ok, so last night was the BIG night. I rushed from work through the horrid traffic. Got a parking spot, felt lucky, then when I got to the theater, I was shocked(

j/k) to see that there was no line

.
well, I picked up my tickets, rushed through the door, only to be asked if I "got the message about Shiva?". Surprise surprise, Shiva's print didn't arrive. The exhibitors seemed to have told the Egyptian Theater that the print is stuck at Heathrow. Instead they said they were going to play a DVD version of the film. HAHAHA, Indian DVD by Adlabs?? right?? I could watch this crap at home. They said if I don't like the print, I can get a refund within 10mins. Well, I sat through the ads, then as soon as I saw the "adlabs" title print on the screen, I got up to leave. 4:3, yes, thats right, 4:3, letterboxed, worse than VHS crap, with barely legible subtitles. What a

disaster
I asked them how they were able to get a DVD copy. They said that it's the demo (Screener??) they received. This copy wasn't completely edited either. Apparently they didn't color out some bunji cords in last action scene.
there were about a dozen other guests who watched the movie, other than my guest and myself, and the theater employees. my guest and I were the only indians there. when Shiva let out, I asked a couple what they thought of the movie, "really good". someone else said, that although he wasn't expecting singing & dancing musical, and the film would've been better without them, he and the rest of the audience enjoyed the singing/dancing/songs. I heard clapping/cheering at the end of the movie. Are you reading this
izzy? (j/k

). Guess even with the horrid print, people enjoyed the film.
It's a $#*)@ shame that adlabs/rgv can't get their shit together. don't know who to blame.
I'm upset with the theater for not notifying me in advance of the issue. If they didn't dispatch emails, the least they could've done was update their crappy websites
my night ended on a positive note with Ek Hasina Thi. although I think the film would've been much better had RGV directed it himself, it was really good none the less. beggers can't be choosers. heh. again the audience clapped. one of the theater employees said "That was actually really good" (he's seen a lot of crappy movies in the late 80's, early 90s), and he's used to watching film noir at the theater, most of which is targetted towards women so last night was a welcome change for him. well, he's just got Company/ATC tonight

they assured me these prints are in good shape!
but a
BIG F.U. to ADLABS!!