Movies are not just a source of entertainment but pure magic that captures our imagination and emotions. As a teenager, I was besotted with the wonder of cinema. The moving images, the dialogues, and the music were like a symphony that trapped me completely. I eagerly watched every movie my school screened for charity; the cowboys and heroes like Monte Christo and Robin Hood were my absolute favourites.
My passion for movies only grew with time. I was fascinated by the intricate workings of the movie theatre, the film rolls, the mechanism of lights, projectors, and dark rooms. I was always on the lookout for anything related to films, and when my classmate gave me some discarded film strips, I felt like I had struck gold.
But I didn’t just want to collect the 16mm film strips. I wanted to showcase them in my private cinema, where I could revel in the magic of cinema. I had no money to buy a mini projector, so I had to rely on my imagination and ingenuity.
I took an old shoebox, my mother’s scissors, and my father’s Eveready torch and got to work. I cut a small hole in the side of the shoebox, just big enough for a single frame of the 16mm film strip to be visible. I placed the torch inside the box and turned it on, pointing it at the blank wall above my bed. Then I covered the door, window, and grill with anything I could find, like bedsheets and sarongs, to create total darkness.
My father’s Eveready torch
When everything was ready, I moved the film strip in front of the hole in the shoebox, and suddenly, I was transported to another world. The moving images flickered on the wall, and I was utterly mesmerised by the magic of cinema. Even though it was just a few feet of a film strip, it felt like I was watching a full-length movie. Of course, it was never a movie, for I could not move the strip at the speed of film projectors. It looked more like a still movie. But I felt good and had a sense of achievement.
I felt like a true innovator and creator then, and my passion for movies only intensified.
With my new-found passion for cinema and pride in my makeshift shoebox projector, I was eager to share my love for movies with everyone I knew. My siblings were the first to be subjected to my experiments as I assembled them in my tiny bedroom, closing all the windows and doors to make the room as dark as possible. They were my guinea pigs.
Being younger than me, they were easily impressed and eager to see what I had in store for them. Promising them a wonder, I switched on the Eveready torch and moved the film strip by hand. Their eyes widened with wonder and amazement as they watched the flickering images on the wall.What kind of movies were shown at the author's school charity screenings? How did the author eventually acquire a proper movie projector? Did the author pursue a career in the film industry?
As I became more confident in my abilities, when my classmates dropped in to hang out, I convinced them to my impromptu movie screenings. They were amazed by my makeshift projector and the shows I put on.
Looking back on those days, I realise that my passion for cinema was not just about the movies themselves but the joy of sharing that experience with others. And while my improvised projector may have been a far cry from the high-tech equipment used in movie theatres today, it was the start of a lifelong love affair with the magic of cinema.
Now, as I sit in a state-of-the-art movie theatre surrounded by fellow movie lovers, I can’t help but smile as I think back to those early days and my humble shoebox projector.
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