Sunday, January 25, 2009

Slumdog becomes a millionaire

So many raving reviews in the Indian and Foreign media about this one.. Had to watch it to see what it was all about.. yes.. it did portray the true reality.. from a different angle.. I really enjoyed the movie.. I didnt care much if it was made by an Indian or Foreigner. As a matter of fact, if it was made by an Indian, I am not sure if he would have portrayed the India as it is shown in this one and may be Danny Boyle had that advantage of not being attached to the theme as an Indian or nationalist and just purely as a filmmaker. Some people say that it is getting credit because of Danny Boyle.. maybe it is.. but it does bring the likes of ARR in the global arena, once again... and i will be rooting for him in the Oscarss... :)

I read AB's comments.. "if SM projects India as [a] third-world, dirty, underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations".. Well.. AB... maybe u should take a walk out in the the reality i.e India.. India is a land of contradictions and surprises... Yes.. we are great country.. we are proud and we are a developing country and at a fast rate at that one... But the true reality is that more than 80% of the 1.1 billion population (all these numbers might have changed by now.. :) is living in poverty... Face it.. Just becasue it is shown that way in the movie does not make it bad... As Indians, I have always felt that some of us are hyprocrits and also have an inferiority complex... Lemme explain what i mean by this..

I was once making a comment to a friend long time ago that lot of these tourist places are ridden with scoundrels and crooks who try to take advantage of the foreiners and this projects a bad image of India to them.. etc etc/... and also about beggars and how the government r the police never do anything about it... Interestingly my friend pointed out that it was a problem indeed and we should focus on solving it not because of improving our image in the international arena, but more so for the people themselves and how they should get a better life that they deserve... I thought how silly of me... How could I not think of it that way... although I had the right intentions... After a while I was chatting a different friend during a backpack tour and we came across a foreigner who was complaining about something and I had to agree with him based on the facts (dont exactly remember what the issue was)... My friend although agreed with me privately on the matter, but didnt like the fact that I was open about it in front of a foreigner and it projects a bad image of India.. I have come across many other situations with many other people, but the bottomline is always good/Bad image of the country... What I think is... Lets face it... we are a big county with many people, lot of poverty exists, we have many problems.. yet we would like to project a rosy picture of it... Why? who are we kidding ?? why live in a Denial?? Why not accept the fact that problems exist and try to find a solution rather than brushing the dirt under the carpet and make it look clean rather actually cleaning it out for the better??

so AB, I think this statement of yours such a hyprocricy... What the movie shows exists in real life.. I dont care if it portrays a bad image of India... and I dont think we should be ashamed of it either... Lets not live in a denial.. Lets accept it and try to do something about it... I dont think any movie can ever truly capture India as it is... India is so large and so complicated to be even covered completely in a movie.. Thats what makes India so interesting... If anything, I think this movie is not far from reality.. esp. the bit about blinding kids to beg in the streets was very sad to see... makes me wonder how can people do this to kids.. how can they be so cold hearted?

3 comments:

Ms.N said...

hmm - while i agree that we need to face reality, i think the general concern is that, the one film which gets international recognition portrays ONLY the sad side of India.

there's a small difference there i suppose. haven't seen the movie myself. so don't have any finer points to add.

that's all!

Sriram said...

You should watch the movie.. its worth it.. some say it portrays a bad image of India.. but we have to ask ourself, are all the ganster movies shows a bad side of America, does the terrorist movies show a bad side of whereever that heppens... everyone place problems and we need to face it.. no point in hiding behind a rosy picture... that was my point...
one thing i agree with Indian media is that maybe it would have not got the recognition it is getting had it been directd by an Indian... well .. thats a fair point..

Ms.N said...

well- america doesnt have a reputation to defend. So... plus, the reality is already in our face.

but, well - anyways, i don't feel strongly one way or the other.

if an indian director - except for the likes of maybe amir khan or nagesh kukunoor, there would have been a couple of slinky skin show dances, a comedy strain which doesnt relate to the movie and tons of bullshit.

So - india relly has no reason to crib on that account. plus - there are eligibility criteria's to be a part of the Golden Globe. I am not sure if other good indian-engliash movies fell into the category. i could be worng though