Slums and Dogs

[navingulia]

Slums and Dogs

1. The movie projects that India is all about slums and dogs, something the western world loves to see and feel.
2. The quality of direction and movie making is poor.
3. In the show anil kapoor and his audience mocks and laughs at the participant when they come to know he is a poor chaaiwaala. In Indian society, I have never seen any one making fun of a poor person for his poverty in public. But the movie tells the world that Indian society is like this.
4. There isnt and there never was any ngo in mumbai that kidnaps street children and makes them beg after maiming them, cutting arms and legs or binding them.
5. AR Rahman deserves oscar but for his other music given earlier, music in earlier films has been far better but still, he is probably the only deserving nomination.
6. Police in mumbai doesnot hang boys in their police station and give them electric shocks to find out if he has cheated in a reality show.
7. I have till date never come across a beggar child whose eyes had been burnt by pouring hot oil into them. If it doesn’t happen, why do they show that.
8. when in one scene the boy tells the white american lady, see, this is real india, she takes out money and gives him saying and this is real america. Meaning india is bad and they are good.
9. What surprises me is that much better movies which projected indian society and its values as good and strong (mother india, lagaan) did not succeed at oscar and when you show india as poor and pathetic, you make it.
Can the possibility of getting ‘Oscar’ buy us into accepting this movie as great??
Amitabh Bachan rightly said “I did not want to be part of this film in any way” and he was very right when he said “the world should realise india is not all about slums and dogs”
Anil Kapoor said at a conference after golden globe “I feel like a slumdog myself having made it here” (how willingly he is looking down on himself)
Am I wrong in my observation?
Navin Gulia

Btw – slumdog is not an indian film, it is made by Warner bros.

[sunitahooda]

I havn't watched it yet to take the DVD from you;)but the description you have given here about the movie has really put me off:oWhy do they project India being poor and still they live here months n months
Slums and Dogs

1. The movie projects that India is all about slums and dogs, something the western world loves to see and feel.
2. The quality of direction and movie making is poor.
3. In the show anil kapoor and his audience mocks and laughs at the participant when they come to know he is a poor chaaiwaala. In Indian society, I have never seen any one making fun of a poor person for his poverty in public. But the movie tells the world that Indian society is like this.
4. There isnt and there never was any ngo in mumbai that kidnaps street children and makes them beg after maiming them, cutting arms and legs or binding them.
5. AR Rahman deserves oscar but for his other music given earlier, music in earlier films has been far better but still, he is probably the only deserving nomination.
6. Police in mumbai doesnot hang boys in their police station and give them electric shocks to find out if he has cheated in a reality show.
7. I have till date never come across a beggar child whose eyes had been burnt by pouring hot oil into them. If it doesn’t happen, why do they show that.
8. when in one scene the boy tells the white american lady, see, this is real india, she takes out money and gives him saying and this is real america. Meaning india is bad and they are good.
9. What surprises me is that much better movies which projected indian society and its values as good and strong (mother india, lagaan) did not succeed at oscar and when you show india as poor and pathetic, you make it.
Can the possibility of getting ‘Oscar’ buy us into accepting this movie as great??
Amitabh Bachan rightly said “I did not want to be part of this film in any way” and he was very right when he said “the world should realise india is not all about slums and dogs”
Anil Kapoor said at a conference after golden globe “I feel like a slumdog myself having made it here” (how willingly he is looking down on himself)
Am I wrong in my observation?
Navin Gulia

Btw – slumdog is not an indian film, it is made by Warner bros.

[sumitsehrawat]

Hello Navin bhaisahab,

I am so sorry to say that I dont agree with your views about 'Sumdog Millionaire' movie.

*** I am not sure what the western world wants to see but the quality of direction and movie is certainly not poor.

*** About the fun of Chaiwala, let's look at the plot in its entirety. The same person is shown as an inspiration to many later on in the movie. It's a story of rags to riches and very well described.

*** In the movie, I did not see anywhere a mention of an NGO using children as baits to make money. But yes there do exist such group of people who work independently as small groups.

*** About electric shocks and pouring burning oil in eyes... I am not so sure but I would believe such things do happen... children are even amputated! I do not have proofs to support but I believe so.

