Is Slumdog a Indian Film? - Page 6

Originally posted by: sandya_rao7

 

Sandhyaji, I won't interupt in between ur debate but I must say I love your style of debating👏👏

No-one is pitying us and feeling sorry for us and chosing to make a movie on us, they're all in it for the money and we ALL know thay.

Originally posted by: sandya_rao7

 

I know this movie getting a GG or even an Oscar wont make any difference to our movies or industry or anything. I dont think YC movies dont have creativity at all, they have their own charm. those movies dont gel well with west bcoz they cannot imagine indians that way.

 

To tell you frankly, even I can't imagine Indians "that way"

 

 

They would have selected TZp, Paheli which was crap for us but it was new to them same with devdas but they choose to ignore these movies not even lagaan was given an oscar.  

 

Okay, I see a disconnect here.  First of all, as far as the hindi movies are concerned or Indian movies are concerned --- they don't select our movies.  We send them for these competitive awards.  We messed up when we sent Paheli, TZP and DevDas.  There were far better regional cinema which were overlooked totally.  Additionally, TZP subject was a first time in Indian cinema but it is definitely not new to western audience.  Nothing new or creative there.

 

 

And god knows what art they find in movies like SDM? What creativity is there in showing slums and poor children that too with artist who are not even indians and cant even speak hindi with proper accent. how can they feel the character of a slumdog?

If you still don't see beyond poverty as far as SDM is concerned, then that's your perspective.  I already explained my take on it in my previous post.  As far as speaking hindi with proper accent - it is not a hindi movie to begin with😆

 

 

I am not telling to give award to YC movies or Kj ( but y not even it is very comman to us but for west i dont thing running around the tress is comman) give award to suraj barjataya movies.,

You are contradicting yourself here.  You were the one swearing by the creative geniuses of these mushy gushy movies before😉

 

A wednesday, yeh hai mumbai meri jaan, bombay,. N no. of movies are there . India is no short of talent at all and this is the very thing which irritates when all this talent is not recognised.Let me tell u the worst movie of YR rab ne bana di jodi's script has also been kept in oscar library y? 

...and I ask you how come Indians don't send movies like Wednesday for western awards?  Why do they send the over the top fictions like Dev Das, Lagaan or a Paheli?  We play politics in which movies get nominated from our country for international cinema slot and then we turn around and say west is biased.  Beats me yaar.

 

Another point, Wednesday may be a new genre for India but West is full of such movie themes.  Nothing unique or creative there as far as western audience is concerned.  An utter failure like Bangkok Dangerous was handled much better than all the movies you mentioned above and Bangkok Dangerous is not even about terrorism.

 

So what was new in that this all is shown much better in satayjit ray movies. 

SDM movie theme was quite different than Satyajit Ray's cinema.  Since you are not seeing beyond slums and poverty, it's no point going through the whole loop again.

 

Kabul express, New york (yet to release must have seen the trailors but they wont acknowledge those movies bczo it will show their black aspect), fanaa.

No.  They won't show those movies because the directors are going to screw up the screen play to make the heroes appear to be semi gods and above and beyond everything.  KE and NY are not unique topics at all.  West have had numerous movies made on the same line.  

 

 I very much love these movies and y not ultimately they make movies to earn money not oscars.

There you go!  I alos love these Indian movies, like I said before but they are definitely not Oscar or GG material.  Don't know why you keep comparing apples with oranges.

 

 

Havent seen the movie yet to release here but now will have to go and see wht was there in that movie which was so unique and was not there in 100 other indian love stories or serial . every hero or heroine is going over board for their love in our movies. wonder y that was never acclaimed till now ////😲 

 

😆😆Oh well.  Now I see where you are coming from.  You haven't even seen the flick and you are basing your views on an aspect of press this movie is getting😆  Why don't we keep this debate on shelf till you see it first.  At least then, we will have your own views based on what you have seen.

 

make movie on dhirubhai ambani growing from rags to riches SRK from no where ,no backing to being internationally acclaimed star. if u really want to search for inspiration u will get many. 

