Slumdog is Top Dog!

So ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is the talk of the world having bagged 8 Oscars and especially the current rage in India what with one of the country’s best musicians coming back with 2 of the gold plated statuettes, a little known sound editing guy winning an Oscar all the way in the US of A and having made the country proud.

Better still, they made the world sit up and take notice of our country.

Isn’t it a wonderful thing? I am very proud of the people who have won the award and am even more proud of the fact that they belong to my country. I am immensely happy. Much more than I can express…

So why is it that in most places that I have come across it’s been received with mixed reactions?

Everywhere I have read about it, it’s got its fair share of criticism.

It’s a movie that’s been made by a British director, produced by an American, based on a storyline written by an Indian author….

Right from the talk that this is far from Rahman’s best composition, to the fact that it shows India in a poor light to the reason that it’s opened up a lot of avenues for the West to boost their market for entertainment in India.

Agreed, it may not be Rahman’s best composition till date. He’s rendered lots of wonderful songs that can be said as one of his best. But then how many of those films have made it to a globally accepted platform like the Oscars? And in comparison with the rest of movies that Slumdog got pitted against at the Oscars, wasn’t Rahman’s the best score?

Fine, the movie did show India in a poor light… but that’s what one part of our country is like. Why are people so scared to accept/face reality? This is our country. Good, bad, ugly, deprived, and a whole lot of other things. That’s why we are called a developing country, people!!

Fair enough, it’s going to open up a lot of doorways for the glamour/entertainment sector of our country. That’s business. That’s what movies are made for. No one person is interested to make a movie just for the sake of entertainment. At the end of the day, it’s all for money, honey! No one is disputing that. But that does not in any way mean that we are suckers for the West and are waiting for them to give us a world of recognition so that our talent is portrayed to the world. The rest of the world I think knows enough about the store-house of talent that exists in India. How else do you explain our actors getting exposure to Hollywood and forays?

Instead of savoring the fact that fellow Indians have made us proud, and celebrating, basking in that glory, we come up with extended views of business, market for the entertainment sector, cribs about the fact that the West would never actually hit India if unless for the reason that it’s a bearish market and therefore they need the money too!

I don’t know. I find that ridiculous. And degrading too!

It’s almost like making a point enough to say – there’s a time and a place for everything and this is not the time to make negatiev comments.

People who have got worldwide recognition from India have not gotten it just because the developed countries want to throw tidbits our way. If that’s the way the world runs, then it’s sad! And I do not agree to it.

I am happy for the fact that India is in the news. The world is taking notice. And our fellow-men have made us proud.

And I want to savor this moment without any negative feeling of regionalism, or the West throwing us tidbits because we lap them up or any such thing.

This is in India’s time. The time to celebrate.

Kudos to the entire crew of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.

You have done us proud! Congratulations!