*** Now let me put my views on why Amitabh Bachchan said all that non-sense. Amitabh Bachchan is under tremendous pressure from the real 'slumdog'... Raj Thackeray. Amit Uncle used this as an opportunity to showcase his love for Mumbai. If any of his movies are criticised then very often Amit Uncle has given statements like... "its art and at the end of the day its entertainment". Amit uncle is fed up his masterpiece 'Black' could not be nominated for Oscars and stars like Anil Kapoor (who probably he thinks is way below him) and a few new comers are not worth it but still have claimed an international acclaim. Maybe the "Baadshah" wanted himself to be the first one lifting the Oscar award which probably he's sure of being lifted by AR Rahman. However, Amit Uncle has publicly apologised later on about his statements on his official blog. He, at first place, should have realized that his statements would make the Indian cast feel like fools. Anil Kapoor is no newcomer to movies and he is one of those who has worked hard to be where he is today.

*** What Anil Kapoor has to say about him feeling a 'slumdog'... I think he feels more like an 'underdog' and just put it in accordance to the story presented in the movie.

I am an Indian and my ancestors have sacrificed their lives for the nation. I have equal respect and love for my country like any other countrymen. And, I am afraid could not see the movie had anything in bad light.

As for the movie.. I would give it 3.5 on the scale of 5.

Thanks!
P.S.: My views!

[navingulia]

sumit mere bhai, you have a right to have your opinion :)
1. i have seen thousands of movies, i would at best rate this movie as 'little below a verage' on direction. nowhere close to any award
2. i dont know what kind of an inspiration a story in which a chaiwala boy lands up by fluke on a reaslity show and an unimaginable fluke of getting 20 questions he knew answers to by bizzare chance. what motivation can a poor man get except spending lot of hard earned money on calling up reality shows.
3. bhai sumit, you said "i dont know but i would believe it happens" that answers it. thats what everyone and the west wants to believe.
4. A hollywood production house makes a movie, makes us call ourselves slumdogs and takes an oscar for successfully doing it.

I, personally, would save my happiness for the day when some movie made on the positive aspect of indias culture, social values, family values, heritage, history, gets an oscar.





Hello Navin bhaisahab,

I am so sorry to say that I dont agree with your views about 'Sumdog Millionaire' movie.

*** I am not sure what the western world wants to see but the quality of direction and movie is certainly not poor.

*** About the fun of Chaiwala, let's look at the plot in its entirety. The same person is shown as an inspiration to many later on in the movie. It's a story of rags to riches and very well described.

*** In the movie, I did not see anywhere a mention of an NGO using children as baits to make money. But yes there do exist such group of people who work independently as small groups.

*** About electric shocks and pouring burning oil in eyes... I am not so sure but I would believe such things do happen... children are even amputated! I do not have proofs to support but I believe so.

*** Now let me put my views on why Amitabh Bachchan said all that non-sense. Amitabh Bachchan is under tremendous pressure from the real 'slumdog'... Raj Thackeray. Amit Uncle used this as an opportunity to showcase his love for Mumbai. If any of his movies are criticised then very often Amit Uncle has given statements like... "its art and at the end of the day its entertainment". Amit uncle is fed up his masterpiece 'Black' could not be nominated for Oscars and stars like Anil Kapoor (who probably he thinks is way below him) and a few new comers are not worth it but still have claimed an international acclaim. Maybe the "Baadshah" wanted himself to be the first one lifting the Oscar award which probably he's sure of being lifted by AR Rahman. However, Amit Uncle has publicly apologised later on about his statements on his official blog. He, at first place, should have realized that his statements would make the Indian cast feel like fools. Anil Kapoor is no newcomer to movies and he is one of those who has worked hard to be where he is today.

*** What Anil Kapoor has to say about him feeling a 'slumdog'... I think he feels more like an 'underdog' and just put it in accordance to the story presented in the movie.

I am an Indian and my ancestors have sacrificed their lives for the nation. I have equal respect and love for my country like any other countrymen. And, I am afraid could not see the movie had anything in bad light.

As for the movie.. I would give it 3.5 on the scale of 5.

Thanks!
P.S.: My views!

[vivekdh]

i liked that movie very much.khabi socha nahi ki isme india ko kaisa dikhaya gaya hai.cinema ko cinema ki terha dekho or enjoy karro.aaj tak apni hindi movies me veer zaara, gadar jaisi movies banni hain jinme pata nahi kya bevkoofi bhari baate dikhate hain per wo bhi HIT ho jaati hain log pasand kerte hain.aamir me bhi aisi hi mumbai dikhayi gayi hai wo bhi sabhi ko acchi laggi thi lagbhag.