Like I said before, west is full of such stories as well.  Bill Gates would be a lot better suited subject than Dhirubhai Ambani.  BTW, were you not rooting for Mukesh Ambani first😆West did make a movie on Gandhi - that's inspiration too!  No one can deny how well they treated the subject.  Watch all movies made on Bhagat Singh.  Somewhere, they got carried away with emotinal grandeur and failed to capture the real man.  I love Bhagat Singh...period.  But none of the movies made on him touch the heart like they should.  Somehow, the star playing Bhagat Singh comes across grandeur than the real super hero he is supposed to be playing.  You know what I mean.

 

india is as is it famous for hear and pollutions and diseases showing such slums wont make them think twice?

Again, watch this movie yourself.  Then would love to know what you think.  You are way too influenced by the opinions of others right now.

 

dont tell me west is giving us bussiness from the goodness of their heart they only invest not only invest even every small decision they take is solely keeping THEIR profit in mind nothing else.

 

Did I not say in todays global economy, east and west share a "symbiotic relationship"?  What part of that relationship did you not get?  If west is getting something out of it then so are we.  You don't tell me that Indian economy can sustain itself even if west totally pulls itself out of India, something that they can very well do as there are loads of other asian countries willing to step right into India's shoes there.

 

Dont tell me for one day that west is very happy seeing india develop and challenge it.

Again, this is all in your mind.  I doubt western movie audience really go that deep in world politics😆...and this is now beginning to sound like pakistani harp - oh, we are a victim...oh, west created this terrorism......😆

 

Had it been the case we would not need to run around country to country for support against pakistan. so if we have developed its our own hard work and talent and potential ad west has done and still doing its utmost best to stop this growth.

..and who is asking India to run from pillar to post here?  Why does India has to run from pillar to post to begin with.  How many more terrorist attacks it will take before Indian politicians react in actions - not just words.  Can't be blaming all our shortcomings on west now....and this aspect is not even part of the movie or this thread😆  Geez, someone really sees world with colored glasses here😆

 

Had that been the case we would have made a SDM and called them to give award and thanked their billion people  

...and who is stopping the Indian producers to produce a SDM on american ghettos or uk slums?  And if you see the way majority of Indian directors portray west in their movies, it's not in favorable light anyways - right from the days of Manoj Kumar's Poorab Paschim.  Leave alone westerners, even NRIs are shown in a very bad light.  So don't tell me stereotyping is totally one sided here.

 

 

OH! 😲so sorry for the incovenience caused.And u were so sure that i will quote your post?  

You did, did you not😉  Now, go and watch the movie with an OPEN MIND keeping aside all your biases.  Who knows you'll again end up doing what I am so sure about - seeing beyond slums and poverty in SDM😛

Edited by Gauri_3 - 15 years ago

Ocean liners are upset why the only Oscar winning movie was on a ship that sank dramatically. Why can't Suite Life on Deck be awarded. London Tipton is a groundbreaking character.

The Germans want to enforce a ban on all the Nazi films. Nazis are gone long ago. They do not exist anymore. It is unfair to portray them as old world Nazis. Movies like Beerfest should represent Germany at the Oscars.

Eastern Europeans are upset at all the movies that portray their countries as notorious human trafficers or bride sellers. Why dont they make movies on happy prostitutes in Netherlands.

Worst of all mother nature is furious, in fact livid. She plans to unleash a threefold wrath on us in 2009 in protest. Why do all movies highlight her disasters like f;oods, hurricanes, tornadoes, famines, earthquakes, volcanoes? Why do all documentaries focus on her shortcomings? What is wrong in making a movie on a pleasant spring day, a successful high yield harvest, or endless hours of happy prancing animals without being an unrealistic Disney movie.

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

Ocean liners are upset why the only Oscar winning movie was on a ship that sank dramatically. Why can't Suite Life on Deck be awarded. London Tipton is a groundbreaking character.

