Slumdog Millionaire - Basking in Reflected Glories!

Anyone who has an issue with my previous post – and I respect that - is requested to listen to the following song or any other from RDB.

aye saala abhi abhi huaa yaqeen ki aag hai mujh mein kahi

hui subaah main chal gaya

suraj ko main nigal gaya

ruu-ba-ruu roshni heyy - 2

jo gumshuda-sa khwaab tha voh mil gaya voh khil gaya

woh loha tha pighal gaya

kichhaa kichhaa machal gaya

sitaar mein badal gaya

ruu-ba-ruu roshni heyy - 2

(dhuaan chhataa khula gagan mera nayi dagar naya safar mera jo ban sake tu hamsafar mera nazar mila zara) - 2

aandhiyon se jaghad rahi hai lau meri ab mashaalon si bhad rahi hai lau meri

naamo nishaan rahe na raheye kaaravaan rahe na rahe

ujaale mein pee gaya roshan huaa jee gaya

kyon sehte rahe ruu-ba-ruu roshni heyy - 2

dhuaan chhataa khula gagan mera nayi dagar naya safar mera

jo ban sake tu hamsafar mera nazar mila zara

ruu-ba-ruu roshni heyy - 2aye saala - 4

Now tell me they are not Oscar worthy (Both A.R. Rehman compositions. The Lyrics are by Prasoon Joshi). Better still tell me that before Rang De Basanti happened to this country, there would have been Candlelight Vigils in support of Jessica Lall, or against 26/11 or Pink Chaddi Campaign against the Mangalore Attacks?

Rang De Basanti was instrumental in awakening the Public Consciousness of the Country and it’s music - Which is also what India’s contribution at Oscars for Slumdog essentially is - was a key part of that Bugle call.

My point is essentially this – Why all the Hoopla about a movie by essentially Non-Indians made for a Non-Indian audience winning a Non-Indian Award? I can still understand a bit of chest thumping for A.R.Rehman or Gulzar or Resul Pookutty but why the entire chest thumping about 8 Oscars for Slumdog. What has India (On Indian Brilliance) got to do with that? Ben Hur, Titanic and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King each has won 11 Oscars but India does not seem to care.

Stop Basking in Reflected Glories People!

Now I hear the Maharashtra Government is providing Houses to Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail. Great. I am happy for them. I wonder what happens to thousands of other Children living in Slums of Mumbai. What is going to be done for those who still study sitting next to Kerosene Lamps, breathing noxious fumes because there is no electricity; or those who beg on traffic signals and have no hope for the future? Do they wait for a Danny Boyle to “discover” them and make “celebrities” out of them, before we bother to discover the plight of our own?

When will Pinki Smile because we wanted her to smile and made an effort to make her smile, not because she ended up at the Oscars?

A Small Town Boy Lives on...

Before I begin farting about my life on this post, let me first post my tribute to another small town boy - the one that every screwed-up news anchor worth his salt, never mind his limited knowledge of how the Oscars, or the Film Industry work - has been farting about. A.R.Rehman. Yes Sir, the same guy who gave us memorable music for Roja, or Bombay or Dil Se (Chaiya, Chaiya to my mind is decidedly better than Jai Ho, unfortunately Dil Se is not a Hollywood movie!)

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, Jai Ho is my current Caller Tune-maybe its because of Sukhwinders rustic charm, I love A.R. Rehman (despite sometimes finding his music too geeky, as in Computer Perfected, missing the human touch) and I am happy that a Indian Music Composer has won not one but two Oscars! Kudos!.

But that's about it guys, period. Everything else about the Movie's technical side is decidedly as un-Indian as it can get. It's a Hollywood Movie and like many other Brilliant Hollywood movies before it, has won multiple Oscars. Big Deal. Move On. In fact, look within yourself to figure out why an Indian Producer, and an Indian Director, could not figure out a good way to make the same movie in India - after all it was an Indian Story! (Sorry Madhur Bhandarkar, you make nice movies, want an Oscar - Move to Hollywood Man! the Media will go mad about you, not that its not already quite mad!)

I for one, would have been more satisfied, if such a movie would have (1) Been appreciated by most often than not, an Indian Audience with Quite Shallow Taste (2) Won 10 Filmfare awards instead!

So, here I repeat myself. Kudos A.R. Rehman for winning an Oscar. Don't forget however, that you have given better music earlier as well, do cherish your other awards, despite all the media hype about this one.

Screw everything else about Slumdog Millionaire!

My Life will have to wait, its not Oscar worthy! Do I care dog shit!