Dec 6, 2006

The advantage(s) of watching movies


Aruna had commented in my last post that, nowadays, I am writing too many posts on movies.. mm.. true.. what to do.. that is one subject which is seldom a dull one to discuss.. And at times, there are some practical applications too.. One incident that happened a few weeks ago immediately comes to my mind..
I was leaving to gym from home and had changed to gym suit. I was carrying the gym bag and it was pretty cold outside.. Only after coming out did I realize that my key bunch didnt have the house key, since I had removed it sometime ago for making a duplicate. I was too lazy to get in, remove my shoes, search for the key and wear the shoe back.. Since it was already dark and my neighborhood is reputed to be gud, I thought I dont have to lock the house for an hour and half, and I left.
After I returned, I turned the knob to try to open the door, and, the door was locked!! I was shocked at first but then got myself composed and thought of the various possibilities.. 1) A thief is inside; he has locked the door from inside and would barge out anytime after collecting his loot.. 2) My home-owner might have come to talk to me for something, and while pushing the knob, the door could have opened; and since he is 'THE OWNER', he might have locked it using his copy of the key; 3) It somehow got locked by itself, may be due to the force with which I slam the door.
Now, the first possibility is deadly.. the easiest way to get a ticket 'upstairs' is to stand in front of the possibly-armed thief rushing out with his collection. So, I went around the house searching for any tiny light which the thief might be using to see inside.. there wasnt anything.. and after listening for sometime, I didnt hear any sound either. So, I jumped to the second possibility.. but, my house-owner wasnt there in the house and God knows when he would return, and it was getting pretty late at night. I was thinking of reasons to tell him why I left the house unlocked and sometime passed.
what if it is #3? How to open the door? To call 911 and let the cops do it.. why to unnecessarily create a commotion with NYPD? That s'd be my last option.. Then, I remembered a scene from one of the recently watched Hollywood movie in which the hero enters into someone else's house using, simply, a plastic card such as a credit card. I thought of applying the same trick with my doorlock, took out the Gym membership card and started swiping it along the edge.. Voila, it worked!! The door opened and luckily there was no one inside. I thanked the movie for infusing me with such an idea, but alongwith that, struck the thought about how vulnerable such locks are.. Our own 'Dindugul poottu' grew up so high in esteem in my mind...

11 comments:

Me too said...

All is well...! But how did it get locked in the first place?!!

I am reminded of this incident many years back. Once at my Uncle's house I dutifully closed all the doors(front and back)when everyone had just stepped out to talk to the neighbours without knowing that the doors had automatic locks. No telephones back then! Until my Uncle came back from work, it was a big suspence if he would have the duplicate keys with him or not(He had, much to my relief!)!

Raju said...

Aparna, well... it got locked bcos my wife had turned knob of the lock just on that day while fiddling around..

Your incident reiterates the point that sometimes the 'automatic' stuff could get lil tricky.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nag, if you want the key, I will give ya.. I dont want my neighbours calling the cops after seeing a stranger trying to enter the home for sometime.. :) Its a lil tricky to open using the card.. that could be a reason why the vulnerability factor is reduced..

KK said...

Could tell us the card trick in detail... might come handy sometime :)

Ponnarasi Kothandaraman said...

Aaaha..Ithellam velila soliteenga :))

Anonymous said...

Which Hollywood movie was that ?

Anonymous said...

Hi Raju,

Talking about Practical Application of movies, the one movie which I can relate to is 10 leadership qualities displayed by Aamir Khan in Lagaan as quoted by IIM.

Looking forward on more practical application of movies from you .

Raju said...

Sanjay, she was with me locked out. I had the double job of not scaring her with my loud thoughts and thinking clearly what to do. Quite a few minutes they were...
-----------------------------------------------
KK, sure.. y not? (Disclaimer: Use it during emergency on YOUR home door.. not on others!! Thappu thanda pannittu maattina ennai kaikaattakkodathu).

There are two types of stems that close the door.. one that is plain cylindrical and the other having a tip like that of a lipstick. If yours is of the first type, u cant use the plastic card swiping trick.. For the second, use a card prefrably having no letters engraved on it. Just at the place where the door is locked, insert it in the gap and push... While doing so, the card unlocks the door.. thats it..

Raju said...

Ponnarasi, ellam namma makkal mele ulla nambikkaidhan.. :)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Anon, I tried a lot to recall the movie but couldnt.. My memory deserted me this time.. :(
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ms. Wise, ur example of Lagaan is a very apt one. His team-building abilities were compared to the Australian way of running and playing cricket.

One important application of the movies is, you can cite love dialogues to your loved ones... :)

KK said...

Is it so simple??? :?

Raju said...

KK, yeah it is.. u can try it out no ur doorlock.. ;)

tablet pc windows said...

This can't have effect in actual fact, that's exactly what I think.