Don't know as a movie SUMIT bhai ki baat bilkul sahi hain

[crsnadar]

Slums and Dogs

1. The movie projects that India is all about slums and dogs, something the western world loves to see and feel.
2. The quality of direction and movie making is poor.
3. In the show anil kapoor and his audience mocks and laughs at the participant when they come to know he is a poor chaaiwaala. In Indian society, I have never seen any one making fun of a poor person for his poverty in public. But the movie tells the world that Indian society is like this.
4. There isnt and there never was any ngo in mumbai that kidnaps street children and makes them beg after maiming them, cutting arms and legs or binding them...............



All the points raised here are VERY MUCH CORRECT & EYE OPENER for all who praise OSCARS etc etc

Very nice description by Naveen Ji
Hats off to you bro

[sunitahooda]

Vivek we have a tendency to co-relate ourselves to all possible aspects n things be it a cinema. While watching a movie i'm more concerned if my money was used or got wasted:D ab galti se iss movie ko agar awards mill hi gaye hian to acha lagna chahiye:)but then we wont be JATS if we don't criticize and see other possible negativity;)

[crsnadar]

I don't know why.... REALITY dikhane ka bhoot logo ko INDIA me aake kyo chadhta hai.
Danny Boyle ne aur bhi movies banayi hain...tab to uske koi junoon sawaar nahi hua REALITY dikhane ka..


Aur hum INDIAN logo ko pata nahi kya ho gaya hai ki...
..OSCAR me nominate ho gayi to movie Badhiya hai..nahi to nahi..bluddy hell oscar
..Film me music ka importance kitna hai ye movie dekhne ke baad hi maalum chalega aapko..

Be true to yourself...& write your words...
Oscar is not the prime Judge of the MovieWorld..

[sunitahooda]

So true Rahul....but don't know why people keep rushing for these awards n oscar, when they know the soul staisfaction is the ultimate award people can give to themselves.
I don't know why.... REALITY dikhane ka bhoot logo ko INDIA me aake kyo chadhta hai.
Danny Boyle ne aur bhi movies banayi hain...tab to uske koi junoon sawaar nahi hua REALITY dikhane ka..


Aur hum INDIAN logo ko pata nahi kya ho gaya hai ki...
..OSCAR me nominate ho gayi to movie Badhiya hai..nahi to nahi..bluddy hell oscar
..Film me music ka importance kitna hai ye movie dekhne ke baad hi maalum chalega aapko..

Be true to yourself...& write your words...
Oscar is not the prime Judge of the MovieWorld..

[navingulia]

see, again i would say, every one has equal right to an opinion. my own opinion shouldnt carry greater weightage.

but going through history and even present day, i see strong propaganda by west to make every other society feel backward and inferior. and trust me they are good at it.

[crsnadar]

Slums and Dogs

1. The movie projects that India is all about slums and dogs, something the western world loves to see and feel.
2. The quality of direction and movie making is poor.
3. In the show anil kapoor and his audience mocks and laughs at the participant when they come to know he is a poor chaaiwaala. In Indian society, I have never seen any one making fun of a poor person for his poverty in public. But the movie tells the world that Indian society is like this.
4. There isnt and there never was any ngo in mumbai that kidnaps street children and makes them beg after maiming them, cutting arms and legs or binding them.
5. AR Rahman deserves oscar but for his other music given earlier, music in earlier films has been far better but still, he is probably the only deserving nomination.
6. Police in mumbai doesnot hang boys in their police station and give them electric shocks to find out if he has cheated in a reality show.
7. I have till date never come across a beggar child whose eyes had been burnt by pouring hot oil into them. If it doesn’t happen, why do they show that.
8. when in one scene the boy tells the white american lady, see, this is real india, she takes out money and gives him saying and this is real america. Meaning india is bad and they are good.
9. What surprises me is that much better movies which projected indian society and its values as good and strong (mother india, lagaan) did not succeed at oscar and when you show india as poor and pathetic, you make it.
Can the possibility of getting ‘Oscar’ buy us into accepting this movie as great??
Amitabh Bachan rightly said “I did not want to be part of this film in any way” and he was very right when he said “the world should realise india is not all about slums and dogs”
Anil Kapoor said at a conference after golden globe “I feel like a slumdog myself having made it here” (how willingly he is looking down on himself)
Am I wrong in my observation?
Navin Gulia

Btw – slumdog is not an indian film, it is made by Warner bros.

