Slumdog Millionaire, the most awaited movie of the year 2008, is a wonderful example of how differently things are perceived in the East and the West. A movie that is so loved and critically acclaimed by the West has been frowned upon and criticised a lot in India. So, is the movie really worth all the hype and to be loved the way it is? Or are the critics of the movie right in their argument??
I went to watch this movie without a lot of expectations but had read about all acclaim that the movie had released all over. Also, the movie had won a lot of awards including the BAFTA and had won a lot of Oscar nominations by the time I saw the movie. So, what is my take on the movie???
Well, to be very honest, I didnt think there was anything extraordinarily good about the movie for it to have won these number of awards or be nominated for the Oscars. To me, it was a typical and ordinary bollywood movie with its share of twists and turns. I have watched a lot of much better flicks from the Indian cinema. What made me hate the movie more is the fact that only the bad side has been portrayed in the movie. Agreed! All that has been shown in the movie is true and does happen in India. But India is not just about that! There is a lot more to this country and plenty of sightful things here. The intention of the director was very clear in one particular scene where Jamaal acts as a guide showing the western tourists around India. Jamaal takes the Westerners to a suburb in the capital and all his friends steal all that could possibly be stolen from their car and when the driver hits Jamaal and asks him about the whereabouts of his croonies, the westerners stop him as Jamaal says that this is the true side of India and the westerners say that they would show the true side of America. Is that true??? Is this a fact??? Was that a true side of India and America respectively??? I am sure that all Indians and most of the world would beg to differ. That is certainly NOT the true side of India! Well, with regards to the true side of America, everybody knows and no point in commenting.
So, is there anything good about the movie at all??? Well, yes there are! For one, the flow is good. The way answers to the questions in the show have been arrived at is interesting! The anchor changing into a villian as he turns Jamaal to the police was a good touch. Music was a good support to the movie (will come back to it in a while!) and the performances were topnotch. Watch out for the youngest Jamaal, he sets the tone for what is to come later on and does a fantastic job! Well, strictly a one timer and could have been made better. No wonder it is a super failure in India.
Now, moving on to Oscar nominations, the film's music has bagged 3 nominations. One for Best Original Music Score and the other two for the Best Song Category! This is the 1st time an Indian is nominated at the mainstream Oscars and something for all the Indians to be proud of. Though, I felt this was not the best work of A.R. Rahman and most certainly not worth an Oscar nomination (though I am not complaining)! There have been better works from him and would continue to come. But for the moment, we should sit back and enjoy all the attention our music is getting and hats off to Rahman for taking the Indian music to the global charts.
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