Dehradun, Aug. 2 -- Cinemas remain closed, but that does not mean we cannot think about them. In this phase, I have much time reminiscing about the glory years spent in Mussoorie, much of it dedicated to replicating the range of emotions experienced while watching Hindi movies in dark, dingy and smelly movie theatres.

Growing up in Mussoorie - or Landour, to be specific - we had three single-screen cinema halls to visit: Picture Palace, that iconic landmark at the start of the Mall Road; Rialto, down the other side of Kulri Hill next to Hamer's; and Vasu, further down in Library Bazaar.

These trips into the bazaar were escapes to a sometimes exotic, sometimes gaudy world full of colour and very loud - sitting in the darkness with strang...