The Germans want to enforce a ban on all the Nazi films. Nazis are gone long ago. They do not exist anymore. It is unfair to portray them as old world Nazis. Movies like Beerfest should represent Germany at the Oscars.

Eastern Europeans are upset at all the movies that portray their countries as notorious human trafficers or bride sellers. Why dont they make movies on happy prostitutes in Netherlands.

Worst of all mother nature is furious, in fact livid. She plans to unleash a threefold wrath on us in 2009 in protest. Why do all movies highlight her disasters like f;oods, hurricanes, tornadoes, famines, earthquakes, volcanoes? Why do all documentaries focus on her shortcomings? What is wrong in making a movie on a pleasant spring day, a successful high yield harvest, or endless hours of happy prancing animals without being an unrealistic Disney movie.

Originally posted by: hindu4lyf

 

Sandhyaji, I won't interupt in between ur debate but I must say I love your style of debating👏👏

No-one is pitying us and feeling sorry for us and chosing to make a movie on us, they're all in it for the money and we ALL know thay.

Edited by Gauri_3 - 15 years ago

Originally posted by: Gauri_3

 

Just an FYI - the bolded part is not her position at all.  Wonder where you get it from😆  She feels they, the darker side...the affluent devils....prefer such movies so that they can pity us...feel sorry for us.....and feel happy how blessed they themselves are😉  Looks like you missed the entire gist of her argument....and all that opinion is formed without even watching the flick🤣 

 

Still, taali peetney mein kya jata hai.  I say, carry on with your accolades but try getting the gist first....or is it too much to hope for😛😆

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

Ocean liners are upset why the only Oscar winning movie was on a ship that sank dramatically. Why can't Suite Life on Deck be awarded. London Tipton is a groundbreaking character.

The Germans want to enforce a ban on all the Nazi films. Nazis are gone long ago. They do not exist anymore. It is unfair to portray them as old world Nazis. Movies like Beerfest should represent Germany at the Oscars.

Eastern Europeans are upset at all the movies that portray their countries as notorious human trafficers or bride sellers. Why dont they make movies on happy prostitutes in Netherlands.

Worst of all mother nature is furious, in fact livid. She plans to unleash a threefold wrath on us in 2009 in protest. Why do all movies highlight her disasters like f;oods, hurricanes, tornadoes, famines, earthquakes, volcanoes? Why do all documentaries focus on her shortcomings? What is wrong in making a movie on a pleasant spring day, a successful high yield harvest, or endless hours of happy prancing animals without being an unrealistic Disney movie.

Originally posted by: Gauri_3

Edited by sandya_rao7 - 15 years ago

Originally posted by: return_to_hades

Ocean liners are upset why the only Oscar winning movie was on a ship that sank dramatically. Why can't Suite Life on Deck be awarded. London Tipton is a groundbreaking character.

The Germans want to enforce a ban on all the Nazi films. Nazis are gone long ago. They do not exist anymore. It is unfair to portray them as old world Nazis. Movies like Beerfest should represent Germany at the Oscars.

Eastern Europeans are upset at all the movies that portray their countries as notorious human trafficers or bride sellers. Why dont they make movies on happy prostitutes in Netherlands.

Worst of all mother nature is furious, in fact livid. She plans to unleash a threefold wrath on us in 2009 in protest. Why do all movies highlight her disasters like f;oods, hurricanes, tornadoes, famines, earthquakes, volcanoes? Why do all documentaries focus on her shortcomings? What is wrong in making a movie on a pleasant spring day, a successful high yield harvest, or endless hours of happy prancing animals without being an unrealistic Disney movie.

Originally posted by: sandya_rao7

 

Exactly this is my point u have unintentinally presented it in a very nice way. u sld see more indian movies where there is always spring and people are not running away fron natural calamities like volcanoes and blah blah but still the hero of the movie comes out without any injury.

