Hollywood - A no holds barred tribute

Like most of the folks one of my favorite pass times happens to be watching movies. Over the time watching movies has evolved from being just a pass time to one of my true passions .There are days when i end up watching 3-4 movies in a single day. Now a days i don't watch movies just for entertainment but also like to explore different types of cinema .I have seen movies of all genre and many languages.

But i would say that this transition from being a pass time to becoming a passion wouldn't have been possible without the help of Hollywood. I remember when i watched Jurassic Park for first time in theatre. I was in sixth class,11 years old ,year 1994 .The experience,the thrill and excitement remains unmatched .Such awesome special effects ,heart stopping sequences,non stop thrill ride from start to finish which only Hollywood can deliver. What more a eleven year old boy sick of all that stupid crap being dished out by Bollywood could have asked for.

I was sick of all the mushy romances,melodrama and stupid song sequences .I needed thrill ,action and sci fiction . The gap was filled by comics(Super commando Dhruv, Nagraj, chacha chowdhary and many animation series which were aired on Doordarshan at that time). But i needed something more. Even among hindi movies i was more excited by different from league movies such as Junoon - Rahul Roy starring desi take on werewolf or weretiger ;) ,Pehla nasha( deepak tijori starring remake of Body double) ,and of course Akshay Kumar's Khiladi. Some of them would be good but mostly crap.

I desperately needed a let out and Hollywood came to the rescue. First there was Jurassic Park and then the list kept on growing. One awesome movie after another - The Lost World,Terminator 2,Independence day,Jumanji,Godzilla, Men in Black,Speed,Titanic and more. With the advent of Star Movies to Indian television watching english movies became a norm. Now i had access to movies of all genre Horror, suspense ,sci fi -u name it u get it which was never possible with Bollywood.

But till around 10th standard or so i was mostly interested in movies which were blockbusters,special effects driven and being given widespread publicity .So basically it was media which was choosing movies for me and I did make some bad choices such as Anaconda,Universal Soldier etc.

Now year was 1999 and me in 11th stad . I watched this ad of a movie on TV , black and green hue,people hanging in air, Keanu Reeves dodging bullets and asking the question - what is the matrix? Only answer you got was -"unfortunately no one can be told what the Matrix is ,you have to see it for yourself" and i was hooked. At that time only English movie that was on everyone's mind was Brendan Fraser starrer The Mummy and breaking records all over India. But i was only interested in finding out the secret of the Matrix ,and against everyone wishes bought 4 tkts and took my whole family for the movie.

I wont forget that day ever in my life.Such storytelling,the twists,the turns i have never witnessed till date. I have never felt so much for the characters and hated the villains with such intensity. The adrenaline pumped and excitement soared in second half.What a movie it was-a mind boggling blend of science fiction, philosophy,religion backed with special effects and techniques never seen on big screen before.You had to be there to believe it. Everyone cheered and clapped during the movie ,and just to watch audience gasp over the action scenes was worth your money. Neo became an icon and the movie went on to become a cult hit and is now regarded as a science fiction classic. First time a movie that made me think and question the reality around us. The meaning of existence ,to be alive ,what it means to perceive and feel ,to question our sense of reality - i dont ever remember any movie made in India that forced me to ask these question. The Matrix is my favourite movie till date which i have seen countless number of times and never once get bored.

Now i was delving deeper into movies and exploring cinema even further.Another round of excellent movies started - forrest gump ,truman show,fight club,primal fear,twelve monkeys etc.
I had also begun to watch movies of different languages (crouching tiger hidden dragon) . I have been fortunate enough to watch the works of geniuses such as Kubrick,Kurosawa and Tarkovsky. Now a days i dont i dont care what language the movies is in,least who is starring -if i have time i just watch the movie.

Some people tell me that i am biased in favor of Hollywood .The fact is that I actually am and there is a reason behind it.Even if you were to consider mainstream Hollywood the variety being offered is still a lot more what we get here in our country. The freedom of choice is what matters the most to me ,which fortunately has started to be seen in Bollywood as well of late.

Hollywood liberated the movie experience for me,showed what possibilities cinema held,and introduced me to a world never seen before. Yes bad movies are made by Hollywood as well but on an average the number and variety of good movies released is more than enough to keep me satisfied .Today what cinema and movies means to me is synonymous with Hollywood and international cinema while Bollywood is only secondary because even most of the comics and graphic novels which i read (both english and hindi) are better than what is offered in hindi films.