I caught 4 movies yesterday. At Sathyam Cinemas, one of Chennai’s top multiplexes. At a total expense of Rs. 50. How? Well, if you are ready to wait in a queue for sometime, you can watch a movie for Rs. 10 in any multiplex in Chennai, courtesy what I assume must be a rule set down by the Tamil Nadu government. I believe the principle is that even a common man must be able to afford a ticket at a multiplex. Well, don’t expect to get a luxurious leather seat. These seats are in the first one or two rows and have wooden seats. And they are limited. However, you get to watch the movie for just Rs. 10.
From what I’ve seen, Sathyam Cinemas is the easiest place to get these tickets. Inox has them, but I think they sell all their Rs.10 tickets early in the morning. There happens to be a slum colony near Citi Centre where Inox is, and the residents there find it convenient to snap up these tickets and then sell them in the black. Ergo, finding tickets at Inox is next to impossible. I’ve never tried, mainly because its not worth the effort.
Devi Cinemas offers these tickets online! Something that is not done by anybody else. While this is very convenient, these are very hard to get too. This is because, IT Professionals snap these up from the air-conditioned comfort of their offices. As a friend put it, the ones working the night shift snap up the morning show tickets, and the ones working the morning shifts buy the evening show tickets.
PVR Cinemas is a new addition to the Chennai movie theatre circuit, and while the law says that they should have Rs.10 tickets, I haven’t been there yet (since its quite far from my place) and so I don’t know how easy or difficult it is to get these.
Sathyam Cinemas offers the best chance. These tickets are sold behind the main building, near the car-parking lot. They start selling the tickets 2-3 hours before the show starts. Not knowing when exactly they will open the counters is part of the thrill-of-the-chase.
It is really easy to get tickets for Non-Tamil movies. However if a big Tamil release is running, expect a long queue. And people who tend to wait in long queues tend to settle for any movie ticket after a wait of an hour or so.
I caught 4 movies because there weren’t any big releases and I practically walked up to the counter and got my tickets.No queue. There have been instances when I, aided by a friend have bounded out during the interval and purchased tickets for the next show. (I watched Angels and Demons like that).
If you’re watching a 3D movie, you have to pay Rs.20 extra for the glasses. I watched How to train your Dragon, Bolt & Avatar for Rs.30. Take that you losers in Bangalore who paid Rs.1000 to watch crummy Avatar!
Another loophole I stumbled across while in Sathyam is that they rarely check for tickets once the show has begun. After the interval for instance. We had tickets for Telegu movie – Darling (Rs.10 of course) which we tired of by half-time. So we sneaked in for Angadi Theru which was running on another screen which had also broken for the interval. We even sat in the Luxury Rs.120 seats. But don’t push your luck on this one.
If you want to experience Old World charm in the heart of Bustling Chennai, you must watch a movie at Jayanthi in Thiruvanmayur. It is like watching a movie in the middle ages (Of course, you couldn’t have done that). The theatre seems to have been plucked from some village in Southern Tamil Nadu and plopped in the middle of Thiruvanmayur. The seats are made of wood, and you can expect a dog to curl up near your feet. The theatre is huge, and with the huge doors they have, you wonder if you can actually hear the movie sound track. But once the movie starts, the acoustics are pretty good!. Tickets are just Rs.20. I watched Tamizh Padam here, and it was an uplifting experience.
Yes, a movie in Jayanthi builds character.
I admit I haven’t visited the theatres in North Chennai, but one theatre that sells tickets at Rs.10 is good enough for a person I’d say. Chennai has several.
Go ahead. Make discreet enquiries, find out where they sell the Rs.10 tickets, buy one, and enjoy a movie at a multiplex for Rs.10.
Oh. And the bigger the movie budget, the sweeter the victory.
Cheers!
Note: Expect a stiff neck if you aren’t in top shape.
Hahaha..Nice!! Thx for sharing. Going for Clash of the titans tomo in Sathyam..will gun for the 30 rs ticket
You’ll get it. But be careful. Sura is releasing tomorrow. So there’s sure to be a rush.
PVR has the best 10 rupee tickets… PUSH BACK SEATS!! AMPA SKYWALK MALL… all u have to do is go to the regular counter and ask for the 10 rupee tickets!!
