Village goes global

GURGAON: If you’d thought the closest the Hindi heartland could get to the West was Southall, take a second guess. For you needn’t look further than sadda Haryana. If that name conjures images of languidly lounging buffaloes, serene jats in charpoys puffing away at the hookah, and glasses of lassi imbibed with just that slight accompanying whiff of cowdung, you’d be wrong.

The West isn’t just coming to town, it has already set up shop, and is doing roaring business. This, because Haryana is the locale of a socio-economic phenomenon called Gurgaon. Such is the scale of change that analysts and sociologists are scrambling to compare Gurgaon with the swankiest of western cities.

Still a doubting sceptic? Check out these facts which reveal the real strength of the new social undercurrent: In Gurgaon multiplexes such as PVR and DT Cinemas, movies such as Superman Returns and Ice Age have done significantly better than the likes of Krrish, Fanaa or even the latest offering, Omkaara.

Interestingly, for PVR, these movies saw more moolah coming in via Gurgaon theatres than even in South Delhi. Says Saurabh Verma, veep, marketing, PVR Cinemas, “One reason for this could be that group bookings for English movies are higher.

Even otherwise, the response to outdoor promotional activities is also significantly higher.” The message is clear: sub-standard fare or goods just won’t do anymore. People in Gurgaon are the new benchmark of brand and quality consciousness in India. And the cinemas are lapping it up!