A date with Jack

So I asked my father to join me for the film. My father pointedly asked me whether I knew that the film was an 8216;Adults Only8217; one and that one was allowed to see it in a theatre only if one was 18. But that8217;s technical, I protested. That8217;s the law, he said. Next, I asked my mother who asked me what the film was about. When I told her it was about a lunatic asylum she quietly said that she did not want to see sad films.

That8217;s when I approached my grandmother 8212; a gutsy woman who had spent a lot of her spare time reading the romantic novels of Barbara Cartland. When I suggested to her that we go and see the film, and explained the problem to her, she was quite enthusiastic. She immediately told the driver to go and buy two tickets for the next day8217;s show.

The next day we reached the theatre at 6.30 sharp. The idea was to slip in during the rush. I had put on a blazer and oiled my hair and also splashed on some Old Spice because I thought it helped create an older persona. The mirror clearly told a different story.

When my grandmother presented the tickets, the doorman quietly told us to step aside and told my grandmother that it was only for adults. I protested loudly, 8220;But I am an adult. Just turned 18 last month.8221; He instructed us to go and speak to the manager.

So my grandmother and I went into a little office behind the ticket office where the manager was seated. As we walked in, I pulled myself to my full height to make an impression. The manager was a cherubic Parsi gent. He took one look at me and turned to my grandmother and said, 8220;Madam, believe me this is not a film for children8221;. He said it with such sincerity and conviction that it brooked no argument. Disappointed we trooped home.

That was how one didn8217;t quite fly over the cuckoo8217;s nest!