Dude.. nice write up.. But inox is way cooler because the 1st row is way back and you dont get stiff necks. That slum area theory applies only for big tamil movies and not others. The perfect schedule would include you to just walk up and book a noon show for 10 bucks, offer 20rs and ask a guy standing nearby(watchman or somebody) to book you the matinee.. Back to Back shows and lunch and dinner in any hotel at the food court. A Day well Spent;)
Haha. I know Chuck Gopal. You don’t need a disclaimer in your name. Well, I’ve never tried Inox, so I don’t know. Besides, food court in Citi Centre will set you back a minimum of Rs.100. Near Sathyam you have Kaiyendi bhavans where you can breakfast for Rs.15 and have lunch at Thalapakattu Biryani for about Rs. 50. You can spend a whole day at Sathyam for under Rs. 100. Beat that!
Also, Sathyam offers the possibility of wandering through Blur doing nothing.
Ha Ha point taken. What if you can watch movies at satyam for Rs.5.00/-. Refer Vodafone Tuesdays offer at satyam for vodafone users. Buy 1 ticket and get another one free;) A cheapstake on a dream date if u wish..;)
Oh I didn’t know such an offer existed.
Sadly not a Vodafone User. Though if you go through the T&C carefully, I’m sure they have written that the free ticket is only if you choose a seat made of teak facing west exactly 30.36 feet away from the screen, equidistant from the fire exits. 
Ha! nice nice. I wish I could watch a movie for Rs. 10/- or even 30/-. Although I did watch 3 idiots for 15/- at a theatre in Dehradun.Crappy one at that. No multiplex.
And to think I was in Chennai for two years, and never once visited the theatre.
The point is not about watching Movies for Rs.10. Its about watching movies at Rs.10 at a multiplex.
Also, this Rs.10 thing isn’t very well known even to people who have stayed in Chennai all their lives.
But you don’t get to see a movie even for Rs 10 in a run-down theatre these days, let alone a multiplex.
Ah yes. True. I saw a dingy theatre in Greater Noida (Actually a room) that was screening B-Grade movies. That was a Rs 10 ticket I guess. I didn’t venture in for fear of communicable diseases.
Nice …
actually while watching How to train your dragon in US – we sat on the front seats here and wondered how amazing experience it is to watch 3D so close. We were discussing how good it would be if they were to sell a Rs 10 style ticket. Actually i think 3D is much better on the front rows !
Haha. Sure is. However I’m of the opinion that every movie is good on the front rows if they charge you just Rs.10.
Dayaamn! I’ve lived for 15 months in chennai and never knew this! The money I could have saved…
You made my day by mentioning Jayanthi and tiruvanmiyur. So many memories…..
Haha. Like I said, many Chennai residents do not know about this. Now you can try it out. And yeah, Jayanthi is cool in its own way.
I remember, way back in late 60′s when 70 mm projection was novel in Madras, as Chennai was called then,watching Patton from the first row at Safire, madras’ first multiplex I presume (Safire 70mm,Emerald a mini with a capacity of 300 and Blue Diamond-a continuous show),we could almost feel that the tanks would run over us and we had to turn our necks like an oscillating pedastal fan at a price of Rs.1.25.
When compared to that Rs10/- is a steal.
Yes definitely. Rs.1.25 would be around Rs.125 now I suppose. The price of a regular multiplex ticket. Rs.10 is definitely worth every paisa.
nice one
in bangalore though, we have a theatre with wooden seats that sell hot samosas during the interval. and the tickets are priced at Rs.50
Ha. 50 is too expensive. Here its just Rs.20.
i want to kno d exact time wen dey ll give d 10 rupees tickets in pvr , chennai
I’ve never been to PVR. Sorry.
In Sathyam, its 2-3 Hours before the show.
nice post
awesome
i have tried the 10 rs tickets ages ago .. always knew abt it .. 
its reall fun ..lol
PVR at Skywalk does have the Rs. 10 Tickets but we still havent figured out when exactly they are available from. Some got them hours ago while others just a few mins before the start of the show. I still havent experienced it. We tried once but there werent enough available. Or maybe it was the fact that we barely speak Tamil
anyway asking for “Normal” tickets is what we decided should get us the Rs. 10 tickets 
Ah yes, lot of it depends on luck
the chance of getting 10 rs ticket for english movies is always high in sathyam . for tamil movies they give only one ticket per person but for english – even without standing in the queue we can get more than one ticket cos the crowd disperses as soon as the tickets for tamil and hindi movies are given !
If Jayanthi gets a mention, then so should Thyagaraja. I watched Padayappa there. Wattey experience it was. Totally worth the sweat and mosquito bites
hey good one!!.
so ur sure tat oly 2-3 hrs bfr the show they start dispersing the 10rs tickets…
if v r present at tat time v can get into it rite??
coz i havent had one exp bfr…in need of ur help..thanks!!