Cinema Sundays with My Parents

I watched so many (probably hundreds?) movies with my parents as a child and a teenager. We mostly saw them in theaters; in fact, there was no other option. The first set I remember is Premaloka and Ranadheera, directed by Ravichandran. Both were remakes, but it didn’t matter.

Premaloka was released in 1987 and was a major hit. I remember watching it in the theater with my parents. Motorcycle, songs, and Juhi Chawla are all I remember, nothing else.

I watched Ranadheera in 1988/89 in theatres at Majestic (Kalpana Theater?) as a 9-year-old boy. It was not a children’s film per se, although in the movie (Yes, the movie starts and ends with the director’s cameo), director Ravichandran narrates a love story to schoolchildren. It remained one of my favorite films for two reasons: the songs and the climax, which ended in a song with a magical twist.

There used to be days for going to the movies and eating out. I have fond memories of going out with my parents on Sundays—traveling 35 km in a BTS (Bangalore Transport Service, before BMTC) bus to Majestic. We’d watch a movie, eat masala dose, then catch another first-show film, eat again, and return late on the last bus. The BTS driver often waited for us at Majestic (Now Kempegowda Bus Station) if we were running late—he knew us, and it was the last service of the day. Those late evening bus rides used to be so much fun.

I remembered all that today while listening to my old playlist, which had a bunch of songs from those two movies—still my favorites. In addition to the quality of the songs, I think they’ve stayed favorites because they’re tied to so many good memories.