Slumdog

Watched Slumdog M a few days after it was released. Characteristically and predictably, did not like it. But kept my mouth shut because of the fear of getting drowned amidst the gung ho attitude of Indians in general. Anil Kapoor doing bhangra at every possible public appearance – for a fifteen minutes role (give or take five minutes); Rediff News announcing Frieda Pinto as the next sex symbol (wonder where Bips/Kat/Ash/Priyanka have gone); every possible soul shouting Jai Ho, for every possible reason – dare I opened my cynic trap! The only solace about this spot is freedom of expression; it is not a popularity contest – so finally thought about scribbling a few lines.

First, comparison. For eight Oscars, the movie doesn’t come close to Ben Hur, Godfather, Schindler’s List, Titanic or Lord of the Rings. Pardon my ignorance, but these are the only few movies that I know of, that created little whirlwinds at the Academies. Even today, when they play, SM wouldn’t deserve a reserve berth seat. For an Indian movie (which it is not), Lagaan or Rang De Basanti, mildly put, are way superior. And if Lagaan is about Brit bashing, which the Jury might not have approved of, Rang De Basanti is a near epic about our internal conflict – where is an Oscar?

The storyline is about rags to riches, with a moral that anything is possible (esp winning millions), if one is street smart. If I discount the twenty million rupees that the host was so reluctant to handover, Taare Zameen Par talks about the same, across an asthetic plane of course – about self actualization, about rising up to a life-time challenge and about the triumph of achievement; about all those things that Danny Boyle could never portray. Gentlemen, where are the Oscars?

We love to say that SM is an Indian Film. Well, the director disagrees to it, as of yesterday’s Times of India. And where does that leave us? Anil Kapoor’s fifteen minutes claim to fame and an obligatory eye-sore of a bhangra, or poker-faced Dev Patel who might have done a better job sitting in front of Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, or the slums of Dharavi where (we are told through the movie that) enthusiastic kids jump into garbage for a celebrity autograph,? Like the last answer of Jamal, I'd say option D. We are riding high for the fact that like Gandhi, this is finally another movie that got recognized by the sanctified Academy – an acknowledgement of the existence of India.

The only good news is Rahman and Pookutty – and I thank the Lord for the fact that they are Indians. Even a cynic like me needs to feel good sometime.