I realise my sense of morality, ethics, right and wrong, have been moulded by cinema quite a bit, especially Hindi cinema. it might sound ridiculous. especially if i use the word 'bollywood' to describe hindi cinema. but there are numerous gems in hindi cinema that people who reject it are unaware of. i recently met Sudhir Mishra in the market near our home and gushed to him about Hazaaron... and then realised that most of my colleagues were either unaware or barely aware of him and his movies (i on the other hand have watched many of his movies and interviews). then this colleague/friend who is a major foreign films buff but rejects everything indian got curious when i mentioned Om Puri because for him that name stands for 'art cinema' which to his sensibility might merit attention whereas 'bollywood' certaintly did not. this same friend also rolled his eyes when i equated Leo diCaprio's stardom - such that he no longer feels like a character in a movie but always this larger than life star that he has become - and why i no longer like his movies to something similar with Aamir Khan and SRK back home. i realise also how much definitions and boxes irritate me. Om Puri himself in an interview says that he had to accept many mainstream movies because the so-called art/independent/parallel scene did not offer enough money to survive. and then there are all these brilliant people who made and acted in movies that meander across the boundaries of 'art' and 'commercial' movies. have you seen Mahesh Bhatt's Zakhm? that is a classic example. hubby hadn't seen it; he has had somewhat of an aglophile upbringing and found one of its songs ridiculous and was laughing. i started to explain the context and found myself crying, the emotions portrayed in the movie and that song are so powerful even after years in my memory of it. the song is 'Padh likh kar bada hokar....'. it is these movies that shaped my liberal views even before i lived in that country where i still think human ideals are alive and discussed.