The phone rang one cold winter day. My friend wanted to see a new Hindi movie. This was a movie released before Hritihik and starring my then favorite hero Aamir Khan. I was bored and readily agreed to go with her. We set off at 11 p.m. in the night. You might be wondering why two women set off at such an unearthly hour to watch a movie. Because this was a "late night show" in USA - desi style.

We Indians love movies. Love is an understatement; "obsessed" rings a little truer to the emotion the average Indian feels towards the silver screen. The movie itself, its stars, plots, and songs, the director, the producer, underhand deals, the clothes - everything is analyzed and discussed. Now, how can an Indian not watch a newly released Indian movie even when thousands of miles away? In USA, people of Indian origin like to watch Indian movies in a proper manner, on a real movie screen. This has given rise to the "late night show".

Here, most movie theatres are housed in multiplexes - anywhere from 4 to 15 movie theatres under one roof. These theatres are not huge. Each of them has a seating capacity of 80 to 300 people. All the seats put together number the same as one of the bigger Indian movie theatres in say, Hyderabad. The newly released and popular movies (also called "first run") are shown in the bigger theatres. The older movies, or movies with limited appeal are in the smaller theatres. But our story begins at midnight when these theatres are finished showing the regular American movies. Usually over the weekends, and sometimes during the week, many multiplexes are transformed by the huge crowds of Indians who come to watch Hindi (and Telugu or Tamil) movies while the rest of the population is fast asleep.

Some of these multiplexes are Indian owned; most are not. But they cater to the growing number of people from the Indian subcontinent in places like New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Virginia, Florida, California, Seattle and Minneapolis. New York, New Jersey and California are luckier. They have movie theatres, totaling about 25, which show new Indian movies at more reasonable hours. These theatres also serve typical Indian snacks like pakoras, pani puri and bhel puri. After the movie show, one can even buy the sound track of the movie. But in a place where the Indian population is not large enough to support many regular shows, some businessmen rent a theater for a few hours late in the night to show Indian movies.

The "late night show" is not that easy to stomach in the beginning. Having to stay awake and alert is a problem. Then there is a rush for tickets and seats just like in India. But I think it is all part of the experience. And practice does make it easier to enjoy the movie and not simply try to hold ones eyes open. The movie does not run for very long - maybe a couple of weeks and everyone wants to watch one of the few shows.

When my friend and I reached the theatre, there was a long line snaking out of the rather large multiplex. The show was supposed to start at 12 midnight. Half an hour to go. The tickets were more expensive than a new American movie - to make up for the theater rental I was told. I came upon someone I knew and made small talk. That's the other aspect of the "late night show". There is a very high probability of meeting other Indian friends and acquaintances living in the area. Socialization is a hidden benefit of going to the movies. Many young men, in big groups, were doing the usual "checking out the women" thing. The American teenagers behind the soda fountain were giving the large number of Indians quizzical looks wondering "what is so great about this movie?" Nothing really. It was just a chance to connect with India. It reminds us of forgotten schoolmates, classes missed, parents lied to - just to watch the latest Aamir Khan or Madhuri blockbuster. Silly imitations of Mithun's Disco Dancer moves or Gabbar Singh's "sholay" dialogues. A younger and more innocent time in our lives I guess.

Bollywood’s moguls, to sell them the latest and greatest movies, are targeting Indians in USA and the United Kingdom. More and more movies are being made for a westernized audience. Some movies don't even have to run for very long in India. Their receipts from USA and UK alone can make the movie a winner. After a few weeks in the theater, the movie shows up on an official DVD. The theory is that this will stop illegal "camera print" video copies of the movie from doing the rounds. However, unscrupulous Indian video storeowners quickly make videotape copies from the DVD and rent them out. The clarity of the tapes is really good but it is an illegal thing to do.

My friend and I joined the flood of people and went into the theatre. We were taken aback - the entire hall was already full. People had trekked long distances to reach the theatre hours before the show started to ensure they got good seats. Back in India, I would have laughed and said "villagers". But all these people were professionals - doctors, engineers, academics, graduate school students, etc. There were two free seats available but they were widely separated. We were trying to decide whether to occupy them and if our determination to watch this movie overrode the discomfort of sitting between complete strangers - mostly men. Suddenly, a commotion - some people got up from their perch three feet from the screen and started running towards the exit. Fire? I wondered. No. The Indian businessman who had arranged for the show had anticipated the rush and ordered an extra print. The usher was shouting that people could go to the theater next door for good seats.

We made a dash for the exit and rushed into the second movie hall. It was uncanny. Once again, all the seats were occupied. This time people gave us hostile looks and held onto the seats for dear life. I was thinking of plunking down on the floor in desperation (and with visions of nine shimmying one-dollar bills mocking me) when the ushers came round shouting again. For insurance reasons, nobody was allowed to sit in the aisles. I was ready to give up and go home. My watch said 12:05 am. My stomach was suddenly growling with hunger. The poor thing was confused. It associated movies with popcorn and here I was scrambling for a space on the floor. Then wonder of wonders, the organizers had anticipated this situation too. Now there was a THIRD theater showing the same movie. Hope springs eternal in the human breast and once again my friend and I ran for it. There was no need to rush this time. Lots of empty seats. We found a nice pair of seats all the way in the back and settled down. I listened to my stomach and headed out to buy some popcorn at the concession stand. The concession stand is a misnomer - the popcorn is five times as expensive as anywhere else. The teenagers had disappeared and the stand was shut tight. They had packed up on the midnight hour. Three hours of angry stomach to endure.

I made my way back to our seats. The quiet was suddenly shattered by the sounds of a big group of boys in their late teens occupying the seats next to us. The rest of the theater was almost empty and they had to sit near us. Comments and jokes were soon overflowing in an Indian language I did not understand. 12:22 a.m: No movie yet and I'm ready to throttle the guys. 12:30a.m. In the theater next to us I can hear the sound of advertisements playing. I'm encouraged. Maybe it will start soon here too. 12:40 a.m: The lights dim and I say "yay". 12:41 a.m. the lights brighten again. They are waiting for this theater to fill up with more people. The boys are booing loudly now. 12:51 a.m. Suddenly credits appear on the screen and then the lights dim again. We are on our way. Rani Mukherjee makes an appearance on the screen shaking away to a catchy song. The guys sitting next to us (and everywhere else) whistle so loudly that I have to cover my ears. The movie progresses and I'm reasonably interested in it. But the guys next to me don't stop passing comments. I glare at one of them. He winks and smiles back. He is half my size and I think I can thrash him easily. Manisha in bicycle shorts. Loud whoops. Aamir bugging Manisha. More lewd comments. Other people in the audience are irritated too. Suddenly an important looking Indian man marches in accompanied by a couple of beefy looking ushers. I figure he is the person running the show. He comes up to our noisy neighbors and threatens to throw them out of the theater if they don't shut up. "Do you want me to call the cops?" Pin drop silence.

The boys were down but not out. During the next two and half-hours, I could still hear sniggers, sniffles and whispering. But they were quieter. There was no break in the movie - no intermission. Manisha was sad, Manisha was happy, Aamir acted irritating, Aamir at his lovable best, the beautiful looking Gateway of India. The movie meandered on. The emotional end and then we wobbled out of the theater at 3:25 a.m. The stars looked beautiful in the ink black sky. Not a single cloud. And I thought to myself, seven years in Philadelphia and I've never seen such a beautiful night sky. It really was great watching the "late night show".

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