Let me start this blog with a note that this is not a movie review. However, if you find traces of review stuff, empathize with me, after all it is a film that this piece of prose is based on :) I liked this movie quite a bit, except that i wished, i had watched the Hindi version of the film instead of the English one. Roadside beggars of Mumbai speaking in accented English was a little unpalatable for me, personally!!
I happened to watch Slumdog Millionaire quite a while back and since then this post has been lingering in my mind. How can i not write about something that the whole of india, or at least the shining part of india, has indentified with. The other part, not so shining india, does not buy moser baer dvd's or drop by multiplexes to have identified with the movie. So, we, the relatively rich people have to testify on the behalf of the poor of the country, whether this is a realisitic depiction of their poverty. Doesn't that say quite a bit about the status quo here?
My musing is not about the film per se, but few of the prominent incidents in the movie which say quite a few things about the society. First of all, the film is based on the reality show, KBC. What is great about that show? How did it revolutionize the market for reality shows in India? Is it worth it? Secondly, the portrayal of the begging racket. This part hits you hard, especially if you happened to watch "Naan kadavul (tamil)" the following day, like i did!! pity me. Thirdly, about the strange coincidences any arguably great film seems to have.
First things first. The reality quiz shows, are they really a measure of the persons intellectual capability? Happened to read an open page article in 'The Hindu' which made my views on this stronger. I have never liked quizzing much. But, if you are an avid quizzer, read on only if you could take a little criticism. The film portrays how this chai wala, is able to reach till the final question just based on some loose facts, trivia, which he has acquired, by chance! Such a nice depiction.
In India, there is always an over emphasis on factual knowledge. Heard that even in civil services examinations, they ask questions related to the height of Miss India 2007 in cms? My god!! How could such mugging up of crass facts make one intelligent. I ve seen examination papers, MBA entrance examination papers, from highly popular institutions having a section called General Awareness, where they ask "what s the currency of Somalia?" How does that gauge my talent? Quiz has often been a thing used to boost up an otherwise uninteresting resume (this sentence is borrowed from that open page article) as it is considered a measure of one's intelligence. How does remembering loose facts, trivia, and the ability to retain them make one intelligent? Instead of questions like, 'When was Tashkent agreement signed?', shouldn't we be asking 'what is the significance of TA in India's foreign policy?'? Giving 4 choices and then allowing use of 50-50 option and then answering a 'when' question is no measure of a person's talent according to me.
Second thing, about the begging racket. 'Naan kadavul (Tamil)' was the most crude depiction of this racket, which i saw the next day after SDM. But, isn't somebody watching? The government officials. Shouldn't they be doing something about this kind of begging rackets? Just wondering!!
Third, about coincidences!! This film like many acclaimed films has a lot of coincidences too hard to believe. Starting from the beggar friend of the lead actor recognizing him after years instantaneously and his brother doing so over phone et al. Could somebody do something like that in real life?
How can i write about SDM and not say a word about ARR, the mozart from Chennai. He has done better works than this, but, this is just a platform for him to get through to the world which should have recognized him long back. Hope he brings home a few oscars too!!
I happened to watch Slumdog Millionaire quite a while back and since then this post has been lingering in my mind. How can i not write about something that the whole of india, or at least the shining part of india, has indentified with. The other part, not so shining india, does not buy moser baer dvd's or drop by multiplexes to have identified with the movie. So, we, the relatively rich people have to testify on the behalf of the poor of the country, whether this is a realisitic depiction of their poverty. Doesn't that say quite a bit about the status quo here?
My musing is not about the film per se, but few of the prominent incidents in the movie which say quite a few things about the society. First of all, the film is based on the reality show, KBC. What is great about that show? How did it revolutionize the market for reality shows in India? Is it worth it? Secondly, the portrayal of the begging racket. This part hits you hard, especially if you happened to watch "Naan kadavul (tamil)" the following day, like i did!! pity me. Thirdly, about the strange coincidences any arguably great film seems to have.
First things first. The reality quiz shows, are they really a measure of the persons intellectual capability? Happened to read an open page article in 'The Hindu' which made my views on this stronger. I have never liked quizzing much. But, if you are an avid quizzer, read on only if you could take a little criticism. The film portrays how this chai wala, is able to reach till the final question just based on some loose facts, trivia, which he has acquired, by chance! Such a nice depiction.
In India, there is always an over emphasis on factual knowledge. Heard that even in civil services examinations, they ask questions related to the height of Miss India 2007 in cms? My god!! How could such mugging up of crass facts make one intelligent. I ve seen examination papers, MBA entrance examination papers, from highly popular institutions having a section called General Awareness, where they ask "what s the currency of Somalia?" How does that gauge my talent? Quiz has often been a thing used to boost up an otherwise uninteresting resume (this sentence is borrowed from that open page article) as it is considered a measure of one's intelligence. How does remembering loose facts, trivia, and the ability to retain them make one intelligent? Instead of questions like, 'When was Tashkent agreement signed?', shouldn't we be asking 'what is the significance of TA in India's foreign policy?'? Giving 4 choices and then allowing use of 50-50 option and then answering a 'when' question is no measure of a person's talent according to me.
Second thing, about the begging racket. 'Naan kadavul (Tamil)' was the most crude depiction of this racket, which i saw the next day after SDM. But, isn't somebody watching? The government officials. Shouldn't they be doing something about this kind of begging rackets? Just wondering!!
Third, about coincidences!! This film like many acclaimed films has a lot of coincidences too hard to believe. Starting from the beggar friend of the lead actor recognizing him after years instantaneously and his brother doing so over phone et al. Could somebody do something like that in real life?
How can i write about SDM and not say a word about ARR, the mozart from Chennai. He has done better works than this, but, this is just a platform for him to get through to the world which should have recognized him long back. Hope he brings home a few oscars too!!
3 comments:
yup! I hope the Government officials do something about it. But I felt that it gave a startling view of India. We, Indians, know that both good and bad co-exist in India, but some of my American friends couldn't really get the concept of safe childhood in Indian middle class family after this movie. The questions they asked :D Man! And kudos to Rahman! The direction and picturing is awesome too :)
I am still unsure if your post bullied or praised SDM.. ;)
To me, in simple words, the movie doesn't deserve the hype..
@Naga:
True, it doesn't deserve the hype. But, who knows, may be because we re Indians we see the movie with a different perspective.
How we liked "blood diamond".. But, Africans may not have liked it. May be Africa is not as unsafe as it was portrayed in that movie. It s a drama, rite!! It was a good movie according to me, nevertheless the hype was a little too much. Cant blame the movie for it! That it dint have worthy competitors is not the movie's fault, right? That s why it is bagging all the awards!!
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