Of course Bollywood does that, and lets not forget Disney movies too. Some people do define cinema and entertainment to be only warm fuzzy characters with warm fuzzy plot lines that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy all over. They believe in unicorns and fairies till they die and bawled when they found Santa does not exist when they turned 21. I admire the beautiful preservation of innocence these people have. However, the world consists mostly of not so innocent people who landed in reality and live in the real world. Cinema will always be diverse that caters to diverse kinds of audiences.

I find it mind boggling how many of us Indians are so quick to reject or embrace things based on our own perceptions without considering the intent of the others. On one hand we have Indians ecstatic that an Indian film is winning so much accliam, on the other hand we have Indians rubbishing the film as derogatory portrayal of Indians. Let me address both claims.

Slumdog Millionaire at heart is a completely Indian movie at heart. It is no different than a Bollywood movie where the hero follows a rags to riches dream. He faces adversities and overcomes them. There is also a fairytale love story. However, what makes it unique is an excellent script and format. It is fascinating to find out how many an ordinary boy raised in the slums finds the answers to million dollar questions through his life experiences. Unlike spending money on designer sets and costumes, glamorizing the storyline - there is a feel of rawness and reality to it. None of the characters are larger than life, they are all cut right out of reality. While the storyline is not abrupted with songs, it ends with a random song and dance sequence. When I watched it in the theater with my friend, she smiled and said "Only in India", everyone sat through the whole song and clapped in the end.

The movie is based on an Indian book by an Indian author. The starcast is Indian, the location is India and most importantly the heart of the storyline is completely Indian. This form of innocent romance and dreaming for the starts is quintessentially Indian. However, the direction and production is completely British. It took filmmakers more familiar with the west and the kind of cinema that appeals to a broader western audience. It took British filmmakers who could take take this Indian story and make a universal film. It took British filmmakers to avoid going over the top and too much into song and dance, costume, locale and sets. The last time someone did this was Gudinder Chadda with Bend It Like Beckham, she lost her way when she tried to shift too much more towards Bollywood. So it is a British film but with an Indian heart. We have to accept that the British made it, not us. However, we should take pride that we inspired the heart of the story.

Now let me clarify that this does not make British filmmakers superior or better. In fact some of our filmmakers are technically on par with anyone in the world. It simply is the fact that western filmmakers are more attune with western audiences. As evident by many posters in this thread. Indians tend to prefer larger than life movies, even our reality has to have shades of unrealism, we do not consider cinema as art or education - it must entertain all our senses - hence our movie makers focus more on costumes, locales, songs and dances, histroinics etc. Simply movies that cater to a different audience. Thats another reason why Slumdog is not Indian, it will cater to some Indian audiences but was not made to be a pure Bollywood entertainer.

This does not happen to Indians only. Many people who enjoyed Wanted are unaware that the director Timur Bekmambetow is an accliamed Russian director of the Nightwatch series. I actually think his Russian movies were much better, they keep in touch with the surrelaism and moral philosophy of Russian Cinema.

Slums are a reality in India. If you have been in Bombay, you have seen Dharavi and the lives of people in Dharavi. Most metropolitan areas have their own slums issues. Unfortunately, most of us like to ignore their existence and deny slums as a part of our countries reality. Not all movies are made to entertain. Sometimes movies are made on the darkers aspects of our reality to touch a nerve, make us aware, of the reality we choose to ignore. Most importantly to sometimes make us aware of the beauty in the darkness we tend to ignore.

I cannot wrap my head around the fact that people think slumdog is derogatory. Never did I feel the movie was portraying my country in a demeaning manner. In fact I felt guilt that I am one of those who likes to believe these slums do not exist. I want people to believe India is all about beautiful costumes and fine jewelry. This movie portrays the slums in such a triumphant manner that I am made a smaller human being.

Only the uneducated and ignorant assume that movies can capture a whole country. Only the foolish will assume that India is a dirty poor country after watching Slumdog. I do not think it is any better than Indians who watch a few western movies and shows and believe that Americans live a glamorous life and all Americans are some sort of sluts. Smarter people know that movies just scratch the surface and seek for more genuinely.