Hi Friends,
I received the below info through an email and it got me thinking... Is it really a shame that we showed India in such poor light and received 3 trophies for it? Or is it just something that troublemakers are passing around to make sure we don't feel great about the awards?
Let me know your views and thoughts about this :)
3 Oscars for Indians - Read the other side story
Yes, indeed it is a matter of pride for us as 3 Indians won 3 Oscar awards. But at what cost? When we look at the other side of the coin, I feel what we lost is more than what we won. (Please read it completely)
It is a film by foreigners about the story of Indians and the only exception is A R Rahman.
Directed by Danny Boyle
Produced by Christian Colson
Written by Simon Beaufoy
Music by A. R. Rahman
Cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle
Editing by Chris Dickens
Budget $15 million
Gross revenue $159,226,072
The film portrays the poverty in India and shows to the world how the life led by the children in slums. Pre-Independence Britishers equaled Indians with dogs by saying "Dogs and Indians not allowed" into a restaurant. Even after 50 years of Indian Independence, these western people call the children in our slums as "dogs". They made good money making fun of India at the international level. There are many humiliating scenes in the movie which will make us feel ashamed, like:
- The children posing as guides at Taj Mahal and cheating the tourists
- The children working in hotel refills the Mineral water bottle and cheating the customers
- Pickpocketing, stealing, and reselling tourist footwear
- Grounding a car of a foreign tourist
- Training and employing the children for street begging
- Making a child blind to make him an impact beggar
- Training and pushing young girls into a brothel house
- Children becoming criminals at the age they don't know what is life
- Host of the game suspecting the knowledge of a slum boy and trying to mislead the participant
Hollywood journalist called Slumdog as "Poverty p*rn" What impact will this have on India amongst the audience of the western world? What do the children in slums learn from this film?
It is rightly mentioned in Amitabh's blog: "if Slumdog Millionaire projects India as Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations." Bachchan also states: "It's just that the Slumdog Millionaire idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner gets creative Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not."
If we had won Oscars for a film like Lagaan in which we threw out Britishers from our country by defeating them in their own game, every Indian would have been really proud. The Academy did not find Lagaan good for an award but for Slumdog Millionaire.
Kind Regards,
Arun Muralidhar
From India, Pondicherry
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5I received the below info through an email and it got me thinking... Is it really a shame that we showed India in such poor light and received 3 trophies for it? Or is it just something that troublemakers are passing around to make sure we don't feel great about the awards?
Let me know your views and thoughts about this :)
3 Oscars for Indians - Read the other side story
Yes, indeed it is a matter of pride for us as 3 Indians won 3 Oscar awards. But at what cost? When we look at the other side of the coin, I feel what we lost is more than what we won. (Please read it completely)
It is a film by foreigners about the story of Indians and the only exception is A R Rahman.
Directed by Danny Boyle
Produced by Christian Colson
Written by Simon Beaufoy
Music by A. R. Rahman
Cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle
Editing by Chris Dickens
Budget $15 million
Gross revenue $159,226,072
The film portrays the poverty in India and shows to the world how the life led by the children in slums. Pre-Independence Britishers equaled Indians with dogs by saying "Dogs and Indians not allowed" into a restaurant. Even after 50 years of Indian Independence, these western people call the children in our slums as "dogs". They made good money making fun of India at the international level. There are many humiliating scenes in the movie which will make us feel ashamed, like:
- The children posing as guides at Taj Mahal and cheating the tourists
- The children working in hotel refills the Mineral water bottle and cheating the customers
- Pickpocketing, stealing, and reselling tourist footwear
- Grounding a car of a foreign tourist
- Training and employing the children for street begging
- Making a child blind to make him an impact beggar
- Training and pushing young girls into a brothel house
- Children becoming criminals at the age they don't know what is life
- Host of the game suspecting the knowledge of a slum boy and trying to mislead the participant
Hollywood journalist called Slumdog as "Poverty p*rn" What impact will this have on India amongst the audience of the western world? What do the children in slums learn from this film?
It is rightly mentioned in Amitabh's blog: "if Slumdog Millionaire projects India as Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations." Bachchan also states: "It's just that the Slumdog Millionaire idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner gets creative Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not."
If we had won Oscars for a film like Lagaan in which we threw out Britishers from our country by defeating them in their own game, every Indian would have been really proud. The Academy did not find Lagaan good for an award but for Slumdog Millionaire.
