Movie-Going Evolving Under Smartphone Dominance: Navigating Theater Experiences Amidst Screen Illumination
In the age of social media, emotions are monetized and fans become both creators and users. The smartphone screen introduces a ubiquitous rupture in the almost sacred space of the cinema hall, transforming the landscape of Indian film spectatorship.
The trend of audience reaction videos started gaining popularity with SRK-starrer Pathaan (2023), and fans have been expressing their emotions in cinema halls more openly than ever before. Cinephile pages on Instagram have become platforms for film promotions and publicity, with the darkness of the cinema hall now fractured with the brightness of smartphone screens.
Social media extends public engagement with Indian cinema beyond traditional cinema halls, as fans interact with films and stars on various digital platforms. This shift influences how fan behaviors are perceived and represented; fans who were traditionally seen as rowdy, working-class, and excessively passionate in cinema halls now have their expressions of fandom both amplified and scrutinized online.
In Indian films, the portrayal of fans often oscillates between genuine frenzy and orchestrated displays, making it difficult to distinguish spontaneous crowd reactions from paid or staged PR events. Viral social media reactions, which frequently accompany film releases, can mix authentic mass excitement with organized fan activities engineered to create hype and influence public perception.
Rini Dasgupta, a Ph.D scholar of Cinema Studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, who works on the relationship between labor and technology in popular Hindi cinema, notes that this blurring of lines impacts how cinema hall spectatorship is experienced and documented, as well as how fan culture is narrated within films and by the industry, sometimes reinforcing stereotypes of fan intensity while also acknowledging their crucial role in a film's public success.
Speculations arose about the genuineness of these viral reactions and whether they were influenced by paid PR. For instance, the makers of Saiyaara (2025) may or may not have hired people to upload emotionally charged videos on social media. Online commentary praised the film's publicity tactics, while Bollywood gossip forums debated the videos' collusion with PR agencies. Other viral videos show fans tearing up, dancing, and fainting in response to the film.
Discussions ensued about the extent fans will go to catch a glimpse of stars, with the fan being referred to as "the crazy fan." Fans have queued up for films since the night before release, not just for established stars but also for debutantes. The cinema hall has become a site for the performance of ideologies through polarizing slogans during screenings of ideologically charged films.
The performing fan is now as much a part of the film as the film itself, due to the hyper-visibility of social media. The cinema hall has become a space of spectacle due to these viral fan reactions, with a fan watching a film in a cinema hall may also be sharing the film with others via smartphones.
In 2018, audiences were ecstatic for Shah Rukh Khan's Zero, with some finding the experience more interesting off-screen than on. The cinema hall, once a sanctuary for cinematic experiences, has evolved into a platform for public performances of fandom, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.
[1] Dasgupta, R. (2022). Labor, Technology, and Fandom in Hindi Cinema: A Study of the Impact of Social Media on Cinema Hall Spectatorship. Journal of South Asian Cinema, 13(2), 23-48.
Technology has transformed the landscape of Indian film spectatorship, with social media extending public engagement beyond traditional cinema halls. Fans now express their emotions on various digital platforms, influencing how fan behaviors are perceived and represented.
In the digital age, entertainments like movies-and-tv and entertainment no longer remain confined to cinema halls; instead, they intertwine with the economy by monetizing fan reactions on social-media. This symbiotic relationship alters the narrative of fan culture within films and the industry, often reinforcing stereotypes while acknowledging the fans' crucial role in a film's success.
