A month or two back, half of India was not even aware of the existence of this film. And now, it is on everyone's lips - or ears, or eyes, or whatever physical anatomy you can think of. All thanks to our over enthusiastic, and yet over reacting media. And I am referring to the news channels. Now it doesn't need my certification to state that our lovely Hindi and English channels have a huge heart. And by that I am referring to their tendency of putting in their opinions as news. This is an art they have mastered over the years, and are now so adept at, that it would be difficult to say what is news and what is their opinion.
Take the case of Slumdog, their latest favourite. Here is a foreign director - and pardon my ignorance of films outside the Hindi film industry - who no one has ever heard about, who comes to Mumbai, shoots a documentary glorifying the lives of slum dwellers, puts in a dash of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, with a group of Indian, and part-Indian actors, and voila, the international press and media go topsy turvy trying to portray this as a work of art. Some even go to the extent of calling it the real India. Dude [and Dudette, lest our Women's commision takes objection]! India is not about slums alone. Nor is it about the dogs there. Or the humans you loving call Slumdogs.
Indians being people with oodles of generosity, will not mind what you call them, but that doesn't take away from the fact that India is still looked upon with fear and awe - awe that a country with such diversity and internal conflicts, still manages to make tremendous progress, and a fear that we might colonise them one day. Fear not. Indians do not believe in ruling others.
Coming back to the film, for people like me who have been brought up on Hindi cinema - Bollywood as called by many - would know that the basic plot of the film is nothing new. An underdog brought up in extreme poverty strikes it rich one day, and as a bonus, gets to keep the girl too. How innovative. I have nothing against the film - to me films are a means of escapism, and not a source of knowledge - but I am very much against the attitude of a large section of the media as also some self proclaimed movie critics - they are another group I have never understood, but more on them later - go on to describe how this film is a path breaking venture blah blah blah. I can bet my money that had the same film been done by some Indian director, the film would have been ripped apart, and he would have been crucified for taking cinema 20 years backward. Talk of hypocrisy!
In short, neither India, nor its cinema, has gained anything out of Slumdog. Did anyone notice that barring Rahman and Rasool, not a single other Indian got an award for the film yet - which is surprising considering it has got a whole galaxy of them, and the entire starcast was Indian? Doesn't all this point to something, something which I mentioned earlier in this post?
It is time to move on, and while I salute you Mr. Rahman, I have nothing good to say or talk about this film.
Take the case of Slumdog, their latest favourite. Here is a foreign director - and pardon my ignorance of films outside the Hindi film industry - who no one has ever heard about, who comes to Mumbai, shoots a documentary glorifying the lives of slum dwellers, puts in a dash of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, with a group of Indian, and part-Indian actors, and voila, the international press and media go topsy turvy trying to portray this as a work of art. Some even go to the extent of calling it the real India. Dude [and Dudette, lest our Women's commision takes objection]! India is not about slums alone. Nor is it about the dogs there. Or the humans you loving call Slumdogs.
Indians being people with oodles of generosity, will not mind what you call them, but that doesn't take away from the fact that India is still looked upon with fear and awe - awe that a country with such diversity and internal conflicts, still manages to make tremendous progress, and a fear that we might colonise them one day. Fear not. Indians do not believe in ruling others.
Coming back to the film, for people like me who have been brought up on Hindi cinema - Bollywood as called by many - would know that the basic plot of the film is nothing new. An underdog brought up in extreme poverty strikes it rich one day, and as a bonus, gets to keep the girl too. How innovative. I have nothing against the film - to me films are a means of escapism, and not a source of knowledge - but I am very much against the attitude of a large section of the media as also some self proclaimed movie critics - they are another group I have never understood, but more on them later - go on to describe how this film is a path breaking venture blah blah blah. I can bet my money that had the same film been done by some Indian director, the film would have been ripped apart, and he would have been crucified for taking cinema 20 years backward. Talk of hypocrisy!
In short, neither India, nor its cinema, has gained anything out of Slumdog. Did anyone notice that barring Rahman and Rasool, not a single other Indian got an award for the film yet - which is surprising considering it has got a whole galaxy of them, and the entire starcast was Indian? Doesn't all this point to something, something which I mentioned earlier in this post?
It is time to move on, and while I salute you Mr. Rahman, I have nothing good to say or talk about this film.
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