MY CINEMA ODYSSEY - 3RD FEBRUARY 2026

As I was watching yesterday one of my favourite movies of yesteryears – JEENE KI RAAH – my mind went back to the times when movies were in black and white and slowly had to taken to color in the mid 1960s Theatres too were single screen, unlike today’s multiplex halls where simultaneously several movies are shown in one complex. Going to the movies would be a family affair for most families, with around one or two movies per month as the upper limit. We had crazy fans then too and they would be those who would prefer to boast having seen the movie on FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW. First Show however meant the 6 p.m. slot. The movie would be screened four times in a day --- morning show from around 11.00 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.; 2 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. to 12 midnight. I have never bothered to find out why the 6 p.m. show was called as the First Show and the 9.30 to midnight show would be called as the Second Show. But those phrases stayed. Movie goers would see the trailer of the forthcoming movies and a Films Division documentary before the start of the actual movie. Advertisements were there too but not for too long to unnerve the enthusiasm. Almost al seemed to note that the movie was of 16 to 18 reels and that sent them an indication when the interval would be called. Songs of the movies used to be known to all as almost everyone in India back then seem to listen to the good old radio (and later the Transistor). Elderly men would listen to the SAMACHAR on Akashvani and the rest of the family would listen to the movie songs. And the songs would be played on the radio several times during the day and late into the night. Several programs, right from 7 a.m. in the morning to 11.00 p.m. in the night were devoted to playing of songs on listeners’ FARMAISH (requests). The songs would become so popular that the success of most movies would depend equally on the songs just as they would on the actors, plot, story, direction and so on. Most movie goers would select movies of their favourite Directors/Actors and of course, the songs. The songs of 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and upto 1970s from Hindi films are so widely popular that they defy musical parallels in any other part of the world. There would be on an average six songs in every movie in the 1950s and 1960s and each one better than the other. Even as late as in 2026 now, all those songs are still so very popular and many musical programmes are conducted every week throughout the country belting out these very songs. What prompted me to take the pen into my hands once again today was what I remembered about screening of the movies. Theatres were landmarks in that era and all addresses would be made known in relations to the location of the theatres. All roads led to the theatre (cinema hall). Cinema Halls in the main centres of the city would start screening the movie as per the show timings given above, but those theatres which were either on the outskirts of the city or in mofussil areas, would have to wait for the reels to reach them. Reels were transported from one theatre to another and many movie goers would spot the reels reaching their cinema hall and unofficial announcements ensured that almost everyone was on their seats. No one wished to miss a single moment of the cinema experience. No one would dare to be late. Yes, if tickets were sold out, the black marketeers had a hay day. Tickets were priced at Rs. 4/- for the front rows, Rs. 8 for the Middle Rows and Rs. 10/- for the Balconies or Upper Class. Serpentine queues used to be found in almost all the Cinema halls who employed security for crowd control and maintaining the line. There were no Book My Show or Online systems in those days and everyone purchased the tickets at the counter. Advance booking was done for the Middle Rows and Upper Class only and in limited quantity. Going to the cinema with entire family was a regular routine and religiously followed by most of us. All in the family would finish off all chores earlier and get dressed with their best of attire, to look their best. Dialogues would be remembered for several months and years after the movie’s release. If one had not seen a popular movie, that would be cause of belittling and no one wanted that. If not with the families, then friends would give company. No one went to the movies alone, except in very specific situations. Films were made on social themes in mind, or patriotic or devotional. All these themes had their intended impact on the society. An entire generation would dress, walk, talk and copy almost all the mannerisms of their favourite Hero or Heroine. Devanand’s buff style of hair, a Sadhana cut of hair style were the most iconic styles of that era. Much later, Rajesh Khanna changed everything and everyone what with almost an entire generation copying the Rajesh Khanna Kurta, his style of dialogue delivery, hairstyle, winking etc. Not only ordinary people, even several of the film heroes of later years copied Rajesh Khanna’s wink. Cinemas (movies) changed the society - in the thinking of common man. It made the poor forget hunger, the unemployed his loneliness, rich their untold tensions. Simumtaneously, these movies made Super Stars of the Actors (Heros, Heroines, Villains, Comedians, Character artists,). They went on to be called as legends. Lyricists, music directors, Directors, Producers --- each one of them had their own hallmark that lives to this day. Melodrama was so rich that it moved people. Tragedy made people cry, comedy made people involve so much in laughter. Movies made with social themes impacted the society in every which way. Patrotic films were a huge draw and scores of well made patriotic movies of the golden era of films are remembered and even recalled to this day. Most people would know the several gossips going around the names of several famous film stars, as if they were bound to know it. Not satisfied with watching the movies and listening to the songs over and over again, people would throng to buy copies of the film magazines which sold more than any other book on the shelf. Fan Clubs of films stars became the in-thing in the 1960s and the trend continues to this day in the Southern States. In several towns, an entire street would have rows and rows of Cinema Theatres and if one does not get a ticket for one movie, there was nearby choices so that no one went home disappointed. Cinema was an integral part of the generation of people born in the 1940s through 1990s. Today, one can watch cinema (movie) on mobile phones, computers, youtube, and on TV etc, without as much as to leave their homes. Yet, despite the exorbitant pricing of movie tickets, cinema halls generally display Houseful boards even now. I still watch these movies of the Golden period of Hindi films - 1950s through 1970s and relive my past through them. I have tried to capture as much of cinematic experience I have had in to the above paragraphs. I may have missed out on much more. Others can supplement by writing their own experiences.                                        (A.S. MURTY +++ RAFIMURTY, HYDERABAD 3rd Februaryt 2026)