Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Much ado about..something BUT too much!

I finally watched slumdog & I'm still not sure if I should call it good or bad.
First things first : My logic on this movie about how it hit a jackpot all around the world - the foriegn audience have prolly never had a doze of slum..slumdog & a slumdog millionaire on that!
But for the Indian audience , it wasn't anything out of the world.We've seen Indian slums in a number of movies & although I would agree to the fact that the slums have been captured well in this movie but it wasn't anything stunning.Of course , how can watching slums be delightful anyway ? :|
I've read a lot of directors in India saying the movie could have been made better.But thats far away from the point.The movie is just right in its place , with the kind of story it revolves around.I don't think anybody could have made it 'better'.And somewhere I'm really thankful no Indian director ever made it or else we would have to watch a 3 hr slum tour with all kind of predictable & imaginable crap.

As for showcasing India as a poor country , I'm not going to be judgmental on that note.The movie's prime subject is a boy living in slum , so I don't know why people were expecting to see palaces! Just one of those things that would hit you hard being an Indian is where the boy's beaten & he says to the tourists "You wanted to see India.THIS is India." No! Thats not just India.If you happen to notice the backdrop of that scene , then maybe you'll know that if such kind of fraud were to take place anywhere in the world , regardless of who the boy is , he would have been hit anyway.So somewhere down the line , I'm not even against that dialogue.
I mean after watching this movie , if any foreigner has any doubts regarding WHAT is India , then they shall might wanna come down & see it for themselves!
A movie cannot become a warning footnote against a country! Or it may..but cannot be too influential. I hope so!

The fast pace , screenplay , editing & the background score is what kept me hooked.Lets put the background music first.It fits in perfectly with each scene & situation & thus makes the movie interesting! The star cast is good.Specially (mostly only) the children.
I wonder why is everyone Freida Pinto-ing ? That girl was a waste of space on that 70 mm screen.She had fingertip-countable dialogues to blurt out with a few smiles & frowns.Even Jiah Khan could have done that :P
No , I'm kidding.She wouldn't have ,lol.But seriosuly that Pinto chick was seen only for a short while in the movie towards the climax & everybody on earth wants to know who she is.I guess thats what a HIT movie is.Even slums become as famous as Eiffel Towers ;)
Dev Patel plays a fair role.He's the millionaire slumdog , so lets spare him from harsh comments.

Overall its a not that bad a movie.It has its funny moments , charm & anxiety but I don't see why it would make it to the Oscars.And if it does ( for best movie) , it would be surprising.
Jai Ho is a lovely song.Quite a different style of music from Rahman if we track down his past records.But its not the best from him.I love the songs from the movies Jodha Akbar , Guru & Jaane tu ya jaane na.Jai ho doesn't beat them all.It first sounded like a mixture of few songs compared to Rahman's other songs which tune into a persistent boundary of frequency.But its just as great as the other ones.
So on those lines , he should have got the acknowledgment long time back ;)

Movie-trick of the year ?
Get noticed by a British/American producer.
Make a film based on India & in India.
DO sign Rahman.
Grab the awards.
Cash in the money.
But first , GET NOTICED !
Do NOT make the mistake of making a movie under an Indian producer , because we all can smell some partiality on international front.
( Truth of the fact - If the movie were made by Indian co. , I don't think they would have selected it for Oscars ..isn't it ? )

2 comments:

  1. You just stole words from my mouth.. cheee kitna bura lagta hai english main bolne main..

    Tumne toh exactly mere moonh ki baat cheen lee.. I feel 99% same for this movie... Movie is definitely nice but. It includes a but..!


    WORD VERIFICATION KI JAI HO: booses

    ReplyDelete
  2. I haven't seen the film..but the Slumdog frenzy is getting to me nw..wen is the hype going to die down!


    Even Jiah Khan could have done that
    Lolzzzzzzzzzz

    ReplyDelete

You might want to say something
No !! Don't be Afraid !
Go ahead :P