Slumdog Thinking!

The whole world is talking about the "slumdog" from India and so naturally I can't resist writing something about it. I think we need to give the whole credit to the American director for having thought of making a movie written by an Indian, based in India and totally done in Bollywood style.After all, how many directors can we think of, from India, who can go to France and make a movie almost fully in French and win the hearts of the people with it.I don't think anyYash Chopra or an Ashitosh Gowarikar would even dare. And even if they did, they would not win the same accolades because the world abroad is a a biased place.Can you imagine a movie called SLUMDOG AMERICA madeby an Indian,making it big in the Oscar circuit and working its way up to getting some 10 nominations in the Academy??? I think we are still a nice 50 years away from something like that happening in this world.
That apart... I have not much positives to talk about this film and the filmmaker.There is really nothing different in this movie for it to be talked about so much. It has the same masala of puppy love, brothers separating to take the good and evil paths and love reigning supreme in the end...........it has BOLLYWOOD written all over...and every Indian has seen this story on the screen and pirated cds and dvds sometime in their lives.Now about the music.... well its good and nice but please... we have heard something closely similar in Khalnayak (just hear ringa ringa and compare it with choli ke peeche). And Rehman has done far better work in his life which did not get noticed earlier because he made it for Indians and for an Indian director.
I am more angry at the fact that a much much better and sensitive movie,Taare Zameen Par(TZP), lost out in the race much earlier because it was an Indian Khan and not an American Boyle who directed it. I bet by now all of you would have seen TZP and I am sure all of you ended up choked and moist eyed at the end of the movie.
Dear judges of the Academy,don't you think a movie which moves you so and makes you think twice before you scold your kid for not doing well in the exams deserves a tag of Oscar rather than some SLUMDOG running in shit to catch an autograph of Superstar Amitabh.I guess, its the slumdog attitude of the Academy of Motion Pictures which makes them appreciate David Boyle's work. They relate the slums and underdevelopment, poverty and cheating to India and when that is shown on the screen.........well, thats worth all the appreciation for them.
I really want your response to this thought. Please don't be silent readers of my blog and do leave a few comments -sweet, salt and bitter... all are welcome :)

Budget : Lalu style!

Ten Things Indians Can Do Without!

I was just sitting idle the other day and one thought that suddenly came to me was what is it about us Indians that puts us apart.Well, the mind kept ticking and I then realised there were quite a few things which makes us what we are.
1. Our obsession with the colour white. I don't know what it is with us but the moment we see anyone with fair skin we start oggling and salivating like a hungry dog does on seeing a bone.I think most species have only hatred associated with colour of the skin of people, but for us it is different and that sure puts us apart.
2. Our second obsession is with covering everything .Where in the world would you find so many varieties of sofa covers,dining table covers, car seat covers,remote covers, washing machine covers,TV covers, covers for cell phones..... you name it and we have a cover ready for it.No matter whether we use it or not, WE HAVE TO COVER IT (except for one thing which if covered while at work would do something really good to control the population... sorry for being a bit cheeky ;)) In fact, I think we have more varieties of the covers rather than the product itself.
3. We love BURPING! And the louder it is, the more satisfying it is. I don't know why the person next to you has to suffer because of your passion for food.
4. And this one is thanks to the men alone........ the habit of grabbing their twin jewels in public!The beard and the face isn't enough to let the people know your sex, the signature act is.... the "ball-grabbing" act!
5. And all know kiss and piss story..... no to kissing but yes to pissing in public..... in fact the Indian male bladder is almost passionate about emptying itself in public!
6. Who can forget our obsession with loudspeakers anytime we think of God. I guess, we leave no stones unturned to make God HEAR us. Its almost like making God listen to you at gun point. The less the melody in the voice of the "devotee", the louder the music has to be.
7.This one sure is a thumbs up for the Indians.Our celebration of marriages in the grandest possible way like no one else.Thanks to the likes of Suraj Barjatya and Yash Chopra the big loud and pompous Indian wedding is known all over now and may be that plays a part in making the marriages last longer than most places in the world.
8.We have an uncanny knack at picking habits and accents. It would take a decade for an American to get the Indian accent, but it just requires a few hours of interaction with an American for us to catch the American accent and to love their pastas and pizzas.... :)
9. We know how to litter well. Be it India or America, we always mark our zone with loads of litter and filth. I guess that's what has played a major part in developing immunity to diseases in India.
10. Well lastly, I guess its the habit of making a mockery of anything Indian that contributes ironically to us being Indians.That's true for me and I proved it by writing this write up....:)
Whatever be it..... the bottom line is .. MERE BHARAT MEIN HAIN SAB PARESHAAN PAR PHIR BHI HUM KAHEIN : MERA BHARAT MAHAAN!