Pop down my corn

by Varun Awasthi, ZIMA

Recent visit to Movie Theater doubled the burden of my wallet due to high priced pop-corn bucket. Ironically, the movie on screen was “Padman” it’s all about cost cutting production of sanitary pads, easy to understand concept and brilliantly portrayed on screen by the director and actors. In the mist of all nationalistic speeches in the movie and 52 seconds standing ovation for our national anthem, I still couldn’t stop thinking about the extra load on my pocket after deliberately getting ripped by buying over-priced pop corn bucket.

Movie time is one of the only leisure times for middle class families and the economical movie budget gets distorted by buying anything to eat at theaters, but pop-corns are the hot potatoes of movie snacks. Shockingly, the price of movie ticket is lesser than the price of a pop corn bucket, it’s a normal human habit to munch something while watching an interesting story on screen and pop corns are the healthiest snack available as they are easy on belly and weight as well.

After thinking too much about it, I decided to go and clear my doubts about the price with the theater staff; instead of getting any clear answer I was told about the company’s price policy with a complimentary statement at the end that we don’t force you to buy anything, it’s your own choice. The answer was politically correct but restricting viewers from bringing their own food in the movie theater is also an imposition to buy your advertised products. After entering in the arena of Movie Theater, we are left with no options other than buying over-priced edible products. The concept of freedom to eat and buy is over shadowed in the monopoly world of Movie Theater.

As the movie “Padman” was about a man who built a low cost sanitary pad machine, I also decided to build a low cost pop-corn making machine, but when I came out from the monopoly world of Movie Theater to the real world. I noticed that the low cost pop corn making machine has already been invented and already in use by the road side vendors, that too just outside the multi story mall. You can buy the same amount of pop corn in just Rs.10, that’s weird but true unfortunately the pop corn is not expensive it’s the bucket which might be the culprit of over pricing our tasty munching snack. So, I visited a few places that makes these types of bucket and learned that these buckets cost about Rs. 2 to Rs. 3, if ordered in bulk consignments. So, now we have a Rs. 10 pop corn in Rs. 3 bucket that brings our total to Rs. 13 with the labor to serve and other taxes levied it all adds up to Rs. 30 to the maximum. It is still tough to understand highly imposed price of pop corn in Movie Theaters.

If we remember the old days of cinema, we were allowed to eat and bring our own food even though the food sold in picture halls in those days was very cheap. Now a day’s everything is over-priced and an impulse buy at Theaters. Views shared by Dr. Rupnesh Kaur (a local citizen of Greater- Noida, came to watch the same movie)

Sadly, a country with millions sustaining below poverty line, handicap GDP growth and poorly ranked at 100th position of global hunger index is selling a cheap crop at 30 times higher than its original final output price. Poverty has always been an issue with India and the money uselessly spent on cheap edible products can easily be transferred towards feeding hungry fellow citizens.

It is time now that related officials must observe the situation and put a cap on self pricing of products by branded corporate, development is not watching a movie about cost cutting of an over-priced product while munching over a high-priced snack.

Over pricing of edible products in Movie Theater might not be considered as taboo as talking about menstrual hygiene but it is same as promoting outlawed monopoly culture.