India & the Oscars - Just Like That - Slumdog...
I am not going to point out my opinion exclusively(as it is I am too much :P). I am going to make a collage of all those people, near & dear and far & not-so-clear in terms of relation to me, what they said with my views in the brackets(how can I forgo the chance).
Sonia Gandhi said, "Rehman has made India proud!" .
Today morning saw the news where Mr. Modi has brought up this movie under Political Agenda against Congress saying it is the Congress which has created slums and hence the movie(I believe politicians are really artist who see the unseen & create that does not exist like an Abstract Painter)
Mrs. Aishwarya Rai Bacchan(wow! what a name?) said, "I was always fan of Rehman".
Mr. Bacchan said things that looked like he slammed the slum-phillic director but actually what he meant only he knows.
Hemaji, Babbar ji(pardon for the ‘ji’, but that is the trend in the filmi duniya) slammed, slapped & ranted the Oscars for not recognizing Mother India or other master pieces from India.
Danny Boyle the director thanked every one in Mumbai while accepting the Oscars(thank you Danny, iski kya zaroorat thee? yeh to mera farz tha… - my words, I am from Mumbai na!!!).
Anil Kapoor said during some Indian award(sorry, there are at least 4-5 yearly film awards now a days, so it is confusing) "I got my Oscars tonight"!(thoda zyaada hee ho gaya, comparing our awards with Oscars)
Most celebrity viewers when they came out of Cinema hall after seeing this movie said, "Fantastic, fabulous, splendid" (same words that do not speak their mind).
My friend who accompanied me to see the movie said, "Accha hai! Something different!" (anyway she is not a critic of anything unless the majority does, she is beautiful by heart).
My sister said, "Ok! It was Sunday, and the pirated-CD was good"(amazing huh! Well she just wanted to relax on Sunday after a hard call center bill collection week due to recession and Americans not paying their dues but giving away such awards and people making money)
What film critic Nikat Kazmi said is here - Times
and there are umpteen others, with the blog circles actually throwing bouquets and brickbats.
They said this & he said that mean time she said so. Hush! I wonder if this movie was not nominated for the Oscars then what would have happened? I mean, this much recognition & media hullaboo around it with every tom, dick & harry along with infantile mortals like me would have spent time to write good or rant about & around it? I seriously doubt, though. Perhaps it is because of today's media too. During the days of Mother India, Indian media was not so popular or did not have its tentacles from Oscars to the kids who fall into some man made ground holes and the Army rescues them after 2-3 days, & the kids come alive. Media, media & its media. It is the media that makes people popular or notorious, events that make houses in our memories but at the same time it is the media which makes us forget things too. Just like the media made the hype about Swaroop's auction / contract purchase of 100 paintings of M F Hussain for a staggering Rs. 100 Crores and Telgi Scam to Hawala & Parekh-Mehtas scams to Raju's Corporate "chori" it is the same media which brought the face of the terrorism right into our living rooms while we want to havea cup of coffee to see what is happening around the world. It is the same media which is just displaying the rants & appreciations of this movie too.
The way I see it, is the proverb what we bloggers prove all the time, “Opinions are like noses, everyone has them”. But on top of that it reflects another fable which I remember from the Film Division cartoon of 7 blind men & an Elephant.
In simple terms it is not an Indian Film, it is based on a story from India that too slums of India. When it comes to slums we can only feel nasty but the movie shows the rise of underdog suddenly by some twist of fate amidst his own circle of misfortune. Though it does not show it in the traditional Indian sense of struggle and gumption of our angry young man of 80s. But then Oscars is always about this theme and stories that bring this fact out. That is the real American dream or hero. Like Rocky movie deserves Oscars or not is debatable but it showed the same theme. Rising against the odds, by luck or hard work. Gladiator had the same theme though set in Roman era. Million Dollar Baby, Monster , Boys don't cry, A Beautiful Mind, and so many other movies are all stories of success born out of hardships and by an underdog. Slumdog… just has a different background. That’s it! Whether it was an entertainment or not, that is again debatable and depends on your definition of fun.
