Two generations at Jurassic Park

Amogh Ravindra writes a letter to his niece, sharing what he felt when he saw his favourite dinosaur movie with her.

Dear Little One,

Guess what? It’s been 30 years since our favourite dino-flick stomped into theatres! Yep, ‘Jurassic Park,’ the movie that made me hoard dinosaur figurines like they were going out of style. And now, here you are, following in my T-Rex-sized footsteps with the new, albeit slightly less shiny, franchise. But hey, the original still rocks, doesn’t it? It’s the sci-fi gem that keeps us wondering, ‘What if we shared our world with giant lizards?’ or ‘What if Kattappa had traded his dagger for a Velociraptor in Bahubali?’ Talk about a plot twist!

Watching it on a sunny weekday in a standalone Gayathri Theatre in Mysore back in 1993. I asked your uncle (my older brother who was watching the Hindi dub) if dinosaurs chatted in Hindi too. Little did I know, Spielberg didn’t hand scripts to the dinos; he saved all the dialogue for the humans. Classic Spielberg, am I right? 

You’ve probably watched this film more number of times than there are dinosaurs in the movie, choosing it over a sea of other films on TV. I did it, your uncle did it, and now you’re doing it. It’s like we have dino-DNA running in our veins, much like John Hammond’s fondness for Alejandro’s Chilean Basa.

Just the other day, I was re-watching it and laughing at the bits that are still hilarious three decades later. Like that opening scene with the velociraptor — still sends shivers down my spine! And when that epic John Williams score plays as Richard Attenborough says, “Welcome to Jurassic Park!” I’m telling you, when I get old (not that I am not old now), I’m going full John Hammond at the Bengaluru Comic-Con, handing out ice creams left and right, saying “spared no expense.”

There is a scene in the movie where Dr Ian Malcolm, played by Jeff Goldblum, or in other words, The Grand Master from ‘Thor Ragnarok’, explains the butterfly effect to Dr Alan Grant and Dr Ellie Sattler, played by Sam Neill and Laura Dern, respectively. To this day, it is one of the simplest explanations I have gotten so far on the butterfly effect and chaos theory.

The part where Hammond’s Lex and Tim join the park tour and their love for ice cream reminded me a bit of you. Especially the parts where Tim just starts getting all excited to see Alan Grant and asking him all sorts of questions. And the T-Rex chase that follows, of course. Speaking of which, I remember how your mother nearly jumped out of her seat during this scene. And those sneaky velociraptors chasing Dr Ellie Sattler. Fun!

In the very part, they start feeding a brachiosaurus and he says, “Just think of it as feeding a…big cow…!” reminded me of the first time you fed the street doggos in front of our house. And the very next moment when Alan Grant talks about dinos breeding thanks to a West African toad? It’s like the line he says became the catchphrase for unexpected science and life lessons. “Life always finds a way..,” is probably the only bit of sage advice I would give to you. 

And when you are writing an article of your own a few years down the line and creating small ripples across the globe. “Clever Girl,” I’d say to myself then. That and probably the part where Nedry says, “See Nobody Cares”. Classic Meme!

Alrighty, that’s my trip down memory lane. Let’s plan to watch ‘The Predator’ next time you’re here for Christmas. I know, I know, you’re a fan of that one too. Until then, keep the movie marathon going!

Love, Uncle