Robbery, the five-star way!

Today, I stumbled upon this , and it reminded me of my first (and last) experience with multiplexes. A few months ago, I went for a movie at "Mayajal" multiplex at Chennai with my relatives when I visited Chennai. I used to get 'descriptions' of such 'star' cinemas in Bangalore, where (mostly) IT guys show off their purchasing power. Though I was reluctant to get into such an extravagant experience, I could not say no to my cousin. When we arrived at the gates, I could not even guess about the extortion that is awaiting us inside, as the parking fee is a mandatory one every where in the metro, and we are 'so' used to it. Well, my cousin's husband was not as thrifty as me, he quickly went to the ticket counter and came with tickets for all of us. He said that only front row seats are vacant, and he paid Rs.50 extra and got the tickets (in black). The ticket was Rs. 150 per head, and now it's 200 bucks! How come you can expect the black market in a multiplex? Obviously I was unaware of the "usual" practices.

The Country within the State.

Then the real infuriating thing happened. I had to buy a bottle of carbonated drink (ironically I failed here in keeping my anti-soft drink policy) for one among us, and had to pay Rs.15 for a bottle, MRP of which was only Rs.10!! I could not resist my anger as I asked why is it so. Then the reply came, "this is mayajaal price!".

As I knew well about the theater managements in general, I did not ask further for my 'citizen rights'! In some theaters in my home town Thiruvananthapuram, people get manhandled for such 'endeavors'.

But I asked my self. Is mayajaal is another country within India?

Where Indian constitution is not valid?

Where Indian laws are not valid?

It is well known that if a packed commodity is marked with an M.R.P, one cannot charge more than that. But I understood that day, that the multiplexes are making lot of (black) money from the people.

Shock continued....

We went inside. The seats were more or less empty. Even behind our row. For this only he paid 50 rupees extra in 'black'. Obviously this is another "mayajaal" act.

The most horrifying thing about all this is that people are not responding. They think that asking such thing will degrade their 'status'. After all, watching a junk movie in a multiplex paying away 150/200 rupees is also a 'status' affair.

I pity them. I decided to avoid multiplex. And I did not wonder why more people are doing lesser crimes by watching pirated DVDs at home. First thing, you have to pay more for a possibly junk movie. Second, you dont have to bear the lawlessness in the Special Entertainment Zone.

Yeah, UPA can now think of giving all the multiplexes in the country a special status : The SEZ - Special Entertainment Zone, where Indian constitution is not valid. Another 'brilliant' idea for Kamal Nath to bring "development"!

I started this with a reference to a 'news' item. Though it came in a news channel, I identify it as an 'opinion'. It is another way to make people believe that we cannot live without multiplexes. It is just another way of 'rotten' journalism. I would rather see such reports as attempts to create a market of brainless consumers.

Our mainstream media is doing just that. Best examples in my opinion: Times of India and Malayala Manorama.