As far as my opinion is concerned it was an afternoon time spent that I do not regret. Why? Just Like That!
Sonia Gandhi said, "Rehman has made India proud!" .
Today morning saw the news where Mr. Modi has brought up this movie under Political Agenda against Congress saying it is the Congress which has created slums and hence the movie(I believe politicians are really artist who see the unseen & create that does not exist like an Abstract Painter)
Mrs. Aishwarya Rai Bacchan(wow! what a name?) said, "I was always fan of Rehman".
Mr. Bacchan said things that looked like he slammed the slum-phillic director but actually what he meant only he knows.
Hemaji, Babbar ji(pardon for the ‘ji’, but that is the trend in the filmi duniya) slammed, slapped & ranted the Oscars for not recognizing Mother India or other master pieces from India.
Danny Boyle the director thanked every one in Mumbai while accepting the Oscars(thank you Danny, iski kya zaroorat thee? yeh to mera farz tha… - my words, I am from Mumbai na!!!).
Anil Kapoor said during some Indian award(sorry, there are at least 4-5 yearly film awards now a days, so it is confusing) "I got my Oscars tonight"!(thoda zyaada hee ho gaya, comparing our awards with Oscars)
Most celebrity viewers when they came out of Cinema hall after seeing this movie said, "Fantastic, fabulous, splendid" (same words that do not speak their mind).
My friend who accompanied me to see the movie said, "Accha hai! Something different!" (anyway she is not a critic of anything unless the majority does, she is beautiful by heart).
My sister said, "Ok! It was Sunday, and the pirated-CD was good"(amazing huh! Well she just wanted to relax on Sunday after a hard call center bill collection week due to recession and Americans not paying their dues but giving away such awards and people making money)
What film critic Nikat Kazmi said is here - Times
and there are umpteen others, with the blog circles actually throwing bouquets and brickbats.
They said this & he said that mean time she said so. Hush! I wonder if this movie was not nominated for the Oscars then what would have happened? I mean, this much recognition & media hullaboo around it with every tom, dick & harry along with infantile mortals like me would have spent time to write good or rant about & around it? I seriously doubt, though. Perhaps it is because of today's media too. During the days of Mother India, Indian media was not so popular or did not have its tentacles from Oscars to the kids who fall into some man made ground holes and the Army rescues them after 2-3 days, & the kids come alive. Media, media & its media. It is the media that makes people popular or notorious, events that make houses in our memories but at the same time it is the media which makes us forget things too. Just like the media made the hype about Swaroop's auction / contract purchase of 100 paintings of M F Hussain for a staggering Rs. 100 Crores and Telgi Scam to Hawala & Parekh-Mehtas scams to Raju's Corporate "chori" it is the same media which brought the face of the terrorism right into our living rooms while we want to havea cup of coffee to see what is happening around the world. It is the same media which is just displaying the rants & appreciations of this movie too.
The way I see it, is the proverb what we bloggers prove all the time, “Opinions are like noses, everyone has them”. But on top of that it reflects another fable which I remember from the Film Division cartoon of 7 blind men & an Elephant.
In simple terms it is not an Indian Film, it is based on a story from India that too slums of India. When it comes to slums we can only feel nasty but the movie shows the rise of underdog suddenly by some twist of fate amidst his own circle of misfortune. Though it does not show it in the traditional Indian sense of struggle and gumption of our angry young man of 80s. But then Oscars is always about this theme and stories that bring this fact out. That is the real American dream or hero. Like Rocky movie deserves Oscars or not is debatable but it showed the same theme. Rising against the odds, by luck or hard work. Gladiator had the same theme though set in Roman era. Million Dollar Baby, Monster , Boys don't cry, A Beautiful Mind, and so many other movies are all stories of success born out of hardships and by an underdog. Slumdog… just has a different background. That’s it! Whether it was an entertainment or not, that is again debatable and depends on your definition of fun.
As far as my opinion is concerned it was an afternoon time spent that I do not regret. Why? Just Like That!
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