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29 March 2024

There might not be a morning show in Sharjah cinemas

Published
By Sneha May Francis

For those early birds, who are planning to step out on a Friday morning to the cinemas, to possibly beat the maddening weekend crowd, do be warned that your strategy could actually backfire.

No, it’s not the crowds we are talking about. There might not be a morning show, after all.

And that’s exactly what we learnt last Friday.

Despite the newspapers, local magazines and the Grand Cinema guide claiming there were morning shows - 10am for ‘Ishaqzaade’ and 10.45am for ‘The Avengers’ – at the movie hall in Sahara Centre, Sharjah, the ticketing counter wore a deserted look.

So, the handful of people who had gathered, were left confused and had to start scouting around for answers.

“I’ve been walking around trying to find out if someone knew what’s going on. A security guard said the show starts at 10.30am and not 10am,” reported Meesha, who along with her husband had thought she’d start her weekend early.

But at 10.30am, there was still no sign of progress. More people joined and added to the chaos.

When the cleaning boys were approached, they were unable to give any conclusive answer. One claimed he was new on the job and the other refused to speak any language we knew – Indian or English.

So, the clock ticked away, and we continued to wait.

“Movie halls are so crowded on the weekends, so we decided to come for the morning show to avoid the madness,” added Meghna, who along with her gang of friends patiently waited for the movie screening.

Each of them claimed this was their first time at a morning show, and that too on a Friday.

“I think Sharjah laws states that cinema halls and malls don’t open until after prayer time on Friday,” read the text message from an official from the Grand Cinemas.

Although we headed out after relaying the message to the others, many decided to wait it out.

The lady ticketing officer, who we bumped into on our way out, claimed there was no morning show on Friday and the first screening was at 12noon.

The mess-up can be avoided, insisted the Grand Cinema official, stating: “We always encourage people to check online for most up-to-date timings.”

The website, however, listed ‘Ishaqzaade’ at not 12 noon, but 11.45am on a Friday morning.

And, that ruling changed, yet again this week, with Grand Cinema website allowing its customers to buy tickets online for 10am show on Friday (check image attached).

Now, that’s left us completely bemused.

So, we checked with other movie halls in Sharjah who insisted being unaware of a rule in Sharjah that doesn’t permit Friday morning screening.

“Sometimes we have screened Telugu movies at 10.30am, but the ticketing and administrative offices remain shut from 12 noon to 1.30pm, in lieu of the prayer timings,” revealed an officer at Concorde cinema in Sharjah.

Officials at the Star Cineplex, which operates near Sharjah City Centre, claimed all their shows (through the week) started at 1.15pm, and this had nothing to do with the rule.

Grand Cinemas at Buhairah and Mega Mall endorsed what their officials at Grand Sahara had relayed to us, with Friday first shows starting at 1pm.

With so many conflicting versions to it, we suggest the only way to avoid being stranded at a cinema hall on a Friday morning, is to skip the trip altogether.