For the past few days I had been looking for a topic to write on. However I just couldnt find anything of my taste. While in the midst of this futile search, the simple truth hit me - I was driving myself too hard, taking it too seriously.i thought "just keep it simple and be at your spontaneous best".and then ,recently i saw the trailer of slumdog millionaire on pix and bang!thoughts started flowing!! so i chose a rather faded topic to start on with and then ill move on to the current ones!
I have heard criticisms and counter criticisms about ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ from the film critics , moviestars,common people , friends etc! It’s literally been a food fight of sorts!!! While some prefer to go out in the open with their opinions others claim to merely pass on the ‘opinion of the masses’. But I am not gonna debate upon that.
What I want to point out is that, if the film makers of Bollywood claim their right to ‘creative license’ that they deserve, why aren’t they as ready to let others have a bite out of it too.
Agreed , SM brings to the forefront the slummy side of the city; it exploits the crime and sleaze in the city and indicates it to be the only things that the city has to offer. Agreed , the westerners who have never been to India may be ‘delighted’ to see Mumbai in such plight. But this isn’t any different from the fact that thousands of Indians flock to enjoy the crime infested movies . Why don’t critics (and the common public) oppose them for exploiting the Mumbai’s crime scenario and projecting it as a city full of crime?
The bitter truth is that we accept anything and everything that comes from a fellow Indian, but it hurts our ego if the same comes from a foreigner.
What a shame!!!
Nice. But, I do have a different opinion on this.
ReplyDeleteRecently i saw Danny Boyle's Trainspotting. And trust me, he's not a lame director. An amazing film. One of the best I must have seen in recent times. And then you see SM, you won't find it as repulsive as it did before. Bottomline-SM was good, but not worth the recognition it got. Purely subjective. Period.
you see theres no where in this blog iam talking bout the quality of the movie!iam talking about the right to creative licence which each director whether hes an indian or a westerner should get!thats just my point of view!as far as the other danny boyle movie goes i havent seen it!thanx for the comment by the way!
ReplyDeleteI agree that everyone has the right to creative licence but if the same movie was based on some american underbelly and directed by an Indian it would have been publicly crticised over there and I'm sure it wouldnt win any accolades even if it was the best movie EVER created. That is the only problem I have with this right to creative licence -- everyone should have an equal right.
ReplyDeletefirst of all i dont think any indian director has portrayed the filth of america !so u cant comment on how the americans will react!and just for your information this movie called ray which has jamie foxx showed his heroin addiction and the troubled times which he faced and won 2 oscars!infact most of the films which have blacks in it have shown the sleaze in america!lol!and they have done well at the oscars!but yea those were not directed by an indian as u say!
ReplyDeletesee i am of the view that the creative license which we speak of is normally never pretty much utilised by our filmmakers. So while they're at criticising a foreigner's perception on our country, they should, I agree have a hold on their wagging tongues!
ReplyDeleteSecondly I don't feel that everyone and anyone flock to see movies set up in a criminal scenario,so again to the limited section who actually do, not our problem i'd say! and lastly it's not about hurting sentiments here, but its just that there is an over-glorification of the movie's content which more or less matches bollywood cheesy flicks that too just since it was made from a foreigner's point of view!
alright!this is turning out to be really interesting!gr8 start to my blogging experience!!
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ReplyDeletewell first I would like to point out that Lagaan did not do well at the Oscars and one of the reason for it could be that it portrayed the "firangs" in grey shades.
ReplyDeleteAbout the films which portray the sleaze in america, you pointed out that they have blacks in it. Why not show the sleaze which the whites themselves would be indulging in?
And i agree with divya that this film was more appreciated because of the director being a white rather than for the content of the film.
oh cmon!have u seen the film which won the oscar that year?and if lagaan had portrayed the "firangs" in grey shades then why had the film been nominated at the first place?the oscar jury is known around the world for its biased and prejudiced decisions!
ReplyDeletefirst of all selection of a film for the oscar made by an indian crew itself is an achivement of sorts!and lagaan had an impeccable script which for me deserved to be selected as a nomination for an oscar that year which it did!and surprisingly i also agree with the jury that "no mans land" deserved to win the oscar that year!it had brilliantly portrayed the two soldiers' struggle for survival when they get trapped in a no mans land!simple plot but amazing depiction of the story!just watch the film once(which quite frequently comes on world movies!) and then comment on who deserved to win the oscar..
sleaze of whites?lol.yesterday only i watched your very own "leonardo di caprio" getting high wid heroin in this film called basketball diaries on zee studio..ridiculous film.dont watch it!!