|
22 February 2009
Hyderabad
Slumdog Millionaire has swept the Oscar awards tonight. It was an underdog from the beginning of the award season and stunned everyone with its consistent track record of winning the awards around the world. It became a surprisingly popular topic of discussion in US and across the world, more than, I am sure, within India. Though it is a film made by British director and produced by FOX entertainment, it has all the ingredients from India.
Now the question is what it means to us and Indian film Industry? Let us see how we can take this movie into perspective from a common desi moviegoer point of view.
About the movie:
The movie is a story of a poor boy from the slums of Bombay and how he wins the popular contest “Kaun banega karodpati”. The plot of the movie is extremely well narrated by the director with the help of an impeccable screenplay by Simon Beaufoy. The first thing that hit me while watching this movie is the genius of screenplay writing at its best. The movie is knitted superbly with back and forth frames without loosing the tempo. It is a very tough job to do. The story by Vikas Swarup goes in the lines of Indian philosophical thought process of “destiny” while simultaneously highlighting the fact that you can learn a lot from your “life”. Of course, there were some graphic scenes which are not so easy to digest for desi audience.
What are we missing:
So, if we have all the ingredients within us, why we couldn’t win Oscars so far? I have never felt the meaning of the proverb “you have to be at the right place at the right time” so strongly until now. Does it take an English director to take us to Oscars? May be so. Let us imagine the same story is dealt by an Indian director. There would have been 6 “dream” duets “induced”, I want to emphasize the word “induced” again, into the narration of the story. The scenarios for these songs could be easily predicted as each one would be “illusioned” by the hero, the heroine, the villain, the police officer and finally the anchor of the contest. It is high time we realize that “dream duets” kill movies. I strongly believe that songs played a major role in ruining the chances for Lagaan couple of years ago. Songs should be in coherence with the flow of the movie rather than taking the audience to a totally irrelevant wonderland with senseless jerks and jolts. So, the way of presentation is more important than just having the finest ingredients.
The Rehman factor:
We all know Rehman is a genius par excellence far more capable than his recognition. Well this is his time!!! Frankly, the songs in this movie are not his best. Considering the music he gave us over the years, if he were born in US, he could be easily having his own museum of Oscars that he might have won so far. By winning two Oscars tonight, Rehman played the Indian “note” in the international movie arena on a high pitch. Indian movie industry will not be looked at the same way after tonight.
Undoubtedly, this is a very proud moment for India as a whole. I don’t think the name “India” was ever uttered so many times in any of the prior Oscars ceremonies. The most important thing that is proved tonight is that “we have the capability” to reach the heights of Oscars. It is just the right application and execution that is needed.
We have proved our mettle in the IT Industry. The film Industry could be the next field that Indians are going to excel. It won’t surprise me if there will be new visa category called “BW” for bollywood, created to bring Indian film technicians to Hollywood.
India is a rising star in the world. This victory underlined the enormous talent pool the nation has and showcased its oozing confidence on a different stage. “Jai Ho”!!!!
You can reach the author Uppaji at uppajik at yahoo dot com
related articles:
Oscar winners list
Oscar musings by Prasad
Jeevi Review - Slumdog Millionaire
Soem Ramblings - Slumdog Millionaire |
