Friday, March 6, 2009

Which FACE of India does the Elite Want to see?

Laying on my sofa watching one of the most happening shows on The TV THE BIG FIGHT is one of the very few things that make me feel good... And this particular "WAR OF WORDS" episode that was going on was all the more interesting... Cause today the topic of the battle is THE SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE...
YES, The fight is on the same movie that managed to win 8 Oscars... And today I see the argument on "If India should celebrate this victory So much". Some Thing that is thought provoking isn't?
This was something that forced my lazy brain to think...Does India really needs to be so thrilled... I agree this has got AR (the Mozart from the South) his well deserving recognition...and also Resul cause all his efforts won him THE BEST... This movie has definitely got Indian Sound Duniya a new platform in the world...This Movie has done loads of good things to this particular stream of Indian Art and entertainment... And I Bet every body would agree to it... Indians being a sect of people who are used to celebrate even a cow's pregnancy... It is isn't too surprising that they are celebrating this event... Come on we should be happy cause Children from the "dirty slums" of Mumbai went all the way to LA to walk the red carpet... 2 Indians won Oscars for the country... Yes this is definitely something we have to celebrate...
But the debate was...why is India celebrating when the DARK SIDE of India has been shown to the whole world... The fight is cause this movie has made whooping sales at the box office unveiling the side of India that we were not ready to expose... India has been this for ages.... So why don't we have the mind set to accept the flip side of our nation... Are we over reacting just because an outsider pointed it out? These slums, the beggary business has existed in India from time immemorial... As was said by one of the Panel members in the show (sudhir Mishra) "We never reacted when Traffic Signal (madhur bhandarkar) was made... That also showed the misery existing in our slums..." So my question is why are some people reacting to the accolades that slumdog millionaire is receiving...
The next issue was the Movie title... Come on that was something that was truly unintentional.... The movie was not named cause they thought Indians were supposed to be Jhopar Patti ke Kutte... According to me, it was named cause the whole screenplay was about the rags to riches story... It just showed that EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY.... The whole emotional drama on the title was completely baseless (strictly my views..)
Big B's comments on Slumdog have sparked a debate about the Western media's view of India. The movie actually has everything that symbolizes India for the westerners - slums, the Taj, rusty trains, a reference to Bollywood and even a BPO. What more could a westerner want to relate to this story set in modern day India? This makes me think which Face of India does the ELITE want to see... If Slumdog is not real India , then is Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham or Rab Ne Bana De Jodi(I Just hope I got the movie name right) the real India... The elite are reacting cause they feel India is what they see in their Page 3 parties... Ladies draped in designer clothes and men in their GUCCI suites as it is shown in BOLLYWOOD movies... Is that truly India? If that is what they think... I think it's high time they take off their goggles and get the windows of their cars down and look around... Then they can see the real India... As the Times Of India stated "If Big B felt emotionally hurt seeing the picture Western folks have about India.. Then come on he should make a picture on the newly formed Beggars of The Wall Street.."
As Sudhir Mishra said in the show..." Why can't we view this movie as an art? Why can't we see this as a collaboration of two cultures? Masters from both the culture has come together and made a movie...and this movie does need the appreciation. The movie is definitely a good move, probably not the best... as it is a movie with positive note... It is a movie of Hope and optimism. "
In my personal opinion, there is no use of arguing about the thing, which has happened... If we really felt bad about the current situation shown in the movie... its up to us to take the first move.... Work as a group for the betterment... Isn't this something to Ponder On???

3 comments:

  1. my my my...strong opinions eh!!wat surprises me even more is that u watch something as logical as "the big fight" but yeah i can see where u r coming from. But honestly i m takin Big B's side. It takes rehman something so avg as "slumdog" to get internation recognition?? plzzzz...the guy gave us roja, dil se..the likes...unquestionale works of art and now for one avg piece of music he is internationally renowned??

    Big B is right. India is much more than the slums that Daniel Boyle so forecfully described. Take a look around u, what strikes u more - the beauty of our land or the kids from the slums??.

    Loved the post btw...very intellectual darlin!!...

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  2. Exactly, ... all the Hullabaloo is all about ?! It should be taken as a piece of art and people who really have problem about the portrayal of whatever is wrong in India ... well what are those people doing to make things better ?!!

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  3. @Som... Thats the point... i wonder did ppl wake just now... this has been there for ages...

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