Yes, I am talking about the 70-80 rupees a ticket for movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays that is making lives miserable for so many of us. And I know there could be so many reasons why this is happening, in fact for both - cheap tickets and traumatic experiences. And I have my reasons for saying what I am saying. I recently watched two movies under this particular sway – 'Hasee Toh Phasee' and 'Highway' and couldn't help but…
Hasee Toh Phasee was first nail
Hasee Toh Phasee – movie is a drag at so many places, it has a couple of good supporting actors but wasted all together, story is worth no mention, rest is all bad and led me to one question I could not find answer to - why is the movie called ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’. But I have got used to watching movies with ridiculously no relation between title and story. When the ‘Interval’ sign flashed, I was thrown off my chair wondering its only half way through yet. And I had liked one of the songs from ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ but it came at the end when the only wish was to get out of the theatre, Alas!
Highway made real inroads
About ‘Highway’, I felt like they were trying to impose- it’s our way or the Highway and unfortunately both led to same, their way was ‘Highway’ too. A crappy movie – to put it mildy. I found solace in only one thing, a very selfish one. Towards the end the movie moves to Himachal Pradesh, my home state and goes to places like Kalpa, Reckong Peo and Pooh – places in Kinnaur district, places I have not been to but have heard a lot about their beauty from my family especially dad who has been there and massi who worked there for 3 years. And the beauty was said to be breathless and was captured really amazingly too in the movie. To me that was the only saving grace, only breath of fresh air on the entire ‘Highway’.
Money invested must reap profits for some, even though causing a straight loss for most
I don’t know the exact revenue sharing model – that is a trade secret and I am sure even trade pundits and enforcers would be clueless – but producers of movies, the distributors and finally the cinema hall owners all want returns on their investment (RoI, as it is called) – it’s stupid of me to say the obvious. Anyhow. So you make tickets cheaper and people think they will save money by paying 70-80 rupees for a ticket which would otherwise cost 150, 250 or maybe more. Even parking in a mall costs less if you watch movies on weekdays.
Overall you are saving money, makes sense you think, but do you really? Forget about trauma (we even lie to ourselves to say we like the movie even when we don’t -ask the psychologists and they will tell you about cognitive dissonance and 1$ experiments and lies and stuff), it doesn't even make financial sense. Even a satisfier like me thinks its waste of money, for an optimizer it should be more obvious. Spending a single penny on a movie you won’t watch in the first place is a loss, irreparable even.
Moreover, what I find traumatic is - in addition to money spent irrespective of the amount; drive on the crazy roads of Gurgaon to and from the cinema hall, spend money on parking too, wait for elevator after movie finishes - this is the worst, my head is screwed after watching the movie and then everyone is pushing everyone else to get into the elevator –is this the usual behaviour by everyone or everyone is pissed at the movie that each has been tricked into watching, and then have dinner at odd hours and finally go to bed with severe headache and fear of nightmares triggered by the bad movie.
This is a sad, really sad story, worth a movie maybe that people would pay to watch on weekends.
It will be back, still
And it doesn't end. I mean the trauma will return. New movies releasing this weekend, some next and many later. Cheap tickets on weekdays is the perfect marketing ploy and good source of revenue ensuring profits where could have been none. And a whole lot of us will go back and watch these movies on weekdays on cheap tickets for various reasons of our own – some simply because tickets are cheap, some because they have hope that movie could be good and some like me because they are married. Anyhow.
Hasee Toh Phasee was first nail
Hasee Toh Phasee – movie is a drag at so many places, it has a couple of good supporting actors but wasted all together, story is worth no mention, rest is all bad and led me to one question I could not find answer to - why is the movie called ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’. But I have got used to watching movies with ridiculously no relation between title and story. When the ‘Interval’ sign flashed, I was thrown off my chair wondering its only half way through yet. And I had liked one of the songs from ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ but it came at the end when the only wish was to get out of the theatre, Alas!
Highway made real inroads
About ‘Highway’, I felt like they were trying to impose- it’s our way or the Highway and unfortunately both led to same, their way was ‘Highway’ too. A crappy movie – to put it mildy. I found solace in only one thing, a very selfish one. Towards the end the movie moves to Himachal Pradesh, my home state and goes to places like Kalpa, Reckong Peo and Pooh – places in Kinnaur district, places I have not been to but have heard a lot about their beauty from my family especially dad who has been there and massi who worked there for 3 years. And the beauty was said to be breathless and was captured really amazingly too in the movie. To me that was the only saving grace, only breath of fresh air on the entire ‘Highway’.
Money invested must reap profits for some, even though causing a straight loss for most
I don’t know the exact revenue sharing model – that is a trade secret and I am sure even trade pundits and enforcers would be clueless – but producers of movies, the distributors and finally the cinema hall owners all want returns on their investment (RoI, as it is called) – it’s stupid of me to say the obvious. Anyhow. So you make tickets cheaper and people think they will save money by paying 70-80 rupees for a ticket which would otherwise cost 150, 250 or maybe more. Even parking in a mall costs less if you watch movies on weekdays.
Overall you are saving money, makes sense you think, but do you really? Forget about trauma (we even lie to ourselves to say we like the movie even when we don’t -ask the psychologists and they will tell you about cognitive dissonance and 1$ experiments and lies and stuff), it doesn't even make financial sense. Even a satisfier like me thinks its waste of money, for an optimizer it should be more obvious. Spending a single penny on a movie you won’t watch in the first place is a loss, irreparable even.
Moreover, what I find traumatic is - in addition to money spent irrespective of the amount; drive on the crazy roads of Gurgaon to and from the cinema hall, spend money on parking too, wait for elevator after movie finishes - this is the worst, my head is screwed after watching the movie and then everyone is pushing everyone else to get into the elevator –is this the usual behaviour by everyone or everyone is pissed at the movie that each has been tricked into watching, and then have dinner at odd hours and finally go to bed with severe headache and fear of nightmares triggered by the bad movie.
This is a sad, really sad story, worth a movie maybe that people would pay to watch on weekends.
It will be back, still
And it doesn't end. I mean the trauma will return. New movies releasing this weekend, some next and many later. Cheap tickets on weekdays is the perfect marketing ploy and good source of revenue ensuring profits where could have been none. And a whole lot of us will go back and watch these movies on weekdays on cheap tickets for various reasons of our own – some simply because tickets are cheap, some because they have hope that movie could be good and some like me because they are married. Anyhow.
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