"Jai ho" Slumdog ki. The chicanery of the most overhyped movie continued at the Oscars night last Sunday. Eight out ten awards for this average and offensive movie speaks as much about the judging sense of the Academy voters as the people who call this movie a masterpiece.
I will not go into the story much as enough has been said and written about it. The reasons I say this movie is just OK are, firstly Dev Patel's and Frieda Pinto's rendition of their roles is pathetic. Patel has the same stony expression stuck on his face for the entire length and Frieda is hardly there. I don't know for what are they eating so much footage. The stars of this movie are the kids who hardly have a mention in the promotion. Unexplained things like Jamal's entry into the show, his knowledge of the name of the gun, the supposed error in the original poet of the song Darshan do Ghanshyam, all linger like the flies whizzing around those slum kids. No answers provided.
Apart from the indigestible fact that those kids grow up and speak accented English(we'll excuse that for cinematic liberty), there is hardly a character you can connect to or you feel sorry for despite all those terrible things happening to them. Anil Kapoor is so snobbish, one would hardly imagine Amitabh Bachhan making fun of contestants in such a sarcastic manner. His character is a real thorn and in poor taste.
As an indian, I was pleased with Rahman and Pokutty getting their respective awards despite the fact Rahman has given better music in some other films. The music in this movie is average and uninspiring to say the least.
The main problem in the film is the lack of emotional attachment one feels with the film... i mean when Salim shoots Maman, there is no impact(for that one must see Satya and Vaastav to know how hard hitting a killing really is) or when he suddenly changes his heart or when he dies in the bath-tub filled with currency, we don't feel anything nor do are we given any explanation ... when Jamaal finally gets Latika, we don't feel happy about that fact... . Yes when the film ended I felt something........relief. (I had procrastinated my hunger so that I would not miss any magical moment, people had raved about)
It is a fantasy film and I disregard the coincidences. On top of that the film is stylishly shot and edited. Technically the movie is top notch.
In conclusion, this movie is primarily made to feed western audiences with old world images of India. There is much more to this country than the slums shown in the movie. The feeling of hope was conveniently omitted(a few panned shots of mumbai's skyscrapers doesn't make the cut) or not represented as in the original story from which it has been adapted. As an IMDB reviewer had pointed out, would this movie have garnered many awards, if an Indian had made a movie that depicted drug addicts, sex workers, insanitary living conditions, teenage pregnancies, immoral society etc.. of the United States?
I too was guilty of going with the flow and singing praises of this movie although i had felt disjointed from the very first viewing . But after watching this movie a second time I have to say Slumdog Millionaire is just about an okayish movie, not worth award material. Take a bow Danny Boyle for fooling so many people and shame on you Indians who are feeling proud for a "British" movie which although shot in India is as Indian as Pervez Musharraf.
I will not go into the story much as enough has been said and written about it. The reasons I say this movie is just OK are, firstly Dev Patel's and Frieda Pinto's rendition of their roles is pathetic. Patel has the same stony expression stuck on his face for the entire length and Frieda is hardly there. I don't know for what are they eating so much footage. The stars of this movie are the kids who hardly have a mention in the promotion. Unexplained things like Jamal's entry into the show, his knowledge of the name of the gun, the supposed error in the original poet of the song Darshan do Ghanshyam, all linger like the flies whizzing around those slum kids. No answers provided.
Apart from the indigestible fact that those kids grow up and speak accented English(we'll excuse that for cinematic liberty), there is hardly a character you can connect to or you feel sorry for despite all those terrible things happening to them. Anil Kapoor is so snobbish, one would hardly imagine Amitabh Bachhan making fun of contestants in such a sarcastic manner. His character is a real thorn and in poor taste.
As an indian, I was pleased with Rahman and Pokutty getting their respective awards despite the fact Rahman has given better music in some other films. The music in this movie is average and uninspiring to say the least.
The main problem in the film is the lack of emotional attachment one feels with the film... i mean when Salim shoots Maman, there is no impact(for that one must see Satya and Vaastav to know how hard hitting a killing really is) or when he suddenly changes his heart or when he dies in the bath-tub filled with currency, we don't feel anything nor do are we given any explanation ... when Jamaal finally gets Latika, we don't feel happy about that fact... . Yes when the film ended I felt something........relief. (I had procrastinated my hunger so that I would not miss any magical moment, people had raved about)
It is a fantasy film and I disregard the coincidences. On top of that the film is stylishly shot and edited. Technically the movie is top notch.
In conclusion, this movie is primarily made to feed western audiences with old world images of India. There is much more to this country than the slums shown in the movie. The feeling of hope was conveniently omitted(a few panned shots of mumbai's skyscrapers doesn't make the cut) or not represented as in the original story from which it has been adapted. As an IMDB reviewer had pointed out, would this movie have garnered many awards, if an Indian had made a movie that depicted drug addicts, sex workers, insanitary living conditions, teenage pregnancies, immoral society etc.. of the United States?
I too was guilty of going with the flow and singing praises of this movie although i had felt disjointed from the very first viewing . But after watching this movie a second time I have to say Slumdog Millionaire is just about an okayish movie, not worth award material. Take a bow Danny Boyle for fooling so many people and shame on you Indians who are feeling proud for a "British" movie which although shot in India is as Indian as Pervez Musharraf.
