Sunday, January 18, 2009

Proud to be a Slumdog?

I have not yet seen the movie, of course, but I do have some initial thoughts about what's happening with it. Yes, it might be a perfectly well done movie. Rahman has probably given an excellent sound track, Frieda and Anil Kapoor have probaby acted well, and so on and so forth. And it went on to win 4 Golden Globes for its primarily western creators.

But why are we Indians so ga-ga over it? It's not really an Indian movie. It's shot in the slums and dark under bellies of Mumbai. It is a story of hope written by an Indian, but it's also a vivid portrayal of the India that's always appealed to the westerners in search of heart wrenching stories of the third world, pictures and articles that gnaw at your conscience and makes for some great reporting!

That's probably why it's getting the acclaim that a Lagaan never did! Because, even if it was a period movie, Lagaan was about the positive in India. An image most westerners probably find loath to accept? Because it challenges their dominance in an ever-increasing flat world?

I have a feeling this movie will be most appreciated by NRIs and wannabe NRIs - because it gives them the reassurance that their decision to leave the country was very right!

Again, just my thoughts - and I am not really talking about the movie!

1 comment:

Ray said...

I agree with you partially on this one.(I sound as if I have to disagree with you on each and everything, SRK being the boiling point). There is a pattern to be noticed though. Mother India was a nominee for the Oscars and Satyajit Ray’s movies were also very well appreciated in the West. Both showed the hardships that Indians had to deal with. So, one would think that at the heart of these so called critics lies still a very western ideology that at some level doesn’t want to recognize the positive strides that India has made economically.

And yes, there is no sense in going gaga over the movie. It is a British film based on an Indian novel whose writer, I read, did not even have a say in the final production.

But then the little I know of the Americans, they can be quite shallow to such nuances. Most of them would not care two hoots about what goes on in the rest of the world. A movie showing poor Americans would do just as well. Remember Gandhi, it garnered quite a few awards despite the movie being about the overthrow of the Angrez. The movie that shows Americans or the Brits being massacred might not earn many brownie points though.

I was sad Taare Zameen Par got the sack from the Academy race. It deserved more. As an avid moviegoer and reviewer I think this movie will be appreciated by all strata of society, NRI or no NRI.