Firstly, since I haven’t seen any of the other nominated movies, I wont comment on whether or not the movie deserved 8 oscars. Maybe the other ones were equally bad or worse. Maybe it's post Obama America trying to make amends for the last couple of decades of self-obsession and self-righteousness by acknowledging that non Americans also belong to the human race. Maybe it's all these and other factors combining in the ridiculous way fate sometimes has of turning things on it's head.
So, lets discuss the movie itself. It's not even good, forget great. The screenplay has gaping holes, the storyline is ridiculous, the performances are extremely ordinary, the script is juvenile, the cinematography is as good as what we see in most hindi movies these days and the direction is average. Rehman is good, but way way short of his best (but I guess even that is good enough for the Oscars so that’s all right). And of course it has the following scene:
Poor Boy Fucked by Fate (PBFF) working as guide to American Tourist With Golden Heart (ATGH) is caught stealing and is thrashed by Insensitive Indian Goon (IIG).
PBFF while getting belted tells ATGH – ‘see..this is the real India’.
ATGH stops IIG, scolds him, hands PBFF a C note and tells him ‘this is the real America’.
Amazing!! Real goose bump and lumpy throat stuff right?
And the reaction!! Funniest thing yesterday was how both the British and Indian media were going bonkers that ‘their movie’ had won. And there were celebrations in the Bandra slums and in Pali Hill bungalows. At the end of the day, the hype is all about Bollywood. This entire ‘spontaenous eruption of joy’ has been carefully choreographed since the BAFTA nominations. So, while the movie ran to empty theatres across Mumbai, the film fraternity came out with media bytes blazing – no doubt mentally rearranging their dates to accommodate Hollywood directors they think would be lining up after this phenomenon.
Was the reaction similar when Pt Ravi Shankar or Pt Zakir Hussain got the Grammy? Or when Ray (who???) won the Oscar?
As Borat would say…’Naaaaat!!!’.
Feb 24, 2009
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20 comments:
that's what i was trying to say, albeit in a bad language and you blasted me for that. bloody hypocrite.
thats not what you have written u bigot. with your exhaustive knowledge of western music you have pronounced that indian lyrics are much better than english songs.
copy pasting my comment from Ghetu's blog since the though stands:
Oscars are indeed a frace as is any film award show. And I've had enough of people saying that it's high time that Hollywood appreciated our work. I ask bloody how many times have our Bollywood film awards appreciated Hollywood's work?
I am willing to bet that even though we claim Slumdog as an Indian film, in our very next awards ceremony, the best director and moview will go to some Bollywood crap movie.
Haven't seen it. Am not a Mumbai-ite, even though on a recent visit, Mumbai exceeded my (admittedly rather low) preconceptions. But then of course, my baseline was Kolkata (ardent Kolkatans, hold your flames, I don't really care!). But then, I was thinking about my reaction to "City of Joy", which had some very powerful actors delivering strong performances. In spite of not being (at least self-admittedly) a chauvinist, my visceral reaction to the movie was "I hate this. This is pandering! All hail the glorious 'sahib' who has come to save the short sighted natives, who can't seem to put away their pettiness long enough to see past their noses! And not everyone in Calcutta is a leper!" But then, on repeat viewings, when I forced myself to 'go outside my SELF', I saw a lot of beauty in that film. (Now, you didn't know I was a budding Mahesh Yogi, did you?)
I know that's not what you (Shuv) are saying. Your critique of the movie is along the lines of its script and direction and so on ... I can't comment on that yet, as I haven't seen it. May be later ...
The day after, one of my colleagues congratulated me in the hallway. SDM was so much outside my thinking, that for a second, like an idiot, I thought he was congratulating me for winning an award for excellence in teaching or research that I hadn't heard of. NO SUCH BLOODY LUCK! DAMN!!! Once I understood what he was congratulating me for, my response to him was - I am neither a slumdog, nor a millionaire, so please don't congratulate ME !!!
oh! you still think their lyrics are better????? class enemy!
ace: i actually dont agree with you on oscars being a farce. as i said, unless one sees all the nominations one really cannot take that call.
DD: watch it and let me know yr reactions.
ghetu: its a scary thought that someone as bigotted and poorly informed as you actually works as a journalist.
I've seen 3 of best pic nominations. And i have to say that one is worse than the other and that Slumdog was actually the best of the 3 i saw.
BUT, none of the 3 deserved to be there in the first place. There were other much more deserving movies made last year. That is what I mean when i say farce.
Nolan doesn't get a best director nomination even? FARCE!!!
same feelings here. luckily my editors know that and they do not let me write on culture, but only on financial things, which is beyond your brains.
just to increase your love for journalists. CNN IBN was flashing all day that slumdog child star azhar slapped by his father!!!
yehoooooooo!!!!!!!!
jai ho! to indian lobby at the oscars and also at other sidey awards preceeding oscars. The movie in no way deserves any award not even for music. This is the victory of indian marketing firms and strong indian lobby the indian hype is here to stay and everyone in the west is looking towards india so whats wrong if indian PR/marketing/lobbying firms are making the best of it? The only thing I am proud of is that we have outlplayed US in its own game.
who said the awards are about performance???? that is history now. The strongest lobby wins the awards
agreed except for one thing..the only thing 'indian' about this was the setting (except maybe loveleen tandon's contribution)..so this marketing victory is for Fox Searchlights and Warner Bros. They are smart enough to sell 'India' to indians.
I read somewhere that an Indian firm was handling all the marketing and PR for the movie....maybe it was only for India
I saw it.
I liked it.
I don't see a movie for its direction, or cinematography, or editing ... I go to be told a story. I liked the way the story was told.
But I did not find the music anything to write home about. I think Rehman has created far better music on several occasions.
good..now watch DevD and let me know how you find it..watch it in the theatre though.
But, I hate movies about drunks.
Drunks are entertaining. I could watch a sloshed dude trying to pick up a penny off the floor for hours.
But movies made about drunks that make them out to be some kind of tragic heroes are not my cup of tea (or any other beverage, for that matter)
..its a movie made by a group of sick minds...supported by a team of indian pimps..
...but i'm not surprised...once a slave always a slave...jai ho!
hi shuv..hi vikas..
hi rip..where have u been?
..i was out of town for quite sometime..missed u guys..how have u been?..and hows ghetu and kaushik..?..old time foes..ha!ha!
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