I have a Hollywood dream.
Moving to Hollywood, the land of opportunities. A dream come true for an unknown actor, an unknown name. Feeling of being at the top of the world. Full of hopes and dreams. But he failed to see the storm approaching.
Alone in a foreign land, he had no one to seek advice from. He had to keep the lights on but his resources were running out. He has jumped right in the middle of the ocean with a single minded vision and he struggles to come to the shore. He tries but he fails repeatedly. The weight of the baggage, he has been carrying all his life, was so heavy that he realized the shore is not his destination but an escape. I didn’t come so far to just come so far… Instead he decides to float in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by darkness, in search of happiness.
Floating against a tide is rough. When all his resources were finished, he seeks help. Little did he know that this Hollywood land of glitz and glamour doesn’t lend a hand to unknown names.
As time goes by, all hopes and dreams slowly start getting buried under depression and loneliness. He checks his phone and the contact list is empty. He is not fighting with anyone else but himself.
But the voice needed to come out and he had no where to go. He takes a pen and starts scribbling on a blank paper. One day he notices that those blank papers have taken the shape of a story that no one has ever heard of. The voice came out in the form of a screenplay. He found gold out of nowhere.
Now, he wants to take it to the next level. He gets some of the Hollywood genius screenplay critics to evaluate his work. He gets told that he is not a bad writer, but a non writer. He gets told to forget screenwriting as the screenplay looks amateur with no resemblance to real life. The screenplay is not plausible. He gets told that his screenplay doesn’t fit the formula. But those Hollywood screenwriting genius critics failed to realize that he himself is the formula.
Devastated with all the negative criticisms, he decides to compete globally. The (not so plausible) screenplay inspired by true dialogues and plots now receives numerous awards worldwide. ‘I am not sure how those Hollywood screenwriting genius critics would justify their statements today.’
But the storm hasn’t stopped. He now wants to give life to the screenplay. But he has no name. He is still a nobody. After weeks, when production houses asks for his script, he places a condition right away, that to some, looked and sounded absolutely insane. ‘I need no money for this script. I’ll give you the script for free. Having said that, I will only give you the script if you cast me in the lead role’. Production houses starts backing off. The darkness continues…
When asked why he won’t let anyone play the lead, he says ‘no one can justify Shiva better than me’. When asked why does he think so, he says ‘sometimes somethings are best left unsaid’.
I haven’t written this screenplay for the critics. I do not watch a movie with the intention to judge it. I watch movies simply for entertainment. I am an entertainer and my only goal is people like the story, get entertained, get their money’s worth. When people would spend their hard earned money to buy a ticket to watch this movie, my goal would be that they should get their money’s worth. And that would be the biggest award.
Today, it’s not just another screenplay roaming around in Hollywood. It is a multi award winning script.
I am sure someone somewhere in Hollywood will make this film with me because ‘Shiva travels halfway round the world to find an answer…’