Kind Regards,
Arun Muralidhar
From India, Pondicherry
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Dear Arun Muralidhar,
You say that "There are many humiliating scenes in the movie which will make us feel ashamed". It is the reality that should shame us, not the movie scenes. Every single instance that you have mentioned has really happened. Not only is it just one odd case but these are routine cases. The routine has desensitized us.
Movies are mirrors of society. What you are trying to say is not to look at mirrors else our image may irritate us or give a nasty look!
Dear Arun, may I remind you that after 62 years of independence, one out of three Indians is illiterate and one out of four lives below the poverty line? Other than these heart-chilling statistics, is there anything that should shame us?
Ok...
Dinesh V. Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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You say that "There are many humiliating scenes in the movie which will make us feel ashamed". It is the reality that should shame us, not the movie scenes. Every single instance that you have mentioned has really happened. Not only is it just one odd case but these are routine cases. The routine has desensitized us.
Movies are mirrors of society. What you are trying to say is not to look at mirrors else our image may irritate us or give a nasty look!
Dear Arun, may I remind you that after 62 years of independence, one out of three Indians is illiterate and one out of four lives below the poverty line? Other than these heart-chilling statistics, is there anything that should shame us?
Ok...
Dinesh V. Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Hi.. I totally agree with Mr. Dinesh Divekar that its we Indians who should feel ashamed of not the movie makers. The movie shows the reality n nothing is wrong in showing or seeing the same. Nitu
From India, Vadodara
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From India, Vadodara
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I would agree with Dinesh for what he has quoted here. He is right shouldn’t we look at the mirror. Rgds, J
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Dear All, Instead of blaming each other, we should see what best we can contribute at our own leavel for the upliftment of our society. Let us do something on this line. Regards Srikanth
From India, Madras
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From India, Madras
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Dear All,
We have been doing this, and we will keep on doing this until the world ends. Whenever any issue is being raised, first we go beyond the subject and discuss. Then, when we give it either the shape of religion or regional disharmony, we then fight among ourselves and kill our own mates. So the result is "NOTHING," and this will keep on continuing unless and until we change our mindset.
Here, Mr. Arun and Mr. Dinesh are both right at their end, but what's the point in just giving the numbers? Everybody knows what the ground reality is, but has anyone ever tried to reduce even one of them, be it a poor or uneducated child? I guess "NONE."
So, stop counting numbers and try to reduce.
Best Regards,
Sushmita
From India, Gurgaon
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We have been doing this, and we will keep on doing this until the world ends. Whenever any issue is being raised, first we go beyond the subject and discuss. Then, when we give it either the shape of religion or regional disharmony, we then fight among ourselves and kill our own mates. So the result is "NOTHING," and this will keep on continuing unless and until we change our mindset.
Here, Mr. Arun and Mr. Dinesh are both right at their end, but what's the point in just giving the numbers? Everybody knows what the ground reality is, but has anyone ever tried to reduce even one of them, be it a poor or uneducated child? I guess "NONE."
So, stop counting numbers and try to reduce.
Best Regards,
Sushmita
From India, Gurgaon
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I cannot understand what you are trying to express. Are you trying to convince us that this does not happen in India? Or are you trying to say that just because this film was made by non-Indians, its content is not acceptable? Or are you trying to say that India should not have accepted the Oscars? I am confused... Wake up and accept reality! These things happen. The film won Oscars, and Bollywood could not have made the film. Now don't go around trying to stir up angst after the fact.
From United Arab Emirates, Dubai
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From United Arab Emirates, Dubai
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Dear Arun,
It is never too late to build things in reality. What matters most to all of us, humans of intellect, is to ascertain that things happening around us make it valuable for us (like you) to move on and be a change agent.
The very point of this movie, in a collective approach, is never to downgrade Indian society. On the contrary, there is far greater potential than what it currently is as a whole. The movie, in my view, suggests the delicate subjects of love and trust, betrayal, discontentment, freedom, braveness, truth, and injustice, among only a few of the many spices I caught up with in the movie.
From my perspective, I urge everyone to appreciate the likeness of the movie itself and the wisdom it brings to the majority.
