I can't remember what the time was but it was early evening sometime. It could have been getting dark which tends not to be a long drawn affair. I asked the driver to take me to the Raj Mandir.
The Raj Mandir was then reputed to be the largest and second best cinema in Asia. This had always struck me as being an odd description. It was never accompanied by any hint of where the best cinema in Asia was. Anyway it would seem that things have changed since then. A review I found at AsiaRooms.com says it is now "widely acclaimed as the largest cinema hall in Rajasthan, and one of the best in the country". That's a heck of a fall in status. Cinema construction must have been elevated to a new plane if what was once the largest cinema in Asia was now only the largest in Rajasthan. The standards of interior decoration must have also improved to unheard of opulence if it is now only one of the best cinema's in India. I quote the whole review from AsiaRooms.com below:
"Movie going in India is a popular experience as Mumbai’s Bollywood is the second largest film maker in the world, second only to Hong Kong. In Jaipur there are a very few operational theatres. However Raj Mandir Movie Theatre, Jaipur is widely acclaimed as the largest cinema hall in Rajasthan, and one of the best in the country.
Raj Mandir Movie Theatre, Jaipur is situated on the Mirza Ishmail Road (M. I. Road). The lobby is stunning with chandeliers, pink wall and balcony lighting, reminding you of fantasy palaces. The theater also incense of different blends at occasional points in the film.
The Raj Mandir Movie Theatre in Jaipur opened on 1st June 1976 and the first film to be shown here was Charas. It was designed by architect W.M. Namjoshi in a sleek, modern style with the spirit of the new age.
The exterior of Raj Mandir movie Theatre, Jaipur is adorned with asymmetrical curves and shapes with stars, illuminated by hidden lights at night. The top of the building has the theatre’s name, shouting out proudly ‘The Showplace of the Nation - Experience the Excellence’.
The reception has a number of glittering chandeliers hanging in domes from the ceiling. The auditorium is spectacularly decorated with indirect lighting of changing colors hidden behind the plaster troughs of walls and ceilings. The theatre is also equipped to screen 70 mm films.
The name of this gigantic theatre can be translated as King Temple. Here only one movie is shown at a time and there are 4 showings per day. There are different levels of tickets available topped by the Diamond tickets which allows you to sit in the balcony far above crowds. Besides having your own entrance to the hall, the Diamond ticket allows you to have your own lounge area, bathroom and snacks bar.
Even if you do not understand the language of the film screened, you will be entertained anyway by the emotions involved in the movie and of course the crowd. It will be a wonderful experience for you, tempting you to sing, dance and shout with the crowds".
So that's why I was going there. I wanted to experience a Bollywood blockbuster, the first I would ever have seen, in a cinema that would do it justice and give me everything to make the experience as complete as possible.
The picture below is not mine. It is from Webshots travel. I don't get it, the photos can be shared and embedded and emailed even though they are not yours, and it's OK. So here is smath101's picture of the architectural wonder of the world of cinema.
Having rather built up an expectation for a special experience, when we got there the last showing of whatever was being screened had already started and I decided to put off the going to the Raj Mandir until the following day. My notes are a bit sparse as usual. They just say "Abortive trip to Raj Mandir".
I can only assume I got the rickshaw driver to take me back to the station. By that time I was his property. He had invited me to breakfast the following morning. Why not? I was on my own in the city and if I didn't have anyone to talk to at all it was going to be quite lonely.
The illness of a couple of days previously had taken a lot out of me. Without a note to remind me I can only guess that I retired to my room at the railway station, twiddled the tuning dial on the radio to pick up the World Service, twiddled a little something to promote relaxation and fend off nausea (in case it should come back) and went to sleep.
