hiss as they become fully involved in the unfolding story. they are family occasions and there are lots of children present irrespective of their age or the film’s rating. A stern warning appears on screen before the film starts: No videoing, No mobile phones, No spitting! This is a serious problem for cinemas if there is a particularly bad baddie! It was a great way to spend an evening and to glimpse the importance of Bollywood escapism for ordinary folk.
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