Intermission

Let’s catch up

Twenty-four-year-old Himanshu Shekhar invariably ended up at the entrance of a multiplex every weekend. But the day multiplexes went off films Shekhar found himself sitting at his couch and dialing numbers of his old time buddies. “After college we hardly met. Every one got busy. Girlfriends work,new colleagues business contacts and friends eventually make you cut off from your old friends. Since there was no valid excuse to keep me occupied on a weekend that is what I ended up doing,” says Shekhar. So when Shekhar and his four old time buddies had a get together it was more than just a déjà vu. “We had a blast. Old ways,old pranks – I felt so very young,like a college goer again,” Shravani Bade,Shekhar’s friend.

The manager at a popular city joint Chandran Nair can observe the sudden upsurge of groups of people thronging the restaurant. “ After two days of the strike we noticed people coming to the restaurant and it is the same with other small time restaurants in Camp also,” says he

Hobbies on a high

While the registrations for workshops hit a high,the sale of the books too don’t lag behind. Many go back to their hobbies,which remained obscured due to the habitual necessity to watch a film every weekend. “The latest flick had always been the thing that used to drive me to the multiplexes. Now since that is no more there I am investing heavily on my first love – reading. Weekends now are time to finish a good read,says Pavitra Gadkar,a tudent.

Meanwhile the makeshift bookstalls at the sidewalks of Laxmi Road have been making good money. “People come to us looking for latest books. We are surprised to see so many customers,” says Shyam Dandekar,one of the shop owners. On a high too are the registrations for various workshops while salsa and guitar remains a favourite amongst hobby classes,painting creative writing and personal grooming top the chart of workshops.

DVDs in demand

And all those who still could not part with their love for watching films what remains of importance is the DVD – their only link to the film world. Though not latest but the old ones keep them occupied and so do the movie channels on TV that never got their due attention earlier. CDtron,a CD shop in Model Colony has been renting out DVSs to customers flocking the shop since the strike hit the city. “Sometimes we run out of the desired numbers. This has never happened before,” says Mohd Ali,owner of CDtron. “Surfing channels has become a hobby now and it’s good because now we get to catch up with a lot of classics being shown on such movie channels as HBO,Star Movies and Zee English,” says Sanand Mitra,an entrepreneur.