Chennai Born Confused Softie

Slumdog Hits 8 !!

AR Rahman strikes double Whammy !!

Pookutty Dedicates to Country !!

These were the headlines that were resonating across all the desi channels and papers. I was confused whether to really feel Good about it or to remain oblivious to the sudden attention that we Indians were getting. Though i cheered for rahman , i was not really cheering for Danny. I wouldn't care lesser if Benjamin Button scored over Slumdog.

Its not because that i despise the film or feel like the hazaar folks out there who feel the movie is showing India in a poor light, its just that
its a british film which was shot in India. Its not a Desi movie !! Period !! Why the partiality to slumdog because it was shot in India and had Indian actors. The product was British and let me not rob the britishers of their moment of glory , while I feel really good for Rahman and Pookutty.

well, the story demanded that a underdog from the slum ( hence slumdog) braves all odds and wins against the tide. Its a story of Hope and optimism in these days of gloom and depression. But does that mean this movie is the best of all that world cinema could offer. I would say a BIG NO to it.

i would say that oscars are a medium of recognition to films par excellence which cater to the sensibilities of the oscar nomination team who i believe have not really seen the full expanse of good movies churned out by different countries. How else do we explain that most of the nominations are for movies which are in english. so calling Oscars the pinnacle of excellence in world cinema would be gross injustice to the works of magnificence created by brilliant directors across the globe spanning from Rio DE janeiro till Canberra.

The last one year i have had the pleasure of watching films from Iran, Korea, japan, south Africa and the movies are brilliant and each worthy of couple of oscars or more. Its just that the audience could easily identify with Benjamin Button and Slumdog that the nominations swelled and each bagged a handful of oscars.

Thinking about it i feel for all the glamour and glitz that the oscars have, it is necessary that they have nominations which are more hollywood centric , which would lead to more stars walking down the red carpet and adding more fizz to the glitterati.I feel the nominations are also about aggressive marketing which involves doling out huge sums which implies that we need to have a huge corporate backing like how fox searchlight was there for SDM.

Honestly i believe there are at least 3-5 Desi films which were brilliant and deserve an Oscar if Oscar typified the best in world cinema , which i now strongly believe it doesn't. I don't blame the committee as there are 1000's of movies. At least going forward in future we should have nominations for all categories applicable for all movies. Else why not, have a really glitzy mother of all awards which has 6 -9 months of selection process and have the contest across all world movies. unfortunately the film festivals are less glamorous and even press does not give it adequate coverage.

i had a lot of things in mind and its been a year since i blogged, so the thoughts could have been incoherent. so what is the essence that i really wanted to convey??

a) Congrats Danny for the oscars, but this is a british film !! and british people alone can claim rights to Danny's and SDM's legacy.

b) Congrats Rahman and Pookutty !! Rahman getting an oscar for SDM is an insult to his earlier compositions which were far far superior. anyways better late than never !! Getting an Oscar does not in any means change the desi fans impression of rahman . He has always been the best and we salute you rahman for the joy that you have provided to us over the years with your soul stirring music. The Oscar got its due recognition by being awarded to you.

c) Slumdog is a real good movie. i loved the movie. I dont see it denigrating india as the story's setting is in a slum and we obviously cant show the mansions of anil or mukesh ambani. If there are people who think that the slums are not real india , then even what SRK does in K3G is not real india. if you werenn't complaining then, why create such a big fuss now !! Lets try to eradicate the slums rather than saying how dare you show the slums to the world !!

d) Oscars worth the hype, great sets , gorgeous ladies?? ...Oh Yeah
best of world cinema??...NAh !!!