That Bollywood is a uniting force in India, second only to Cricket (or maybe the other way round), is a cliche we have all heard since AK Hangal cried - 'Itna sannata kyon hai bhai!' in Sholay. To hear it is something, to witness it, something else wonly!
So here I am, in faraway Jakarta, a place 99.9x% Indians would not even touch with a 10'' long pole. With no real hangouts in the city, I decided, what better than to catch a couple of Bollywood flicks in one of the malls (it must be noted that Jakarta spends it weekends in the malls...i.e. when they are not on the road bringing the city to a standstill even on weekends!).
Anyways, so I buy myself a seat in the Audi that is screening 'Ready', the latesht Sallu-starrer Dabangg-style comedy (What better way to classify a movie with songs like 'Character Dheela hai' and '12 mahine me 12 tareeke se tujhko pyaar dikhaunga mai'). I comfortably place myself on my seat, the first one in the hall (since I am the most vella person around). I had expected a handful of bored desis, stuck in this place, just like me to give me company. But by the time the hall was full there were about 150 people and lo and behold, 50% were of Asian origin (yeah, I know Indians are Asians too, but I use this term as is used as the politically correct term for Chinks).
The couple that sat next to me was a couple from Thailand - I eavesdropped :). I was not too sure of the movie myself - I would not have watched it had there been another option - and so I thought, what a waste of time and money for these Asians. But as the movie unfolded, so did my surprise! Firstly, the movie was indeed funny, without being gross and was appealing well to the Indians. The Asians in the house seemed to be loving every moment of it too. They laughed at the right time, understood every twist in the movie (not that there were too many). That was my moment of realization - Bollywood unites not just Indians but also non-Indians. And it was a great feeling!
So here I am, in faraway Jakarta, a place 99.9x% Indians would not even touch with a 10'' long pole. With no real hangouts in the city, I decided, what better than to catch a couple of Bollywood flicks in one of the malls (it must be noted that Jakarta spends it weekends in the malls...i.e. when they are not on the road bringing the city to a standstill even on weekends!).
Anyways, so I buy myself a seat in the Audi that is screening 'Ready', the latesht Sallu-starrer Dabangg-style comedy (What better way to classify a movie with songs like 'Character Dheela hai' and '12 mahine me 12 tareeke se tujhko pyaar dikhaunga mai'). I comfortably place myself on my seat, the first one in the hall (since I am the most vella person around). I had expected a handful of bored desis, stuck in this place, just like me to give me company. But by the time the hall was full there were about 150 people and lo and behold, 50% were of Asian origin (yeah, I know Indians are Asians too, but I use this term as is used as the politically correct term for Chinks).
The couple that sat next to me was a couple from Thailand - I eavesdropped :). I was not too sure of the movie myself - I would not have watched it had there been another option - and so I thought, what a waste of time and money for these Asians. But as the movie unfolded, so did my surprise! Firstly, the movie was indeed funny, without being gross and was appealing well to the Indians. The Asians in the house seemed to be loving every moment of it too. They laughed at the right time, understood every twist in the movie (not that there were too many). That was my moment of realization - Bollywood unites not just Indians but also non-Indians. And it was a great feeling!
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