I am very much impressed by justified points raised by Naveen Bhai & I have already put these point on my orkut profile also...

Arre theek hai yaar.....chalta hai....oscar hai yaar...foreigner director hai...AR rehman ka music hai yaar...humko kya...movie to movie hai...entertainment ke liye theek hai...abe deep me kya jaane ka yaar...etc etc etc
Ye sab kya hai..?

Ek aadmi Tumhaare Desh ke muh pe tamacha maar kar chala jaata hai aur usme agar tumko ENTERTAINMENT aa raha hai to please.......stop this..
I know we are not such type of creature...but if you feel BAD say it..wheather the people involved are Danny Boyle, AR Rehmaan & Anil Kapoor etc etc etc whatever

[VPannu]

Ek aadmi Tumhaare Desh ke muh pe tamacha maar kar chala jaata hai aur usme agar tumko ENTERTAINMENT aa raha hai to please.......stop this..
Man what are you talking about????? Get over it. There wasn't a tamacha or anything in the movie. The only thing in the movie which offended me a little bit was Anil Kapoor making a mockery of the 'millionaire' right in front of so many people in the show. Whatever was depicted in the movie doesn't that happen in our country? Tell me a few things, just 1 or 2, which you think weren't true?Moreover, that's an OSCAR i.e. Academy Awards , just like Noble Prize. No one cares about bloody Zee cine awards or Pan Paraag Awards. Had Amitabh known of this movie's success he would have been wagging his tail to get a role. Sab ek jisse hain bhai , pisse ke yaar

[htomar]

bhai is mieve mai kuchh bhi galat nahi hai....director indian nahi hai isiliye itna ho halla ho raha hai... Salam Bombay moive ke liye kisi ne kuchh nahi kaha tha..balki usko Oskar ke liye bheja gya tha.....thode din pahle hi Arvind Adiga ko Bukar award mila tab to sab bahut khush the kyonki wo indian hai...kisi ne ye bhi dekha ki jis book ke liye usko award mila usme kya likha hai usne...
Slumdog is a fantastic moive...based on a book(Q&A) written by Vikas Swaroop(an IFS)..

[sunitahooda]

When nothing can be changed....the story/direction/cast and AWARD cant be reversed then what are we craving for? why cant we simply feel good? There has been hundreds and thousands of movies made on history and heritage but should we cry out loud if they failed to fetch and award:confused::o

[Samarkadian]

Its quite ironical to see that foreigners made much better attempt to show some truth than domestic cinema makers. Be it Richard Etenbaro on Ghandhi or Recent Slumdog..I gues we still validate West's representation of Indian lives..Another aspect may be that its true as in reference to poverty/life standards and many of us might have not seen or been in that situation , so we are relating that thing to our primate ego of patriotism/territory.May Be.

Better title would have been Slave-Slum-Dogs.

In the end its still the movie chalchitar , all on screen, if it can disturb the public and this disturbance is good in few realisations.

Though you always have time to change [criticise as well] or improve on few things first in mind and then accordingly. A movie can't or someone's view from foreign land make any country look down.But surely this exposure enabled them to make good bucks, I wish I wud have written this book.:cool:

[crsnadar]

Direction was not good at all for which Danny being nominated.

Only good thing about the movie is

It has revoked INDIA about probable Slum situations in INDIA.
At least we are discussing about poverty now.

....rest all in movie is bluddy hell

Few more good things if you wanna know
Only Child artists were TALENTED. They showed their acting skills
GulzaarJi ke lyrics was really appreciable

[sumitsehrawat]

Haanji bhai! Different people have different perception towards same as well as different things.

And bhai, I believed about 'it' even when the movie was not made. What about the Indian cast in the movie? Why are you not talking against them? Why only the production house? Why are we all so shallow in our own opinions so as to compare everything and everyone as Indian and non-Indian? What about the author of the book? I suppose he's an Indian too. Why don't you challenge his patriotism... his intentions?

To clear it all...

Slumdog is NOT Slum + dog

Slumdog = Slum + underdog!!

