SABARI GANESH

Desperate times, Desperate measures. Go ahead to save your organisation, country and the whole mankind. In the process, create mayhem in every country and go unnoticed by the local police. This is what Hollywood spy action thrillers are showing its audience for the past five decades. It started with Ian Fleming’s James Bond in the 1950s. Then Tom Cruise continued it by launching the impossible mission. Jason Bourne who started roaming Europe in the quest to find his identity is still running away from CIA. Liam Neeson’s family was taken every time before he concluded the franchise when nobody was left to be taken away.

High voltage chasing where Audis and BMWs are hurled in the air, playing with airplanes hanging from them and jumping from them, taking helicopters into the railway tunnels, blasting away the parliaments and making fun of prime ministers. In the midst of these things, add some humour and glamour. Romance a woman every time you visit a new country for your mission. Produce the sequels with similar premise and advanced insane stunts to shake the box office. This is the strategy of James Bond and Mission Impossible franchises which was successful all over the world including India.

Coming to the audience, who seek more insanity from these kind of movies are never disappointed. James Bond and Ethan Hunt have been providing them all they expect for their ticket. For example, Ethan Hunt is upgrading his stunts with every movie. Firstly he hung upside down from a rope wire. Then he climbed a rock mountain and later jumped from skyscrapers in Shangai and threw himself away from explosions. Three years ago he scaled Burj Khalifa in Dubai and recently hung from a cargo plane while taking off and I wonder what he is going to do for the sixth impossible mission. Is he going to jump from Everest or hang from a satellite during its launch into the space or would he dare to speak frankly with Arnab Goswami?

All these blockbusters are set around organisations like CIA, FBI, MI6 and fictional IMF. I am eager to know how real life agents working in these organisations would feel when they watch these movies. Do they laugh at them or praise them or feel proud of themselves ?