Like every other net-savvy Indian I too was keeping track of what was going on in the 81st Academy Awards. And when the results came, one after another, I pumped my fists and ‘Yess-ed’ in joy, especially for the great A R Rehman and the legendary Gulzar Saab. They are not only my favourite music director and lyricist, I also feel they are the best ever in Hindi cinema and the present crop has a lot of catching up to do. It was only fitting that they have started a trend which hopefully goes a long way in future.
But after some time when the hormones settled down and brains took over I started questioning the importance given to the Oscars here in India. Those who have heard Rahman before would agree this was definitely not the best of his compositions. And for Gulzar, it was regular stuff. So, why are we celebrating as if Rahman and Gulzar have conquered the world? They are much better than the world (read Hollywood) will ever know and it is deriding for them to be judged by this Oscar.
As far as Bollywood goes, it still has a long way to go before it can claim that it is able to rub shoulders with its western counterparts. Of course, once in a decade we do make a good movie which we keep bragging about for the next two decades. Comments like 'the world is at Bollywood’s feet' (by Anil Kapoor) are simply ridiculous and portrays the veteran actor as an attention-grabbing-wannabe. Just like hiring a few Hollywood technicians and shooting a Hindi movie abroad doesn’t make it a foreign film, Slumdog is not an Indian movie and the awards it has won don’t speak anything for our cinema. Even if the same movie had been made by an Indian, do you honestly think it would win an Oscar? No way. Black, for example, I think was a better movie which didn’t even make it to the last five. My point is it is their awards and we should stop craving for their attention at the slightest pretext.
I would go even further by saying that Slumdog is not the best movie I have ever seen and doesn’t stand up to the other multiple Oscar-winning movies. The Americans are in a habit of portraying themselves as the ones who care for poverty, racism, gay rights and other issues and hence the movies which deal with these have a much better chance to win awards than entertainers like The Dark Knight. Fair enough. But what is not fair is that to them India is still a country of snake-charmers, elephants and now slums. They would only recognize movies which highlight these aspects; and that too, if it is made by one of their own people. Promoting and applauding movies like Slumdog give them a pleasure and satisfaction of having done their bit for 'third-world countries' like India. Hence the eight Oscars.
Of course I don’t want to play a spoilsport and even I am extremely happy for the two individuals having won the most popular awards of the world. It’s just that I don’t want to lose perspective by saying outrageous things like “now the world knows the potential of our artistes” or that “Bollywood is now getting its due”. They simply don’t care and neither should we act like all these years we were waiting for them to recognize our artistes so that we could respect them more. Gulzar and Rahman were legends before today and will remain so forever, Oscar or no Oscar.
But after some time when the hormones settled down and brains took over I started questioning the importance given to the Oscars here in India. Those who have heard Rahman before would agree this was definitely not the best of his compositions. And for Gulzar, it was regular stuff. So, why are we celebrating as if Rahman and Gulzar have conquered the world? They are much better than the world (read Hollywood) will ever know and it is deriding for them to be judged by this Oscar.
As far as Bollywood goes, it still has a long way to go before it can claim that it is able to rub shoulders with its western counterparts. Of course, once in a decade we do make a good movie which we keep bragging about for the next two decades. Comments like 'the world is at Bollywood’s feet' (by Anil Kapoor) are simply ridiculous and portrays the veteran actor as an attention-grabbing-wannabe. Just like hiring a few Hollywood technicians and shooting a Hindi movie abroad doesn’t make it a foreign film, Slumdog is not an Indian movie and the awards it has won don’t speak anything for our cinema. Even if the same movie had been made by an Indian, do you honestly think it would win an Oscar? No way. Black, for example, I think was a better movie which didn’t even make it to the last five. My point is it is their awards and we should stop craving for their attention at the slightest pretext.
I would go even further by saying that Slumdog is not the best movie I have ever seen and doesn’t stand up to the other multiple Oscar-winning movies. The Americans are in a habit of portraying themselves as the ones who care for poverty, racism, gay rights and other issues and hence the movies which deal with these have a much better chance to win awards than entertainers like The Dark Knight. Fair enough. But what is not fair is that to them India is still a country of snake-charmers, elephants and now slums. They would only recognize movies which highlight these aspects; and that too, if it is made by one of their own people. Promoting and applauding movies like Slumdog give them a pleasure and satisfaction of having done their bit for 'third-world countries' like India. Hence the eight Oscars.
Of course I don’t want to play a spoilsport and even I am extremely happy for the two individuals having won the most popular awards of the world. It’s just that I don’t want to lose perspective by saying outrageous things like “now the world knows the potential of our artistes” or that “Bollywood is now getting its due”. They simply don’t care and neither should we act like all these years we were waiting for them to recognize our artistes so that we could respect them more. Gulzar and Rahman were legends before today and will remain so forever, Oscar or no Oscar.
