When Toho Co. Ltd., released the first Godzilla movie titled Gojira in Japan in 1954, little did it know that the mutant sea lizard would herald a series of top-grossing monster movies and go on to become one of cinema's most enduring images. Shot in black and white, Gojira had all of Japan mesmerized. And this was the beginning of box-office history.

In 1956 the American version of Gojira was released. Godzilla, King of the Monsters, starring Raymond Burr and Takashi Shimura, shook the US and started the trend of one Japanese Godzilla followed by one whipped up in a Hollywood studio. In the last four-and-a-half decades there have been 22 Godzilla films, and at least a couple of animated television series. In 1962 there was King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) followed by Mothra vs Godzilla, The Three Giant Monsters and Greatest Battle of Earth a couple of years later. More recently we had Godzilla vs. King Ghidora, Godzilla vs. MechaKingGhidorah and Godzilla vs. Mothra in 1998. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah sent shivers up many spines in 1999. And the year 2000 had Godzilla Millennium, Gojira 2000 and Godzilla vs. Orga keeping the monster myth alive and the cash counters jingling.

Perhaps one of the few Godzilla films that failed to make an impact was the last Hollywood version. Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's Godzilla released in 1998, despite an impressive star cast (Matthew Broderick, Philippe Roache, Hank Azaria, and Maria Pitillo) and an interesting storyline (in the South Pacific following a secret nuclear testing an iguana is radiated and mutates into a hideous 200 ft tall reptile who goes on to wreak havoc in New York till it is stopped in its tracks by a scientist, his ex-girlfriend and a French insurance investigator) fizzled out the b-o. The sci-fi entertainer's special attraction was the stupendous special effects. This film introduced the "green screen" to the monster genre. Actors were filmed enacting out their scenes against the backdrop of a 120-feet green curtain which was then replaced with explosions, miniature building, anything the film-makers wanted.

However, despite the mind-blowing SFX fans of Godzilla were so disappointed by the Emmerich-Devlin product that they deluged Toho Films with e-mails and faxes begging them to continue their Godzilla franchise. Godzilla 2000 was the result. Directed by Takao Okawara who has directed the earlier Godzilla films, Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla and Godzilla vs Mothra, Godzilla 2000 stars Takehiro Murata, Shiro Sano, Hiroshi Abe, Naomi Nishida, Mayu Suzuki. This 99-minute film may not be as hi-tech as the Hollywood one, but it is a lot of fun. Godzilla has been given a long tail and huge spines that glow a beautiful orange with each fire0and-fury breath. The computer-enhanced image of the earlier Godzilla, has been replaced by a man in a rubber suit whose size changes with every shot. The man is actor and veteran stuntman Tsutomu Kitagawa.

The conflict this time is between Godzilla and an alien life form called Orga aroused from its 6,000-year sleep from the depths of the Japanese oceans. Two hundred meters wide and shaped like a rock, the  UFO flies over the Japanese archipelago and attacks Godzilla who has just crushed the entire city of Nemuro. Yuji Shinoda is Takehiro Murata, a scientist in the Godzilla Prediction Network who has spent a lifetime studying the habits of the great lizard so he can predict the monster's next appearance and control the destruction. He is setting up equipment on a fog-shrouded peninsula with his computer-savvy daughter Io (Mayu Suzuki), when the 180 ft Godzilla rises from the sea and attacks a nuclear power plant and a remote lighthouse. A science journalist Yuki Ichinose (Naomi Nishida) tags along with the group as it follows the monster toward civilization and the CCIA (Crisis Control Intelligence Agency), which has discovered a submerged meteor. Scientist Miyasaka (Shiro Sano) is sent to recover this meteor that turns out to be a shape-shifting alien that wants to harness a healing gene, Regenerator G-1 that would allow the UFO to heal instantly from missile hits, found in Godzilla's cellular structure. The UFO begins to fly, morphing from a rock to a shiny metal ship to a purplish-blue squid to a spaceship. The spaceship begins to download data from all the computers in Tokyo. By the time scientists realize that the spaceship is learning about Earth to make way for an alien takeover, the vessel has turned into a beastly menace.

Meanwhile, news of Godzilla's arrival reaches CCIA Chief Katagiri (Hiroshi Abe) who enlists the Japanese military to destroy the big guy. Meanwhile Godzilla and the rock clash near the nuclear plant and then move into the streets of Shinjuku and Tokyo for the final confrontation. Hugely successful in Japan, Godzilla 2000 was the first Japanese Godzilla movie since Godzilla 1985 to get a theatrical release in the US after being dubbed in English. What makes Godzilla 2000 appealing is the lack of digitized, computerized, state-of-the- art imagery. In this age of computerized visual perfection, the scenes of Godzilla crashing and stomping through Tokyo, giant feet pounding the pavement and a jaw full of utility wires, is quite delightful. The SFX may not be perfect but it is quite evident that Toho Studios have put in more money into the film than usual.

The film is being released in Mumbai on November 3. Kamal Jain, who is based in Delhi, is the importer of Godzilla 2000 and giving the film to different distributors all over India. In Gujarat and Maharashtra the film is being released by Viru Movies owned by Viru Talreja. So confident is Talreja about the success of Godzilla 2000 that he will release at least 15-20 prints in Hindi and English in his territories. "Godzilla 2000 is a fantastic film and I'm sure children and adults will flock to the theatres showing the film," insists Talreja. "I expect it to do well as any Hindi film even though it is very different from the usual masala movies mushy romances being dished out today. It will work because people are bored of the usual fare and want to see something new." Talreja plans to release the film in theatres like New Empire, Minerva and New Vijay in Mumbai. In fact, he'll show it at any theatre he gets because he has lots of prints and is convinced there's a huge market for the monster movie in India. Overseas Godzilla 2000 has netted in a whopping Rs 32 crore and Talreja expects it to rake in the moolah in amchi Mumbai too.