A tribute to creativity, A welcome change

Hi All.

There was nothing else to do for me now. I could have slept very early. I tried. A couple of phone calls woke me up from bed. One was from a friend of mine from Canada and the other an office colleague. While I attended the call from Canada as I can hardly afford to not pick calls from the other side of the world, still swearing about the call. I thought I will give a call to my friend from office a little later. I do take calls all the time, but not today. I wanted to sleep very early coz, I have to go to the airport at 2 AM and pick my sister who is coming back from USA after 2 years. So I needed the sleep because the new airport just takes 2 hours to get there.

Once I am up from sleep, I can hardly go back to bed. So its still about 90 minutes for me to start to the airport. I didnt find anything better to do than blog about a stunning movie which I watched recently.

This movie provoked several thoughts within me and most people who think like me. One of the thoughts is:
a. why does it take a westener to make a movie about our country and do a splendid job making it and whats more spectacular is that the movie gets 10 different nominations at the 81st Academy Awards? A movie, that has left most people in the Americans, spell bound and swept the Golden Globes?

b. Are all Indian movie makers creatively DEAD? Braindead, rather?
c. Why do we want to make a controversy out of nothing, just to be noticed and grab attention? Why cant we simply appreciate an artwork, in any form. Not just the movie?
d. Why cant we pay tribute to a foreign national who understands the diversity, the adversity, the cultural dynamics of our nation and can do a fabulous job of putting it up on celluloid?

I tried to find answers for some of the thoughts, I realized that I was not one among the millions who would belong to the 4 groups above. I am simply unfazed by the controversies for I am in total agreement to a fantastic creative work.

I am talking about the movie, "SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE". There is little ecstacy, after you watch it, why it should not be nominated at the Academy OR WHY IT SHOULD NOT HAVE SWEPT GOLDEN GLOBES.

There was a lot of noise which this movie created and I was watching all of it.. I thought there must be something in this movie and I should watch it. Then the golden globes happened, my curiosity increased by leaps and bounds. Then I started swirling for my cousin Ravi, who would have downloaded the movie from some site.. but hes resting in St Louis. Althought I never downloaded any movie off the internet as I believe in admiring the efforts of the crew and the time they took to make a masterpiece. But I could not resist the temptation and then I thought I can make an exception. I will download it and for doing something unethical, I will advocate for this movie and create enough publicity among my friends and ask them watch it in THEATRES ONLY. In this way, I would have covered up my sin of watching it online and also created revenue stream for the producers of this movie by making my friends watch it. Bonus money.

I watched it and a week later, I cannot stop admiring the artifacts in this movie. It raised a few eye brows alright, but it is realisitc. I must appreciate the nerve of the story writer, the screenplay and the direction in some scenes (the entire movie, ofcourse) was breath taking. The guy jumps into shit to get the autograph of this favorite hero, AB. That is life, for most slum dwellers. That is how they lead, that is how they survive untill they discover their death. They face everything from utter poverty to, riots on religion to slavery, to drudgedness and what not.
The script writer has done his home work exceedingly well.

To movie goers like me, its an eye opener, to watch the slum dwellers daily routine. We seldom spare a thought for them and the moment we pass by a slum, we think of, ewwww.. how could anyone live there.. But to millions of slum dwellers its their life. Did we ever spare a thought for them? NOPE~!!!!Nor did I. The movie takes us through various phases of a slum dweller before he comes a full circle. Riots, beggary, cheating, conning..... and then the underworld. In between all this our protagonist has a love tale. This was combed very well into the script. and the lifeline of this movie.

Coming to mainstream cinema, it puts me in a sorry state just to read about the many controversies that are being aired in various forms of media. One of them reads, that India is being presented in a wrong way... and that the slum dwellers stiff and things like that..Well isnt this true? Do NOT most people see it regularly? Is it not reality? If its not and India is only a hub for all outsourcing and hi tech jobs, what made Mother Teresa stick here and do the job that everyone shyed away? Why did the great Australian icon, Steve waugh, has most of his charity activities in Kolkata and India for that matter. Let the guys present what India's other side also. Please do NOT make it political. Creativity has no boundaries, art knows no political thinking and philosophy. Art forms are not totally biased. Appreciate it.

The fact, which I constantly mention in my previous posts, that we cine-goers are so attuned to watching belle dancing, those death defying, unrealistic stunts, that sex appeal, that cleavage show, and those romantic numbers.. For once be different. Watch the real stuff.. admire what is real or what could be close to reality. Watch movies for entertainment, but add a little bit of education to that and make it.. EDUTAINMENT. Watch movies from a artists' perspective and then get the real message. Last but not the least, if you think India is being portrayed in a wrong way and all that darn things, thats your viewpoint and purely your opinion and dont make it political.

The other thought that gathers momentum in my mind right now, is to have an edge towards PHILANTHROPY. Lets give the society something back for what we derived from it. Lets make someone's life a better one. Atleast one day of his life. If we are not in a position to do that, atleast lets not ruin someone's life for a moment and not be judgemental about anything or anyone.

If you are to ask me, which category this movie would win the ACADEMY'S appreciation, I will pick SCREENPLAY. I wish this movie all the best at the ACADEMY AWARDS.

Cheers!
Rajesh

PS: Go watch this movie in the theatres, near you, Do NOT DOWNLOAD.