national anthem: in theatres soon

Another brilliantly jingoistic probabilistically generated idea from the state government[sic] of Maharashtra: from Republic Day 2003 (Jan 26), it will be "mandatory for cinema theatres in Maharashtra to play the national anthem after every show". Some moviegoers and theatre owners in Maharashtra have welcomed it saying it would inculcate patriotism among the people. Why don't they make better films instead? The last thing I saw something like this was when Vidhu Vinod Chopra decided to end his big-budget waste 1942: A Love Story with a request to everyone in the audience to rise for the national anthem. By the time the on-screen rendition ended, the only people in the theatre were my family and friends waiting for me to finish watching the end credits (an old habit of mine, which suffers in India where the projectionist rips the reels out the moment he sees "The End" or a reasonable facsimile thereof). {link courtesy: Chris}