Corey writes:

On Tuesday two things happened: (1) there was a district-wide strike (no work!) and (2) I saw my first Indian movie in a theater. Specifically, I saw Magadheera at the newly reopened Koraput cinema hall. It was a pretty cool experience.

I was just polishing off Mother Brain on my laptop when my friend Prakash called me and asked me to come with him and two friends to see a Telugu film. It started at 5:45, so I should be ready by 5:30. Don't be late. At 5:40 Prakash came to pick me up and we were off. To jail.

Actually we stopped to pick up one of his friends who lives in the police colony, which is right next to the Koraput jail. I hope I never see the inside.

We got to the theater at 5:55 and ran inside. We paid an extra 5 rupees per ticket, so we got to sit in the "First Class" section at the back. The theatre itself was pretty nice. It's been closed for a year and they must have done some renovating. There was no mold smell, which is harder to achieve than it sounds.

The experience of the film was also nice. People were talking and there were noisy fans blowing, but none of that mattered because it was LOUD. The volume was cranked up to that point where the highs and lows break the speakers. But it was good. The plot wasn't too complicated, and it had lots of action. People cheered when the hero did a stunt. The only moments where I really missed things were the jokes. It's a weird experience sitting in theater with everyone laughing and getting the joke but you.

There was an intermission, which I think we should bring back in the US. We went outside and got spicy salty roasted peanuts from the snack shack. We drank water from bags.

When it was all over we went home. I can't wait to go back!