Going into space with Tom Hanks!

Sometimes I feel that I am from the old school of thought and that Indians do not adapt to change fast.

I mean, we are so used to the chalta hai attitude. Why should we change when things are doing okay? Why should we need more when we are happy with what we have?

That is why when John Schreiner, vice-president, IMAX, told me that I must see the film Apollo 13 in digital format to experience the effects, I felt he was just another gora trying to sell me his product.

I had seen Ron Howard's 35mm film Apollo 13 in 1997. It was gripping. I could not leave my seat when Tom Hanks and his colleagues reappear in the sky after failing to make it to the moon.

When the film show was late by half an hour, I lost interest and contemplated leaving as I had already got my story after speaking to Schreiner and Pooja Shetty, director of Adlabs.

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The digital effects make you feel as if you are just about to take the rocket seat with Hanks. And when Apollo 13 develops a snag and Hanks's character tries to set it right, you can bet your life you feel endangered as well.

Throughout the film, I felt like I was one of the rocket scientists in Hanks's team (never mind that I am as far from rocket science as the moon is from the earth) and that I had to return home alive as my family was waiting for me. When the spaceship returned to earth and his family clapped and jeered, I was relieved to be alive!

The only distractions were a friend and a lady sitting in front of me. They were having a headache and feeling dizzy throughout. Luckily, I had been advised beforehand to shut my eyes from time to time while watching a film in IMAX. And whenever I shut my eyes, I could hear the NASA space centre directing me from Texas. It was chilling!

According to Schreiner, any Bollywood film can be converted into IMAX format, but the cost will have to be worked out. "For a film like Apollo 13, it cost $2 million for IMAX to convert it from 35mm," Schreiner explained.

But before we come to the cost of conversion, let's hope Bollywood's filmmakers make some quality films that are worth converting.