Please keep the right attitude and be positive about the movie... it ain't great but its nice and worth watching. And please dont miss this song 'Paper Planes by MIA' ... its a perfect fit in the movie.

haanji bhai, I agree with you on an a movie (irrespective of its cast and crew) winning an Oscar for showing Indian family values... at its time 'Bagbaan' could have been nominated.



A hollywood production house makes a movie, makes us call ourselves slumdogs and takes an oscar for successfully doing it.

I, personally, would save my happiness for the day when some movie made on the positive aspect of indias culture, social values, family values, heritage, history, gets an oscar.

[shweta123]

I am very much impressed by justified points raised by Naveen Bhai & I have already put these point on my orkut profile also...

Arre theek hai yaar.....chalta hai....oscar hai yaar...foreigner director hai...AR rehman ka music hai yaar...humko kya...movie to movie hai...entertainment ke liye theek hai...abe deep me kya jaane ka yaar...etc etc etc
Ye sab kya hai..?

Ek aadmi Tumhaare Desh ke muh pe tamacha maar kar chala jaata hai aur usme agar tumko ENTERTAINMENT aa raha hai to please.......stop this..
I know we are not such type of creature...but if you feel BAD say it..wheather the people involved are Danny Boyle, AR Rehmaan & Anil Kapoor etc etc etc whatever
Orkut profile pe bhi ye points daal diye :eek: - ye nahi socha ye bhi ek aisi videshi jagah hai jaha pe hamaare desh ke muh pe ye so called tamaache maarne waale kitne incidents aur log mil jaayenge :rolleyes:

Grow up !

And how many people use this cheap language 'abe deep me kya jaane ka yaar ....' - tumse kaha kisi ne aisa kuch yahan ?? Aur jo kehte hain wo tumhaara 'Ye sab kya hai..?' sun ke sudhar jaayenge kya? :o

Tumhaare desh ke upar to roz ke darjan tamaache padte hain, ye to bina baat ka ho halla hai fir bhi itna dukh !!

Mumbai Attack pe nahi pade the tamaache? Jab gareeb aadmi aatmahatya karte hain tab nahi padte tamaache? kisi ladki ko utha ke le jaate hai kuch log sabke saamne tab?

Yaha desh ki sachaayi hi yehi hai ki har ek kadam baat kuch galat ho raha hai to kis kis ko rokoge sach dekhne aur sunne se? Aankhe fod dena bhikaari bana dene ke liye koi nayi ya 'unproven' baat nahi hai, isse to kahi jyada jaghanya kaam hua karte hain yaha har roz. Insaano ke body parts nikaal diye jaate hain, aur Noida me shayad suna ho ki kitne nar kankaal paaye gaye the aur kya kiya gaya tha unke saath ye bhi shayad suna ho aapne - aankhe fodne se bada ya chota tha wo kaam?

'Poverty' dekhi kitni hai aur kya jaante ho aap uske baare me, shayad ye koi jab tak nahi jaan sakta jab tak wo bhukhe pet, bimaar shareer, fate kapde aur bina sirr pe dhang ki chat ke apni zindagi guzaar ke dekhe.

Poverty dhundhli pad jaati hai aksar jab hamari aankho pe sukh saadhano ka parda pad jaata hai - Kaha kaha reh chuke hoge aap, kitni states me? 3 ya 4 shayad - baaki ki kayi pichdi aur gareeb states ki haalat ka kaise andaaza ho sakta hai aapko ?

Ho sakta hai movie me kuch exaggeration ho ya fir uski prashtbhoomi me kuch her fer ho par India ke slums ke log dog se batdar zindagi guzaar rahe hain (aur kayi jagah to aisi hoti hain jinko slums bhi nahi kaha ja sakta)

[sumitsehrawat]

Grow up friend!


Ek aadmi Tumhaare Desh ke muh pe tamacha maar kar chala jaata hai aur usme agar tumko ENTERTAINMENT aa raha hai to please.......stop this..

[crsnadar]

Orkut profile pe bhi ye points daal diye :eek: - ye nahi socha ye bhi ek aisi videshi jagah hai jaha pe hamaare desh ke muh pe ye so called tamaache maarne waale kitne incidents aur log mil jaayenge :rolleyes:

Grow up !

And how many people use this cheap language 'abe deep me kya jaane ka yaar ....' - tumse kaha kisi ne aisa kuch yahan ?? Aur jo kehte hain wo tumhaara 'Ye sab kya hai..?' sun ke sudhar jaayenge kya? :o

Tumhaare desh ke upar to roz ke darjan tamaache padte hain, ye to bina baat ka ho halla hai fir bhi itna dukh !!