The social stigma we face, confronting the harsh reality of its existence, may be very hurtful. Could this be because we are weak? Could this be because we are afraid to see the realms of poverty? Or could this be insensitivity rising within us, leading to a "do little or nothing at all" attitude?
Somehow, that movie is never meant to degrade but to upgrade the sensitivities of our human nature, to inspire action and be a change agent for those in need.
To you, Mr. Dinesh, you made the message fully understood in a very simple statement. Thank you for inviting!
Thank you.
From Saudi Arabia
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It is never too late to build things in reality. What matters most to all of us, humans of intellect, is to ascertain that things happening around us make it valuable for us (like you) to move on and be a change agent.
The very point of this movie, in a collective approach, is never to downgrade Indian society. On the contrary, there is far greater potential than what it currently is as a whole. The movie, in my view, suggests the delicate subjects of love and trust, betrayal, discontentment, freedom, braveness, truth, and injustice, among only a few of the many spices I caught up with in the movie.
From my perspective, I urge everyone to appreciate the likeness of the movie itself and the wisdom it brings to the majority.
The social stigma we face, confronting the harsh reality of its existence, may be very hurtful. Could this be because we are weak? Could this be because we are afraid to see the realms of poverty? Or could this be insensitivity rising within us, leading to a "do little or nothing at all" attitude?
Somehow, that movie is never meant to degrade but to upgrade the sensitivities of our human nature, to inspire action and be a change agent for those in need.
To you, Mr. Dinesh, you made the message fully understood in a very simple statement. Thank you for inviting!
Thank you.
From Saudi Arabia
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Hi Arun,
Don't watch a film with the objective to criticize. The film deserves all the awards as per the filmmaking standards. The groups who are much concerned should work towards eradicating child labor, child molestation, etc., rather than criticizing patriotism in a different way.
Danny Boyle has selected the subject to show how an underdog became a millionaire. The screenplay is natural. Since the main protagonist lives in a slum, he has exhibited the slum in close reality. I guess the film is not intended to project the slums to the Western world.
Regards,
Ananda Natarajan.
From India, Madras
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Don't watch a film with the objective to criticize. The film deserves all the awards as per the filmmaking standards. The groups who are much concerned should work towards eradicating child labor, child molestation, etc., rather than criticizing patriotism in a different way.
Danny Boyle has selected the subject to show how an underdog became a millionaire. The screenplay is natural. Since the main protagonist lives in a slum, he has exhibited the slum in close reality. I guess the film is not intended to project the slums to the Western world.
Regards,
Ananda Natarajan.
From India, Madras
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Dear All,
There is no doubt that Slumdog Millionaire is a good movie. It deserves the prize that it received. I agree that there are biases towards Indians and other developing countries at all levels of the Oscars. However, criticizing the movie because it shows us a mirror is not fair. Whether slums exist only in India or in every country is not the question.
The problem is that after more than 60 years of independence, we are still struggling with poverty and slums. The government and we, the people of India, are doing nothing to solve this puzzle. Instead, we try to hide or ignore it, and when someone shows us the true picture, we raise a hue and cry.
If Amit Ji felt so hurt after watching Slumdog, then why did he take part in the movie? Bollywood movies are nowhere near reality. They only make high-fi movies that do not depict the problems of the common man.
It is a shame for Bollywood directors, producers, and the entire industry that they missed the train. Outsiders came and showed us the reality while our Bollywood was sleeping, still sleeping, and criticizing others.
White Eagle
White Eagle
From India, Hyderabad
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There is no doubt that Slumdog Millionaire is a good movie. It deserves the prize that it received. I agree that there are biases towards Indians and other developing countries at all levels of the Oscars. However, criticizing the movie because it shows us a mirror is not fair. Whether slums exist only in India or in every country is not the question.
The problem is that after more than 60 years of independence, we are still struggling with poverty and slums. The government and we, the people of India, are doing nothing to solve this puzzle. Instead, we try to hide or ignore it, and when someone shows us the true picture, we raise a hue and cry.
If Amit Ji felt so hurt after watching Slumdog, then why did he take part in the movie? Bollywood movies are nowhere near reality. They only make high-fi movies that do not depict the problems of the common man.
It is a shame for Bollywood directors, producers, and the entire industry that they missed the train. Outsiders came and showed us the reality while our Bollywood was sleeping, still sleeping, and criticizing others.
White Eagle
White Eagle
From India, Hyderabad
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