An empty hall showing the latest Harry Potter movie in Guwahati. Picture by UB Photos

Guwahati, July 6: “Harry Potter is cool, but the auditorium is not.” The cryptic remark of a Class IX student summed up the mood of film buffs here, who were awaiting an air-conditioned theatre for a Sunday afternoon outing on a sultry summer day.

The lukewarm response to a special weeklong Harry Potter film festival, which began on Friday, only showed how frustrated the movie aficionados, who preferred the big screen to the TV, were. “It is a furnace inside. We would have never come had I known the scene would be so bad. We could hardly enjoy the movie,” said city-based banker Arun Barua as he came out of the matinee show at Anuradha cinema along with his two children.

The film festival, with Coca-Cola as its sponsors, features daily four shows of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. A limited number of children and their guardians are being given free entry on all the four shows.

However, even the free tag has failed to draw viewers. “You can’t call this a crowd. The number will be less than what we get on normal days,” said a gateman at Anuradha cinema.

Guwahati has 12 cinema halls. One of the main complaints of moviegoers has been the lack of facilities in the theatres, most of which are maintained poorly. Only two halls have Dolby sound systems.

The city has witnessed a gradual rise in the mercury level except for a brief period when it rained incessantly for three days. Day temperatures over the past two days have risen above 33 degrees Celsius, which, coupled with the high humidity, has made life miserable for the residents.
“In the age of multiplexes, Guwahati’s cinema halls are still what they were 20 years ago. No wonder, attendance in the theatres are falling day by day,” said 27-year-old Ankur Kashyap, who described himself as an “avid film-watcher”.

“Though I love the big screen, I dread the very thought of entering the halls in Guwahati in the summer. Hence, I have to be satisfied watching films at home on my VCD player,” he said.

The proprietor of a city hall, who did not want to be identified, said: “It is not economically viable to go for an air-conditioned theatre in the city. Ticket prices will go up. Are the people willing to pay more?”

“Very few people come to see movies in halls nowadays,” he said, refusing to admit that lack of facilities is a prime factor behind this turn-off.