A couple hours drive from Mumbai is the city of Pune. Although the city boasts a large population of 2.5 million, the lack of skyscrapers and the abundance of trees lining the streets give it a pleasant suburban vibe. Mix in the fact that it has as a little of everything you could want (history, cultural events, temples, quaint village markets, ethnically diverse residents and is a huge technology hub), and Pune ended up being one of my favourite cities in India.

However, after visiting so many other attractions in the last 2 weeks, I became tired of the usual rounds of sightseeing, and asked my guide to only show me “la creme de la creme” of attractions. I also decided to see the movie, “Deadpool”. The movie experience was rather different than your typical North American one and I feel the need to share it.

  • When buying tickets, there was a choice of three categories: silver, gold and platinum. For reasons beyond my comprehension, the most expensive platinum tickets were the furthest from the screen. I chose the gold category, in the middle centre of the theatre
  • Before the movie started, there were commercials and each one began with a certificate of approval. I presume it meant the commercial was authorized by the government for public viewing
  • Right before the movie started, the national anthem was played, and everyone had to rise from their seats
  • People kept arriving late, up to 30 minutes after the movie has started. I was surprised to see how many were willing to miss so much
  • Throughout the movie, a few patrons answered their mobile phone and had conversations for several minutes
  • Each time an actor was smoking cigarettes, a small text appeared in the bottom right side of the screen saying, “Smoking is dangerous for your health”
  • About halfway through the movie, right when the action started to escalate, the movie suddenly stopped and the lights came on. It was a 10 minute intermission with more commercials!
  • Lastly, and most interestingly, the movie was quite censored. It was hard to determine the exact specifications for Indian censorship, since the actors could say, “fuck”, but they muted words like “asshole” and “vagina”. Entire scenes were also edited out, which I believe were the most violent and most sexual ones

Despite all the above, I quite thoroughly the movie. Since Deadpool is rated R, I’ll need eventually watch it again with an uncensored version.

Now here are some tourist pictures: