‘What is this movie really about?’ 😄

This memorable incident happened quite a few years ago and it gave us such real indelible heartprints, to be etched and latched onto our hearts, for, I guess, forever!

One fine Saturday, around seven of us - friends and colleagues - decided to rev up the ensuing weekend, by hitting the multiplex Mayajaal that adorns the pleasant scenic highway, to indulge ourselves on an unwindy-weekendy getaway of sorts – that came with the added bonus of a movie’s delight, - a movie that was supposed to cap up our weekend sojourn!

It was a bit of an impish oversight on our part that we had blissfully ‘forgotten’ to tell an ‘unsuspecting duo’ amongst our lot, that it was a scary movie at that!

Dr. SSJ, the seniormost of us all, was, in his inimitable style, arrayed in the finest of his attire, as were all of us, his juniors, and with rollicky fun all along the way, we soon landed at our desired destination, where we were given a rousing reception by Prof Luke who had outwitted us on the revving by a huge pace, with such royal throttle on his Royal Enfield, and hence was already there, quietly waiting for the rest of us, much ahead of time!

After some wonderful refreshments that came our way with a cuppa coffee to top ‘em all, we all made a beeline to our respective seats at this particular screen, where we soon became quite busy amongst ourselves, discussing the pros and cons on the ‘about-to-be-screened-movie’.

The unsuspecting duo who had been ‘erroneously’ kept in the dark about the movie’s genre were Dr. SSJ and Prof. Lukey boyyy!

The lights all around us were soon turned off, and we quite soon adjusted ourselves onto our seats, lounging at times, for that added comfort, until at long last, the silver screen saw some sheen and shine with some dashing display of advertisements.

Very soon, the long awaited movie was projected onto the screen, when one of the two, (who were kept in the dark on the movie) quietly sneaks by my side and asks, 

‘What is this movie really about?’

I, for once, not wanting to get the suspense lost this soon on this pavapetta unsuspecting buddy, just tell him, reassuring him that it would be an amazing and a memorable movie!

After having his anxiety assuaged a wee bit, he went back into his 'lounge-mode' to relish and to enjoy the sumptuous treat of the movie on offer right there in front of him, on a platter!

Some fifteen minutes into the movie, and there comes up the first in a huge succession of horror scenes that zoomed past the silver screen and right into the eyes and the hearts of the unsuspecting duo! 😄

This literally shoulda sent a shiver down the spine of one of our folks, who, from thence on, started nudging me, with all his might, to part with the genre of the movie, yet again!

One of us was about to tell him on the genre, when just then, as destiny woulda firmly and steadily contrived it, an impish colleague prances forward and interrupts the ‘spillbeans’ with such a genial smile and a cordial grin on his face that was meant to cheer up the latter's sinking spirits! 

He now gently assuages the lubby-tubby heart of our unsuspecting duo, assuring him that the movie was one of the finest to come by in recent times, and that it would be such a joyous treat to watch!

But unfortunately, again, as his quota of bad luck would have it, even before he could finish with his ‘comforting words,’ yet another scary shot sashayed itself straight from the screen and swainggg into the kutty little heart of this unsuspecting pavapetta friend of ours!

Our 'unsuspecting friend,' by now, had started getting the suspicions – one by one!

And this time, our ‘unsuspecting friend’ seemed very highly impervious to any kinda persuasion! He had resolved to himself to make a way out of this scary mess, albeit with some reasonable excuse at that, not willing to be seen as a chicken-hearted, or in the words of Wodehouse, a lily-livered guy!

So he now chanced upon a wonderful idea!

Taking out his mobile phone - from off his slashed trouser pocket, and feigning an urgent call, to the utter surprise of us all, he quietly and subtly, with such grace and eloquence, makes his way out of the scary-screen-hall, nay theatre hall!

Now, it was the turn of Lukey boyyy, the second in line amongst the unsuspecting duo, to take out his mobile phone and keep it with such firm grit and rigid proximity to his ears, and with a feigned seriousness to top it all up, he ambles up the aisle and is soon lost out of sight to us all!

Now the rest of us were just staring into each other, at the ‘metatheatre’ that was being enacted by our own folks, right in front of us!

Then we decided that, we should forget for some little time, on the duo, and focus instead on the movie at hand, in the interest of the movie and its amazing director!

But that was not ‘all’s well that ends well!’

Very soon, yet another friend pops up quietly from off his seat, and again, like his ‘predecessors,’ pranking a call, a ‘serious’ call at that, he too is soon lost out of sight, to the movie within!

There were intermittent shrieks of maddening laughter throughout the entire course of the scary movie! 

Shrieks that whizzed past the theatre hall, shrieks that were meant to elegantly and skillfully hide the fear-factor that was menacingly glaring at them all, and manifested itself as ‘laughter of the wildest proportions’!

Now, it was, I should confess, my turn to make my way quietly out, as, the movie was really getting quite scarier by the scenes, at least to my perception!

The porch and the lobby to the outside of this screen now looked a mini Forest of Arden at that!

Four of us on the outside, and three on the inside!

It was intermission time now, and the three from within, came proud and haughty, with an unassuming air high on their ‘unfettered’ spirits, and looked down on us, their ‘lily-livered’ folks!

We gracefully accepted to our ‘defeat’ and asked the trio to continue watching the movie till the very end, to their heart’s utmost satisfaction, while we indulged ourselves on some good food in the meantime!

The final bell that happened soon after, signaled the end of the movie, and the ‘triumphant trio’ came out and joined us all with such sense of achievement radiating on their proud faces!

We appreciated them profusely on braving all the odds and for having sustained themselves till the last shot of the last scene, for the entire duration of the movie!

The ‘triumphant trio’ accepted our figurative garlands with gusto, and late into the evening, when we all packed our way back to our cars, I, for once, was really hyper-curious about one particular buddy from among the ‘triumphant trio’ who had managed to stay back all through the entire length of the screening of the scary movie!

Therefore, once we all got into our respective cars, I opened up on the question that was troubling me all along!

‘Buddy, how did you even manage to sit through the entire duration of this scary movie?’ I ask him, with such intense curiosity writ large on my face.

With an impish grin on his face, he says, 

‘Simple sir! ‘I just shut my eyes as tight as could be, whenever there’s a scary scene popping out from the screen! As simple as that!’

An uproarious laughter-riot followed his reply, the rest of us being real-wonder-amazed at his amazing ‘gallantry skills,’ and for showing such ‘exemplary fortitude’ and ‘mettle’, by not seeking to 'wriggle out' of the situation, but putting on a brave face even in such a situation as this, his precarious predicament!

He really had us all there! 😄

image: fandangodotcom