IMAX in Hyderabad

When Sandeep picked us up from the airport late on the 27th evening, he very excitedly handed Caspar a set of movie tickets for “Casino Royale”. Caspar has been hanging out to experience the movies in India, and Sandeep as the gem he is, is always busy trying to make our stay so pleasing for all of us! So while Guy, Caspar and I had a day of rest, Sandeep and Freya took the bus to school at 7am, so that Freya could get in lots of dance practise. We were amazed at how fresh they were when they returned at 4pm, and they also had a bit of a relax before we headed to “Prasads”, the huge 4 storey cinema complex on the lake a short drive from home.

There we headed for the food court, which was fantastic! The most expensive meal deal was around $4.50, which was a Chinese feast with at least 5 dishes and 3 side dishes on the tray – Caspar went for this, and could not finish it all. We had chicken lollypop – delicious red chicken legs with a fabulous dipping sauce, Kachori a Rajasthani chickpea curry which was accompanied by a puri bread the size of a large dinner plate standing 10cm tall, Bhav Bhaji a tasty vegatable and tomato curry mash accompanied with bread (and the best we have had anywhere in India), a rich pasta with great tomato and chilly served with soup and garlic bread, which Sandeep shared with Freya. Freya had an icy cold slurpie, we settled for the sweetest watermelon juice, and coke. We were so stuffed when we finally relented, and Caspar was almost uncomfortable from his eating ordeal.

The movie started at 10.45pm, and we were so glad to sit down in the nicely air-conditioned, tiered theatre, where the sound in true Indian fashion was loud and clear. After some time the chattering died down, and we thoroughly enjoyed James Bond in this setting, even if they did out stop the film for a break half way through. It was then we realized what Sandeep had meant by saying that the film was good because it only had two reels! It was a long movie; Sandeep and Freya nodded off from time to time and Guy drove us back at 1.30am, as there was hardly a car on the road at that time. Freya and Caspar have today slept until lunchtime, but Sandeep left us a note in the door at 5am when he left for work, and we just don’t know how he does it!