Any good theatre to watch Dimple?

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">A sunny afternoon, many years ago.<br />Standing in a queue outside the Plaza Theatre.<br />Popcorn, softee and a million questions for daddy.<br />The bell. The parting of the velvet curtain. And Hatari....the image of an angry rhinoceros charging a jeep, indelible in the mind’s eye.<br />Plaza still stands, the last vestige of a bygone era, when theatres doubled as dance halls.Just take a look at the wooden flooring outside the balcony. Tappity-tap-tappity-tap.<br />Alas, there are not enough good theatres left for that weekend matinee or that late night show. Time was when Kempegowda Road and its environs boasted over a hundred theatres, probably the highest concentration of cinema halls in one locality in the world.<br />Those were the days, my friend. Skipping classes to escape into a world like none other.<br />Raj Kapoor framing Dimple Kapadia on the staircase, as chocolate-faced hero Rishi Kapoor stands transfixed. Yeah, his was not the only heart that skipped a couple of beats.<br />Years later, the Bobby girl made a comeback in Sagar. And former pimple-faces, now covered with a stubble, made a beeline to the movie. But the times alas, had changed.<br />The new theatres of the ‘70s, the Nartaki-Santosh-Sapna trio, the BluMoon-Blu Diamond duo had begun to experience the frustrations of ever-galloping entertainment tax and the Centre’s pig-headed policy of preventing Hollywood from rolling out its new movies across Bharat. The days of the NRI plague were upon us.<br />The construction boom of the ‘80s rang the death knell of all those wonderful oldies. KG Road limped along with hardly a dozen theatres, most of them in bad shape. BRV, Opera, Imperial had already received marching orders. VCD and satellite television irretrievably changed viewing patterns. All seemed lost.<br />But Hollywood, Bollywoood, Tollywood... kept churning out the movies and one had to watch some of them on the big screen. Never mind the roaches, the rats, the uncomfortable seats, the poor lighting.<br />Dolby Stereo, a few young Turks taking over the family business and some theatres got a facelift. Lido, Urvashi, Rex, Symphony.<br />These days, there is just one theatre that can aspire for world class status - Symphony. Thanks to Camy and his nephew Anil Kapur.<br />The rest of the theatres better wake up.<br />The good news is that Bangalore’s first multiplex is expected to be constructed and running in Koramangala some time next year. Plans are also afoot for a muliplex where Rex stands. Galaxy has bid adieu. As one looks forward to watching Dimple in Leela, the mind does a fast forward across three decades at the movies and writing about them during the past two. Cinema is such wonderful entertainment. There in that dark auditorium, one can escape from the vicissitudes of life.<br />Alas, there are not enough quality cinema halls to do that. <br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">allenmendonca1@indiatimes.com</span> </div> </div>