So finally I happend to watch Slumdog Millionaire today. I will be honest in saying that I was more curious to watch this movie not because I was dying to see Mumbai's slums on a 70mm screen (I see them day in and day out), but I watched it coz I wanted to know in what way was the film so special that it was showered with 4 golden globe awards.
So back to the film...well after watching this film, this were my views:
1. Firstly, Yash chopras, Karan Johars and Ekta Kapoors should take a lesson or two from Danny Boyle; because seriously I felt embarassed that a firangi has to show us the plight of my city, while the Chopras, Johars and these directors make senseless films like KANK, Rab ne Bana di Jodi and all that...which anways indicate that there is just one culture in India and that is Punjabi culture. Nothing wrong about it, b'coz south indian flicks show south indian culture, Bhopuri flicks show UP culture. But my point is that there should be less of thrashy flicks and more of intelligent and realistic films to be made. We obviously don't need a firangi to show us our plight. Madhur Bhandarkar has already done it excellently in Traffic Signal so has Meera Nair in Salaam Bombay.
2. We Indians are awesome people. Ok I know that we are an uncivilized bunch of people with bad table and telephone
manners. But you know what, long ago Herbert Spencer gave a theory named 'Survival of the Fittest' and we Indians stand testimony for this theory. In this film Salim and Jamal Malik (two brothers) survive through some of those really bad situations and are actually smarter than the page3 socialites and fashion gurus who have been brought up in some posh south mumbai locality. We (the middle-class and lower class population which constitutes 75% of India) can survive anywhere and everywhere because the situations in which we have been brought up have made us smart and tough.
3. Yes Yes the film has got not one but four awards, but like it or not the flick won these many awards because everyone abroad loves to see India in a poor light (in Munnabhai MBBS, a chinese tells Arshad Warsi that he wants to click photos of poor India). What better film than this to show us in a poor light. Till today, many do not like to consider India as one of the frontrunner for the powerful nation's slot.
4. The film showed that Infrastructure in our city is terrible. Jam-packed that's how our city is. There is no space at all. The film should be a gentle reminder for builders and govt babus who give permission for constructing buildings and all in every available spaces. Sanitation, healthy development of children are all a thing of past. Sometimes I feel the rural kids are luckier than us as they atleast have vast expanse of fields to run into. Bad, haywire construction of buildings for money...this just makes me go maddddddddddddd.
5. Finally, the film has taught me a lesson that I better not shell out money to maimed kids singing darshan do ghanshyam more...I would rather buy them a parle-g bicuit or a vada pav instead.
P.S: Importantly, I advice Big B to try some other ways to garner publicity instead of criticizing such films which are 10,000 times better than his film BOOM.
JAI HO!!!
