Slumdoggedly not watching it...
The hype, the attention the craze...
I see everyone rushing to become ARR fans on Facebook and Orkut. Peoples statuses read 'slumdog rocks' etc. etc. Everyone is hoping this movie gets an oscar.
I haven't seen the movie and I won't see it...why the f\/(k do I care you ask? Because you are in denial...thinking that this is what we've been waiting for. The movie that will win an oscar and put us on the International map. "Dude, Lagaan lost it by a whisker dude, perhaps Slumdog will be our salvation"
I haven't seen the movie and I wont see it...
From reviews and clips I make out three things of this film - It's inaccurate in portraying mainstream India as a slum, secondly it's a shame we praise a movie that does portray our country wrongly, and it's a masala movie, that happened to be getting all the attention, last but not the least, this is not a great sound track at all. That makes it four points I don't concur with.
I haven't seen the movie and I wont see it...
Believe me I love ARR. He rocked in Dil Se. I think that movie should have been nominated for awards and SlumDog is way inferior. I had a sense of deja vu listening to the synthesized voices for both Jai Ho and Oh Saya...they've been done before by ARR himself, this is certainly not his greatest work.
I haven't seen the movie and I wont see it...
I dont know about you but if this movie wins Oscars for best movie, we as Indians have lost. The last thing we need is a foreigner conjuring up an image or our country using his ignorant imagination. I am not against foreigners making movies about India either, Gandhi is a great piece of work and I can't imagine anyone other than Ben play that role. But I think the damage has already been done.
P.S: I am not a false patriot who shouts 'Jai Hind' only two days a year, but like millions of other silent people, harbor love and affection for my country and would hate for the world to still think we ride on elephants, practice archery using woman's sindhoor or do the monkey dances.
Article post time 12:00 PM Article Link
9 Comments:
You sound pretty judgmental without even seeing the movie. How do you know that the movie potrays India as the elaphant riding, monkey dancing world that you seem to conjure up? I've heard it as being an accurate potrayal of Dharavi and other Mumbai slums..I hesitate to judge it without actually seeing it.
somethings are better left unturned
as my mom would say 'you never know which baby cobra is under which rock'
I agree with Pree and Suga a little bit here.
Pree coz u r too judgemental as she says and I think you just want to be the rebel since everyone says they like it. You want to be different!
But I agree on one point that this film got this far JUST because it had an english director to it. Otherwise, we have much better movies in the Indian Cinema that deserve the well needed attention.
But I am going to see it.
Watch the movie and write the "After" part..and lets see wat u get from the movie...
Man - such strong reactions!
I think this is precisely the wrong way to look at the movie, or at any movie, really. As sort of the embodiment of India -- which is going to set the definitive image of India in people's minds. I don't really think any movie can do that, however good it is. And trust me, this is not Pather Panchali, rather, its a very well-made feel-good entertainer, with some dazzling camerawork.
Also I'm not sure if this movie got far enough *just* because it had a British director. As opposed to all the other better Indian movies. Because (a) this is not an Indian movie at all, its a British movie set in India, and (b) its been made by a very skillful British director in top form. Which is why its gotten so much attention (and of course because it has a feel-good storyline, yada yada).
1) Its JUST a movie. Just another piece of art like a song or a painting. An artist created some piece of art - some might like it, some might not... but I believe it should be left at that. Protesting against a piece of art just does not make sense.
2) Yes, ARR has made faaaar better music. But well, he has finally been recognized in the oscars - I am sure he is super happy about it, and we can be happy for him, can't we?
>> portray our country wrongly, and it's a masala movie
What portrayal? None of the crew claimed that the story wasn't fictional :). No-one claimed it was not masala-ish or not a mass-entertainer.
I think the point of the movie was to tell a fictional story, not to portray India.... and it achieved its point of telling a fictional story.
If people for some random reason start imagining what was portrayed was all true, then is it not their problem as opposed to the director's who just tried to tell some fictional story?
Agree with you to the bits... I dont understand the cheap kick people get by portraying India like that.....
The other day, my client asked me if I had seen the movie. He apparently had just watched it the previous day and this is what he had to
say.. "Quite a powerful movie...way different from what the normal all-green-and-natural-India that BBC four portrays.. If this is what India
is, then I am sure I dont want to visit India...." .. How does this feel? Ofcourse I told him that slums were not everywhere and all that, but my few words definitely can't undo what that movie had drilled into him...
I think censor boards should have a criteria of evaluating how much of masala is below toxic limits!! I would love it if things took a dramatic twist like - The tourism ministry of India suing Dan over a deliberate attempt to disuade tourists or something like that! :-D
While I know all this is a little too far fetched, I do what I can do - "I haven't seen the movie and I wont see it..."
Something to think about.
I don't think all westerners think we ride on elephants, do the monkey dance or that India is a slum. Some might, but there are always people who stereotype no matter what.
For the most part I think this representation in the movie(definitely not the best or the most accurate) is taken for what it is, entertainment. It is not a documentary, it's fiction.
Agreed AR Rahman has done far better work, but if his career boost comes this way then I say why not! there are far less talented people in this world strutting around with more fame and recognition than the deserve. In that way I think ARR deserves this and it is a long time coming for his achievement in the last 15 years. It has come in this form because of this movie shouldn't diminish his celebration in anyway.
Don't let the hype and the attention turn you away from the movie, because it might be packaged wrongly but believe me there is something in there.
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