Once again, the world patronises India in an age when we don't need that. A. R. Rehman, the Indian music maestro, won not one, but two Oscars in the last thirty minutes! I would have been really pleased had the movie he won the award for been a Delhi 6 or a musical track of that standard!
But no - like most award juries that lose sense and sensibility, the panel at the Academy succumbed to the global hysteria that Slumdog Millionaire has been riding on the back of. A movie that uses a word never heard in India (slumdog???), showcases a British actor Dev Patel with a thick British accent trying to pull off a Mumbai slum teenager, and a screenplay that distorts the captivating and non-linear narrative of the original book. If the movie had been made in India without a British producer or director, then it would have struggled to enter the Oscars in the foreign movies category. Even if it had been made in impeccable English!
And Mr. Rehman? Brilliant Mr. Rehman! He who has given most of us Indians hundreds of enchanting and heart-throbbing tunes in the last decade and more. Yes he deserves an Oscar for many of those melodies! But certainly NOT for "Jai Ho" and similar mediocre matter which he stooped to in this movie.
Should I wave the tricolour because two Indians (Rehman and Resul Pookutty, who won the Oscar for Sound Mixing) have won India's maiden Oscars? I want to! But something stops me, and I think I know what it is. It's a yell inside that NO! They do not deserve it for Slumdog Millionaire. Much greater is the joy when a reward is won fair and deserved, and not when it rides mightily on mass-propelled biases.
I had given up on most award systems in the performing arts because they have suspended all notions of fair play over the years, including India's venerable Filmfare awards. Now the Academy has proved itself no different by glorifying Slumdog Millionaire beyond what it deserves.
Art is a realm of inspiration, as well as a gateway to pretentious abuse.
I crave for a respite, the sort that an engrosser like Delhi-6 provides. I can my distaste for the coronation of Slumdog Millionaire and toss the screaming can into the garbage bin of creativity.
Good night, Oscars!
Mera Naam Joker
2 weeks ago
5 comments:
agreed somewhat. read kartiks take on it:
http://youlikethisandyouknowit.blogspot.com/2009/01/slumdog-millionaire-this-is-it-really.html
You make very good points, but your underlying assumption - that the Oscars are awarded to the most worthy - is flawed. The Oscars have always been about honouring the people, not the exact work for which they have been nominated. Otherwise Martin Scorsese would have won for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, not the decidedly mediocre The Departed, for example, and dying would not be the surest way fo an actor to cinch a nomination and win.
So inasmuch as the academy/Hollywood *thinks* it's honouring India and Indian talent by giving awards to Slumdog, I credit their intentions, even if their execution is technically in error.
Nandini, glad to hear from you! Yes I have realised that Oscars are not about the work, but the people, which is why I am now no longer an Oscar fan!
But perhaps a better counter-argument from you could have been as follows. Why don't I look at the brighter side and accept the simple fact that Rehman's rare mediocrity is ENOUGH to beat the other contenders! If he can win an Oscar on a Jai Ho, imagine what he can achieve if he puts his best work into "Bhollywood" (cross-Bolly-Holly-wood productions).
But to that counter-argument, I would have argued back - Hey Nandini, then why award a man who doesn't put his best work into a film that is going to be viewed by the whole world and not just Indians?
Hmm, I am arguing with myself again...
Hmmmm I agree to quite an extent. I think it's much overrated as well. However, the mush in me does give in from time to time and I actually did like the fact that the no-so-touristy and not-all-about-TajMahal-and-yoga bits of India were shown in a rather realistic light. But that may be wavering slightly from your argument- so to get back on track, the music was fantastic and I do agree that if it didn't come with the alreay hyped Slumdog title it may have never made it to the Oscars, just like the many million and 1 other excellent compositions which have been lost in time.
The upside of it all is that at least 2 slum families (out of trillions) benefited from the hype-altho matginally - and will have a better quality of life going forward. Well, they will at least till the media and political noise around the film subsides!
As always, a good read!
allergic_to_alliterations,
Yes those 2 kids from the slums will benefit financially for a while. But I wonder what impact this would have on them in the long run. Being at the Oscars when you are 10 is an extremely high peak so early in life, and everything that comes now will remain in its huge shadow. If they do not grow up to be professional actors or looking like Greek gods and goddesses, then their chances of making it in Bollywood are slim. They may end up reminiscing about their moment of glory in front of everyone who they meet.
But I certainly hope that does not happen.
The irony is that they acted far better than Dev Patel, who does not have a chemistry with himself, forget being able to emote. I still cannot fathom why Boyle chose an awkward-looking British teenager for the role when I am sure there are hundreds of good aspiring actors in their teens in Mumbai itself.
I understand your surrendering to the rush of mush, but I stay clear of it.
Post a Comment