Quite At Home Being Home

Life under lockdown is purgatory. One way to cope is to rediscover the home theatre.

- Abhik Sen

For film buffs, the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown are a double whammy. Movie theatres are shut, productions are stalled, and release dates have been pushed back indefinitely. Even when the lockdown is lifted, there’s no guarantee that people would want to enjoy a movie flanked so close by other people. So, what’s the solution? Do as the celebs do.

Celebs seldom visit theatres. If they do, they do it incognito (unless it’s an invite-only movie premiere). It’s seldom that the rich and famous movie buffs do not have a home theatre at home. The ready-made ones don’t count, for the space called home theatre in the house of a celeb has the feel of a proper movie theatre. And for that do they splurge!

Of course, if the celeb is an actor, then they can always justify that expense as a necessary investment for their craft. Rumour has it that Amitabh Bachchan has arguably the best-appointed movie theatre at home and the sound quality is top-notch (maybe that’s where he reviews the modulation of his deep baritone).

The captains of industry aren’t far behind. Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani is believed to be a movie buffwho enjoys many a blockbuster with friends at his 50-seater home theatre at his Antilia residence in Mumbai, reports say. Wipro Limited’s Azim Premji, who hung up his boots in July 2019 to focus on philanthropy, is also said to be fond of watching movies.