I haven’t watched Slumdog Millionaire yet; I doubt if I will. Because some friends whose tastes and preferences as regards movies are close to mine are of the opinion that the movie is just another masala flick*, whose “realistic” depiction of the slums, squalor, hope and triumph falls way short of what some Hindi and Tamil movies have done in the past. (And they said so before Slumdog started its golden run, so it cannot be out of envy.)
The media has been awash with Slumdog mania. The British media claims it is a British movie, the Indian press points to the movie’s roots. But yes, DNA tests are what the media is good at. And they always uncover many fathers.
Like Albert Einstein once said: “If my theory of relativity is proven successful, Germany will claim me as a German and France will declare that I am a citizen of the world. Should my theory prove untrue, France will say that I am a German and Germany will declare that I am a Jew.”
* But yes, even Titanic was a masala flick, and it won Best Picture.
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Tags: Albert Einstein, Oscar, slumdog millionaire
Dear Vijay,
I read your post on the above and I couldn’t agree with you any less.
I saw this movie last month ( much before Golden Globe and other awards) and came out with an impression that the movie was just an average film. No , I was not looking for a voluptuous dance sequence or an end with all the thriller of a Koliwood movie. Infact I felt deeply hurt when I saw that young boy drowning himself into a shit pit to reach out to Amitabh who was visiting the slum for a shoot. There is no need to show the craze for Amitab by downgrading one’s own dignity.
The music was also not very ecstatic . Rahman has done better music than this, many a time. I remember telling you that I almost moved out, when Jay Ho was played towards the end of the movie when normally acknowledgments are given. But I was looked down by everyone in the theatre.
When times are good even a donkey will get to rule a country and today it is the Director of this movie.
V V
You should take a look at this interesting take on Slumdog Millionaire by the guy who wrote for another Indian-underbelly-movie, Naan Kadavul.
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edi.....AeKn3LcnQ==
I agree the movie was average. But I must say that I liked it better the second time.
The first time, I went thinking that the movie was going to be very adventurous with the game show as the focus. But then I was disappointed a bit and also could not digest slum kids speaking such good english….then over the days I was pondering a little more about the film …and surprisingly I was almost able to remember all the scenes …something that happens only when I like a film reasonably … and as I recollected, I was able to appreciate the screenplay more and realized that it was primarily a nice love story with the game show as one one sub thread of it. When I saw the second time on screen, I enjoyed every minute of it (I chose to ignore the flaws like the English fluency) and I was even able to notice some of the things I missed the first time. There are certainly better movies than this …but I can understand why the westerners have taken to this movie, especially during difficult times …
I also agree that the boy jumping into shit was gross, but I thought it helped strongly establish his character as one who who stop at nothing to get what he is passionate about …just like he constantly pursued his love … I really felt the elder brothers character also was very well etched … ARR has done better albums …but the BGM in this movie was really good and different in a lot of places and really elevated the movie..
I would definitely recommend watching it without any expectations …and just enjoy a nice simple love story …
Hi,
(1) I did see Slumdog Millionaire.
(2) I did not find anything earth shattering in the movie.
There was nothing novel in the performances, nothing unique about the depiction of India nor was the music A.R.Rahman’s best.
But…
Having said that, there was something very very original about the movie- viz., the plot.
The writer links each of the questions on the quiz show expertly with Jamal’s own story.
Indians must have rejoiced at having found a movie that did not revolve around the love triangle/rectangle/trapezium.Americans too must have breathed a sigh of relief on not finding any aliens/ gargoyles/superhero-saving-the-world on screen.
So, if anyone deserves credit for Slumdog, it is Vikas Swarup, whose brainchild the plot is. Unfortunately, we find that his name does not even get a mention. While the smallest urchin in Dharavi was seen talking excitedly to the camera, Vikas Swarup was conspicuously absent.
Adapted Screenplay is all very well, but someone out there should have thanked the guy who thought up the original screenplay, don’t you think? Because, if not for that guy, the movie would have fallen flat on its face.
may be you should watch the film after all
Totally agree.
Your blog title reminded me of a dialogue sequence in one of SV Shekher’s dramas in which a character while writing an essay in school would replace all occurrences of ‘nanbargal’ with ‘appakal’. It goes like this – “Enakku neraiya appakal undu. En appakal adikadi en veetuku varuvanga. Avanga kooda enga amma sagajama pazhaguvaanga..!”