Technology, Bollywood

Some of the many images that pop up of India when people think about it are those of the computer/tech industry, call centers, and Bollywood.

There are currently 827 million cell phones in use here. (The entire US population is 300 million!). So, you get this image of everyone being connected electronically to another through a palm sized and colorful gizmo. Moreover, you'd assume that everyone is also connected to the internet and is able to access all sorts of information at the touch of a ubiquitous button. Ah, but here's the surprising thing. While virtually everyone above the age of 5 has a cell phone, just a fraction of the people really mess with the internet. Instead of email, everyone uses "SMS" (or text messages). The cost of using cell phones for voice and text is minuscule and affordable, as compared to using the internet. I had assumed that smartphones would allow everyone to get on the web just as easily as computers (an admittedly large expense). Many (most) non-techies don't have an email address but they are extremely efficient with their phones.

Another interesting tidbit. Voice mail is an optional service (and therefore carries an additional charge). Therefore, no one uses voice mail. The flip side to that is that everyone always answers their cell phones. In some ways it's annoying and in other ways it's actually very admirable because you know your call will always be answered. At home, I hardly answer my cell phone, mostly because it's almost always on silent and because I know I can (and do) always get back to the caller within a reasonable amount of time. Try me :)

India is also known for its movie industry (Bollywood). Below is a chart comparing Hollywood and Bollywood.



On Saturday, I had my first experience in an Indian movie theater. For the most part, it's just like at home: you can get popcorn and every snack that's horrible for you. Some differences:

1. Tickets are priced by seat location (like at a play) and come with assigned seating. In the theater I visited, there were 3 tiers: silver, gold and platinum. (We sat in gold).

2. The movie begins at exactly the time written on the ticket with no ads at the beginning.

3. There is an intermission at the half-way mark during which time there are ads.

4. The audience is fun: they whistle and cheer when the protagonist initially appears (in this case, a very famous actor, Amitabh Bachchan) as well as during the movie at the appropriate scenes/times.

5. Unfortunately, there is no plea to "silence your cell phones," so it's quite common for people to answer their phones during the movie and briefly state "I'm at the movie, I'll call you back." The audio from the movie generally drowns their voices out.

In case you're curious, the movie I watched was Bbuddah Hoga Tera Baap (translated from Hindi: The old man must be your father).