Bollywood actor R. Madhavan recently described the modern-day movie-going experience as “traumatic,” highlighting the challenges and frustrations faced by audiences today. From long queues and overcrowded theatres to constant distractions.
R. Madhavan, one of India’s most versatile actors and known for films like 3 Idiots and Tanu Weds Manu, recently shared his candid thoughts on the modern-day movie-going experience. Addressing media at an event, he described going to theatres these days as “trauma” and how one must undergo processes and the frustration of cinema-going in the current era.
R. Madhavan Opens Up About Modern Movie-Going
According to Madhavan, the deal starts way before the movie actually gets screened. “You reach the theatre and then you get hit by the smell of popcorn, which I’m not very sure is fresh most of the time. So these are the challenges my film has to overcome, apart from being good in content.” That is the entire crux, summarizing all the happenings from standing in long queues at ticket counters to struggles experienced over the internet booking. Even after all the apparent technological advances, going to a screen has become patience-testing for viewers, drowning out much of the excitement while viewing in a theatre.
Madhavan elaborated his point saying, “It doesn’t stop there. At one point, it used to be: if the film had begun, it had begun; now you only go out at the interval. But now it’s not like that. Suddenly, you are hit by a flashlight from somebody else’s phone who is using it to read the menu. And then light comes from another place, as somebody has ordered pani puri while watching the film. He has kept the phone on his shoulder, enabled the flashlight, and is eating in the dark. So just imagine, we have to deal with all this while the movie is playing,”.
Crowding, Distractions
Another factor Madhavan pointed out was overcrowding in multiplex and single-screen theatres alike. He explained that full house houses with noisy audience and phones or chatter ruining the experience of watching a film usually distracts a person. “You go to enjoy the film, but you end up dealing with everything else around you,” he says, leaving out the magic around immersive experience of the cinema in the modern setting.
The OTT Impact
According to Madhavan, the upliftment of OTT has redefined the audience approach towards films. He recognized the comfort of being able to watch movies at home, but at the same time strongly stated that OTT could not replace the experience of watching a film in a theatre. Yet, comments he made revealed how the convenience of home viewing often sways audience’s choices over braving the true theater experience.
A Call for Change
The actor has made a wake-up call for the entire film industry and theatre owners. Madhavan emphasized the need for crowd management, hygiene, and proper audience behavior to rebirth the enjoyment of films on the big screen. He remarked that theatres must create conditions in which viewing becomes a story rather than an adventure fraught with tension and untimely interjections.