I'm a Master in India

The small theater in Karna Village wasn't big, only having twenty-something seats.

The windows were also very small, so small that even a child couldn't climb through.

The theater Boss would rather suffer himself than leave any opportunity for anyone to sneak in without a ticket.

At this time, the twenty-odd seats were already packed full, and even more people were trying to squeeze in from outside.

Armrests, seat backs, aisles, corners... people were everywhere, making it impossible for you to even lift a hand to scratch an itch.

"How many people is that stingy Anis planning to let in?" Muna struggled to turn his head.

It was a dense mass, all heads, at least a hundred people.

Anis was the theater Boss; he checked tickets, sold tickets, and sold betel nuts at the entrance, holding multiple positions.

"Don't talk, the movie is about to start!" Raja held his breath.

There were many people in the room, some telling dirty jokes, some chewing betel nuts, and some panting loudly with their mouths open.

The smell of sweat, betel nuts, and bad breath mixed together, making the theater smell comparable to the outhouse by the small river.

Suddenly, the screen lit up, and everyone subconsciously quieted down.

A rising sun appeared in the frame, and the subtitles below displayed the words "Sun Entertainment Production Company".

However, the villagers were illiterate and were just watching for the excitement.

Low-budget movies have a fast pace, without lengthy setups.

The first person to appear on screen was the male protagonist, Lanka, who looked unkempt, wearing a denim shirt, jeans, and an American cavalry hat.

As soon as he appeared, he encountered a few thugs bullying a girl, and naturally, just like in countless other movies, the male protagonist began to perform the hero saving the beauty trope.

Lanka, with the protagonist's halo, could make everything impossible possible.

Singing and dancing, swaying his waist and hips, he single-handedly defeated three armed thugs.

His fists were so powerful that they defied basic physics, making dull thuds before even making contact with the opponent's body.

When he was heartbroken, he would definitely chug whiskey, and when he did business, he was guaranteed to make a fortune.

The story wasn't new, but everyone's attention was captured; who hadn't fantasized about being the male protagonist on screen?

When Lanka's rather vain sister appeared, the theater finally stirred.

Oh my god! That skirt was too short, it seemed like it would float up with a gust of wind and then reveal the evocative buttocks underneath.

And don't you know, some impatient people actually ran to the screen and blew hard.

Besides causing everyone to roar with laughter, it also invited various vulgar curses.

The plot direction of "in praise of durga" was as difficult to guess as Durga's thoughts.

The movie used jump cuts to describe the major turning points the protagonist experienced one after another: getting married, being kicked out, and the marriage hitting the rocks, but it didn't explain the details, motives, and purposes to the audience.

One second the protagonist was immersed in love, the next second he was unilaterally heartbroken, and the audience had to imagine the plot in between.

Therefore, every time the protagonist achieved a slight victory, it was a surprise for the audience.

You never knew what would happen next, which was different from watching mainstream India movies, and everyone's attention was held tighter than ever before.

As a religious film, the theme of the movie, Durga, was of course indispensable.

When the十几-meter-tall plaster statue of Durga appeared, the atmosphere in the cinema suddenly changed.

Devout Hindus rose and clasped their hands in prayer.

Some people also threw coins at the big screen, and Raja did this.

He prayed to save enough dowry for Lena as soon as possible so he could also get married.

The most devout Hindus even brought lamps for fire rituals, and when the two bhajans serving as movie interludes sounded, they held the lamps and waved them along the screen.

The scene was spectacular, completely different in style from the whistles when the miniskirt appeared just now.

Sure enough, when the scenes popular with teenagers appeared again, the theater was in chaos again.

This time, there were not only miniskirts, but also almost transparent shirts, kissing scenes, and suggestive vulgar dialogue.

When one of Durga's nine avatars appeared from the water, it was just like on the poster.

Muna personally heard someone next to him emitting suppressed moans, and even Raja's breathing became rapid.

Oh dear, how could Third Brother stand this.

What religious movie, it was clearly a mythological erotic comedy.

A similar scene also occurred in the luxurious cinema in Varanasi, although there were no vulgar whistles like in Karna Village.

People living in the city more or less maintained their dignity; at most, they stared at the screen without blinking and then quietly swallowed their saliva.

"India audiences haven't seen big scenes."

Mary was disdainful of the men's performance in the cinema.

"You know, this is India, even kissing scenes are stipulated not to exceed 5 seconds."

Ron watched with great interest.

For the first screening of "in praise of durga", he also secretly sneaked into the cinema with Mary and Lena and sat in the back row.

"These scenes are ordinary in the West, but they become restricted in India.

I really don't understand the standards of the Film Censor Board."

Lena also whispered a complaint on the side.

"India men eat too much curry and are easily excitable, just like being anesthetized by drinking alcohol."

What could Ron say, in this regard, the Film Censor Board understood India men better than him.

