'Moonlight Theater'.....Bangalore's First Open Air Theatre...Watch the Stars Under the Stars..


Wow..! was the expression when we saw this ad in the newspaper (TOI)..! And then came the website snapshot "Moonlight Theatre is the first open air entertainment concept in Bangalore which promises an incomparable experience complimented by the beautiful outdoors and a moonlit night. At Moonlight, one can see people enjoy the Cinema in the open air concept. Simultaneously, people can experience fine dining in the backdrop of enjoyable cinema. Set within beautifully landscaped grounds, Moonlight boasts of its own Market, 35,000 sq. ft. Indoor Arena and exclusive dining options to complete the open air entertainment package."

And we were all set to have a unique experience with Moonlight Theatres. We didn't want to compromise on the experience and hence opted for the platinum class (read BEST/PREMIUM) tickets. The tickets being exorbitantly priced (at Rs.500 per person), we were sure that the experience would be much more than a Gold Class Multiplex viewing...!

The Reality : The real picture was far away from the so called 'promised' (read the website clip) out of the world experience. However, I must say that the website was indeed honest when it referred to the experience as being 'Incomparable'...It truely was..! and here are some of the many reasons behind it :

• The so called 'Platinum Class Sofas' : Anybody who sees those cramped up wooden fixtures wrapped in shady blankets would forget the meaning of sofa (forget platinum class..!)..! And we paid 1000 bucks as couple to sit on it. I almost pity the people who bought silver class tickets & were given ugly,thin mattresses (termed as 'beds') which were at least half the size of a regular single bed..! And yes..there were no bean bags as menitioned (pics attached)
• The so called 'Fine Dining' Experience : Cabbage stuffed Kathi Roll - Rs.65; Oil Dripping Samosas (2 per plate) : Rs.50; Chicken Pakora : Rs.135; Chicken Pakodas, Sandwiches & Biryani (Thankfully we didn't try the latter 3). You have to taste it to believe how bad it was. To top it all, samosas & chicken pakoras were being fried in the same pan..! Imagine the plight of Vegetarians..! To add a topping to the cake, there were dogs loitering throughout the venue and drooling over your 'fine dining meal'. Perhaps the only thing that could classify this as fine dining would be the PRICE..! (pics attached)
• Beach Umbrellas to prevent rain : Rain was surely a spoilsport in this event but alas...there were no beach umbrellas to protect us (unlike the ones mentioned by the CMD of Moonlight Theatres in a newspaper interview. Snapshot of the DNA interview attached). All we could do was to shuttle between our platinum class sofas & a slightly better covered area with chairs-that was far away from the asigned seating area, to protect ourselves from the intermittent rains)..The chairs don't even qualify for Rs. 50 rear stall class.
• No ticket checking : There was no ticket checking during the process of assigning seats and there were no seat numbers as well. Anybody could actually sit in the platinum class sofas (priced @ Rs.500) by paying for silver class mattresses (priced at Rs.250) as there was no one to check the same..!
• Kids Allowed in 'A' Certified Movie : The Censor Board may have reviewed the movie (Desi Boyz) and certified it as 'Adult Only' (proofs attached) but there was no sign & signal of the same being honoured at this venue since kids of all age-groups were easily allowed (pics of parents with kids attached) without any questions being asked..! I wonder if its legal to do so and what would have happened had a multiplex done the same..! They should be sued for this & I'm preparing myself for the same.
• The Good Part

• Awesome concept-advertising : Inspite of the horrible offerings, the brilliant ads & website clippings brought us and many others into buying tickets at exorbitant prices..! I'm sure these people make a lot of money through first (& last) time customers..! But as they say, 'No advertising can help if the product is not good'. Shame..!!

To sum it all....IT WAS THE MOST HORRIBLE ARRANGEMENT I'VE EVER SEEN..! AND 'KUDOS' TO THE TEAM WHO HAVE THE AUDACITY TO BLUFF & PORTRAY A FAKE IMAGE OF THE EVENT IN PUBLIC..!