Chapter 27: chapter 27

23It was the time when V.C.D.S were not available in the market. To see Tamil films the Tamils living in the twin cities had to sit in meditation! The Tamil films were screened in Tivoli theatre on Sunday mornings. There would be only one show. To qualify for screening, the Tamil films should have been released at least four or five years ago.On Sundays, the Tamils living in the twin cities would browse through the pages of Deccan Chronicle in a hurry. Either on page eight or nine, amidst the densely packed advertisements and among the advertisements that were laid out in small boxes, the news about the screening of a Tamil film could be seen. The advertisement with the title of the film and the screening time were engraved in a block and printed with letters written unevenly. Sometimes, the title would be printed in English with its Tamil name written in parentheses.Whatever be the quality, whatever be the year of release, Tamils would gather in large numbers for Sunday morning shows in the Tivoli theatre to see the Tamil films. Films of other Indian languages like Malayalam, Gujarati and Kannada were screened in different parts of the city. They were screened in the theatres that were in the busy areas of the city; there were more number of shows too, apart from the morning shows. The Tamil films were not that lucky.If one walked a few steps past the Secunderabad Parade Grounds, one could reach Tivoli theatre. It was fascinating always to walk across the area that was full of trees. The road was a bit muddy. Tivoli looked like an old building. The theatre was surrounded by green bushes and plants. Going to the theatre was like going on a picnic to relax oneself.It was an opportunity for the Tamils, especially for the youngsters, to meet their friends. They would assemble in small groups and talk with each other either before the screening or during the interval or after the film was over. The focus would not be on the film. Instead, it would be about the last visit to Tamil Nadu, its political climate, and the enquiries on the health of the near and dear ones. There would also be a small number of soldiers in Tivoli who were residing in the Cantonment. There would not be many such people as Tamil films were screened in the Cantonment camp itself.Tivoli gave ample opportunities for lovers too to meet and talk. One could easily spot the lovers and the newly married couples. They would talk with much enthusiasm as though seeing the Tamil films was a blessing to wash their curses off!One day I saw in Deccan Chronicle, the advertisement for the epoch- making Tamil film, Pathinaru Vayathinilae. I went to Tivoli theatre and saw the crowd dispersing. I thought that the trunk box containing the film rolls had not arrived yet. But then I saw at the entrance of the theatre the poster of an English film. As the Tamil film Pathninaru Vayathinilae could not be screened that day, the English film that was scheduled for other shows was going on.One of Bharathi Raja’s brothers, the famous director of that film had come to Secunderabad that day. He was the film’s distributor for states outside Tamil Nadu. Usually, for the Tamil films screened in Secunderabad, somebody would come with the trunk containing the film rolls and then take them back as soon as the screening was over. The film Pathinaru Vayathinilae had come without the knowledge of the distributor. The theatre owner was threatened with police action. Hence the screening was cancelled.The crowd was almost gone. There was a small crowd for the English film. When theatres in Secunderabad like Sangeetha and Lamba screened new English films, only very old English films were screened in Tivoli. That was also a theatre that screened third rate Malayalam films.The crowd was very thin. The women and the couples who had bought the tickets thinking that the Tamil film would be screened were sitting on thorns, it seemed! I was in the middle of a row; a man aged about thirty was sitting at one end. At other end there was a young woman with a child.I had sat amidst such a crowd in Liberty theatre also. As the film societies were not interested in screening quality Indian films, it had become one of my duties on Sundays, to search for the news about the screening of films in the Sunday edition of Deccan chronicle. Films by Ray and Mrinal Sen were screened. For such films the crowd was quite small. One of the reasons was lack of advertisement.The young man and the woman exchanged looks frequently. The child was crawling between them. It sat on the laps of both of them alternatively. Both enjoyed cooing the child. Who were they? What had happened between them? Were they disappointed when they realised that Pathinaru Vayathinilae was not going to be screened? Had that disappointment divided them? Or both their families knew each other already? Such questions occupied me... After the show began, the theatre went dark and in the thin darkness the child was toddling between them. The activity of the child prevented me from enjoying the film. That was a cow-boy film. There was not much to lose. it was some consolation of course! I was looking at the screen passively.During the interval, I could not see the child- it was missing. Then I saw that It was sleeping in a chair. I smiled at the young man who came out to take a cup of tea. He himself started speaking. He talked as though it would be better for him to find someone to pour out his feelings. Theirs was a love marriage. Their love grew during the screening of the Tamil films in Tivoli. The morning shows had helped them a lot. After the marriage they were living separately for more than one year due to some problems. Then one day when he came to a morning show here, she also came accidentally. The buds of love blossomed again and they were meeting in Tivoli every week. That’s why he had come that week also. They did not talk much. Just to see his child, he came to the theatre every week without fail. He told me that their problem could be solved easily.When I came out after the show was over, I looked at them. She compelled the child to say ta-ta to him by waving its hands. He also smiled and waved his hands. But their faces were filled with sorrow. As she walked on a muddy road, he walked towards the cantonment bus stop.After some months, when I went to the theatre to see a Tamil film one Sunday morning. I could not find them.End