Fortunately, he had seen many works by Neon teachers in his previous life and was basically immune to the current scenes.

Shiv managed to stretch the entire movie to two and a half hours, and the five song and dance segments contributed significantly.

At the end of the movie, it even played a religious correctness card; the protagonist, as a bride, didn't think about the wedding night, but instead blew the conch shell with a呜呜 sound and sang a bhajan dedicated to Durga as the groom gradually fell asleep.

"Do you think our movie will be popular?" Mary quietly asked.

"Of course, look at what's in front of you.

Besides male audiences, there are also many female audiences, and they are all here for Durga."

The movie had restricted scenes, but the focus of the promotion was still on religious films, and there were quite a few women in the cinema.

"I just don't know how 'in praise of durga' performed in the countryside.

That Balaram always said that the India rural market is very vast."

"That's what he says, but you'd better not have any expectations for it."

"Why?" Mary asked strangely.

"Because movie tickets in the countryside and movie tickets in the city are completely different."

There are many cinemas in India, with an average of about 20 million viewers going to watch movies every day.

However, depending on the region, cinemas are divided into three grades: A, B, and C.

A represents cities, and movie ticket prices are usually around 60 rupee.

Cinemas are well-equipped, with air conditioning and toilets.

In luxurious cinemas in Mumbai or New Delhi, ticket prices may approach 80 rupee.

B represents towns, and cinema conditions vary, with ticket prices fluctuating between 20-40 rupee.

C refers to the countryside; don't even think about air conditioning, and there are no toilets.

Of course, ticket prices in rural theaters are also the cheapest, basically not exceeding 15 rupee.

Most of the population in North India lives in rural areas, where it is feudal and conservative, which is very suitable for films like "in praise of durga".

However, because the ticket prices are low, on average, only 5 tickets can equal one ticket sold in a city cinema.

Calculating this way, it's really hard to say who will contribute more to the box office in the end.

The movie ended, and the audience began to leave, with Ron and the others straggling behind.

"Do you trust that Balaram?" Mary asked.

"Of course not, that guy is always thinking about how to swindle money out of me."

"Then how is the box office counted? I'm not worried about the city.

What about the countryside, you know, we are not familiar with it there."

"Don't worry," Ron smiled mysteriously, "We have people among those movie projectionists."

The movie copies sent to the countryside were in groups of three: one responsible for projection, and the other two responsible for accounting and supervision.

Among the two supervisors, one was Ron's person.

He supervised both the theater Boss and his colleagues next to him.

After each movie screening, the group of three immediately counted the box office, and they split it 60-40 with the theater Boss.

All accounts were settled on the spot, and the group of three who took the money would also take the copy and then go to the next village.

Movies in India rural areas were released and split in this way.

Often, three people could cover most of the rural areas in a region within a week.

The Sur family did not lack manpower; they could easily gather a few hundred people in the village.

With them there, Ron was not worried about Balaram tampering with the box office.

However, the scope was limited to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar, and they could not do much.

Balaram would definitely inflate the box office, but as long as it wasn't too excessive, Ron would turn a blind eye.

There was nothing he could do; the entire India, inside and out, was a makeshift operation, and it was impossible to achieve perfection.

The three people who left the cinema hadn't gone far when they saw several men surrounding a woman and touching her.

From their vulgar words, it was not difficult to hear that they were some of the vulgar dialogues from "in praise of durga".

Ron was a little troubled; Ah San really let his little head control his big head.

There were no explicit scenes in the movie, but these few people automatically imagined indescribable plots, and even planned to put them into practice now.

Mary and Lena didn't give them a chance; these two girls were incredibly fierce and beat the thugs until they cried and howled in just a few moves.

The girl who was saved was very angry; she thanked them and then rushed to the police station to report the crime.

Ron and the other two looked at each other; they suddenly felt that the people on the Film Censor Board weren't all making trouble for no reason.

"in praise of durga" soon caused a sensation in Uttar Pradesh, where religious-themed stories had always been popular.

Coupled with Ron's protection, it was hard for the movie not to be a hit.

However, besides photos of the crowded cinemas, a bizarre piece of news also appeared on the newspaper with the movie.

A lady was tragically raped because of the movie "in praise of durga"!

When Mary handed the newspaper to Ron, his first reaction was the girl they had saved last night.

"Didn't we save her?" he asked.

"Yes, but we couldn't save her a second time."

"What do you mean?"

"She went to report the crime, and as a result, she was taken into a room by the police on duty.

She couldn't escape; there were four police officers and three suspects there."

"Oh my god!" Ron covered his face, "Did the prisoners also do it?"

"Do you still have any hope for your compatriots?" Mary looked at him with disdain.

Ron spread his hands, blaming him?

Forget it, he didn't have time to deal with the movie today, he had to go to Mirzapur.