She yelped dramatically, “Oh no, I can’t bear the loss”. That was a Santa Cruz-settled colleague grieving — not over the death of a relative or friend — but over the closure of the mall-cum-multiplex-next-door.
Right on the heel of shutters-down at the Fame’plex in Oshiwara, Andheri, the shopping centre, housing a movie multiplex close to the Milan subway, has packed up. Now it could be for renovation or ummm…real estate development. Who knows? Obviously, a new mall just a javelin’s throw away from the Milan Mall, affected its footfall direly, which makes me wonder — will the mall boom last and for how long? On weekends they’re packed — especially the Infinity malls at Malad and Oshiwara and the Phoenix at Lower Parel — but on weekdays, the atmosphere is strictly ho-hum.
As for multiplexes, everyone and their uncles, have issues with the exorbitant tickets prices. Metro at Dhobi Talao, had very thoughtfully, set up morning shows at discounted rates for senior citizens. No more. And at some forum, actor-producer Sanjay Suri remarked quite pertinently, “I want to take small films to the cinemas. But it’s irrational to expect anyone to pay `300 or more just for a 90-minute film, when as much is paid for a three-hour, star-studded blockbuster.” Point.
The colleague will miss her Milan Mall addiction for sure. Like regulars at the Lower Phoenix Mall miss the enormous Landmark bookstore, which has been closed for over a year now. From what I’m told, there was water flooding there and so the quick shutdown, with the promise to return. I do miss the place quite a lot actually: it may not have stocked rare or unusual books, but it did have an excellent DVD section, the first and the last resort for someone looking for a Satyajit Ray masterpiece or a V. Shantaram classic.
Quite a few malls are still worth a gambol for their specialty food stores. In fact, I’d recommend the one at Phoenix, not so much for the cheeses and dips on display, but for its attached coffee shop. The quiches and sandwiches are to sprint for. And when I asked the steward in a penguin-like suit, why the place hadn’t been advertised widely, he beamed, “Because then we wouldn’t be able to control the crowds.” Smart one that. Or should I say wishful thinking?