Dr Prasanth from Chennai once used to be a regular at Prarthana Beach Drive-in Theatre on East Coast Road. On a Sunday evening, as he takes a breather before his Covid-19 shift begins the next morning at 5:30 am, he is trying to remember the last film he saw at Prarthana, the city’s oldest drive-in which started in 1991. It was Vasool Raja MBBS. “To tell you the truth, apart from the movie, I can remember everything there,” says Prasanth.
The doctor recalls heading out of the city on Saturday evenings with friends in a car to the breezy Prarthana. Prasanth and his friends would spread out bedsheets on the floor outside their car and order hot dosas and fried rice from a canteen nearby. “We would hug the [loudspeaker] post sometimes to get the best quality sound. Most people did not stay in their cars,” says Prasanth. “If the movie was bad or boring, you could just stare at the stars. You could also use the speed-bumps as pillows. Nobody goes to drive-in cinemas expecting IMAX clarity. It is all about hanging out with friends, family bonding, making fun of the movie or just dozing off.”
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