Mumbai Attack pe nahi pade the tamaache? Jab gareeb aadmi aatmahatya karte hain tab nahi padte tamaache? kisi ladki ko utha ke le jaate hai kuch log sabke saamne tab?

Yaha desh ki sachaayi hi yehi hai ki har ek kadam baat kuch galat ho raha hai to kis kis ko rokoge sach dekhne aur sunne se? Aankhe fod dena bhikaari bana dene ke liye koi nayi ya 'unproven' baat nahi hai, isse to kahi jyada jaghanya kaam hua karte hain yaha har roz. Insaano ke body parts nikaal diye jaate hain, aur Noida me shayad suna ho ki kitne nar kankaal paaye gaye the aur kya kiya gaya tha unke saath ye bhi shayad suna ho aapne - aankhe fodne se bada ya chota tha wo kaam?

'Poverty' dekhi kitni hai aur kya jaante ho aap uske baare me, shayad ye koi jab tak nahi jaan sakta jab tak wo bhukhe pet, bimaar shareer, fate kapde aur bina sirr pe dhang ki chat ke apni zindagi guzaar ke dekhe.

Poverty dhundhli pad jaati hai aksar jab hamari aankho pe sukh saadhano ka parda pad jaata hai - Kaha kaha reh chuke hoge aap, kitni states me? 3 ya 4 shayad - baaki ki kayi pichdi aur gareeb states ki haalat ka kaise andaaza ho sakta hai aapko ?

Ho sakta hai movie me kuch exaggeration ho ya fir uski prashtbhoomi me kuch her fer ho par India ke slums ke log dog se batdar zindagi guzaar rahe hain (aur kayi jagah to aisi hoti hain jinko slums bhi nahi kaha ja sakta)

Most of my friends are on orkut. I have to use that CNS which is a powerful communication tool worldwide for having a contact with my friends. Otherwise orkut is nothing more than a CNS.
I am not against using foreign made itmes as we also export software round the globe.
Orkut is not a tamachaa ofcourse.
It's you who need to grow a lot to understand what I wanna say.
Orkut never did something to defame INDIA. On special occasions it use to change it's frontpage appearence even likewise proINDIA.

INDIA is having lots of lots of other issues which you have mentioned.
Every another day we come to hear horrible incidents.
NOIDA has become a HELL like location ..u r right..very much right..
But movie didn't have shown those issues.



I am just talking about the direction & ill depiction of INDIA beyond reality.....
It was the WORST part of the movie
I can even say Danny Boyle a "DHAKKAN"

-In KBC it never happened that people made fun of participant
-A boy covered in **** never went to airport/airstrip
-I live very near to JUHU very near just 10 mins away but never seen such condition. I have seen slums there where the shooting has been done but the condition is not as bad as been shown.
-I had lived in Agra also but never seen such cases as they been shown.

It could have been much better than that if he would have tried.
There are so many scene/parts in the movie which are far beyond the reality on a negative side which made it point of debate.

May be you are very intelligant but ALL OTHER PEOPLE ARE NOT FOOL who felt bad to see such.


A person comes to India & Enrole Indian artists to prove that we are bad & they are good..
..& if you feel entertainment in this then very sorry to say
..I never want to GROWUP like you..I am happy as I m

[crsnadar]

I am very sorry if I hurt someone.
I am not that rigid that I would keep standing for everything I said.
May be in a flow I have typed something irrelevant.

But TRUTH is TRUTH & it only needs a litte courage to speak that out.
& sometimes truth doesn't fall under orthodoxies but sometimes it be out of general expectations rather.

India is trying hard to develop & at such instance if we come to be known globally as a devil nation where there is no place for poors..then we would never have better relations with the rest of the world.
It's our politicians who are the real culprits who just greed luxury with votes.
But so many NGOs are trying their level best to upgrade slum people's status.

& at such a time people visualise NGOs as culprits for making beggers who would believe them?
Director could have shown some NGO also helping underdogs & could picturise them as leader.



anyway....leave it yaar...
I don't know whom I am talking to

[prashantacmet]

-A boy covered in **** never went to airport/airstrip


Priya nadar ji
Can u please enlighten me about this ****? Infact, i haven't seen any movie from last 2 years. I have never seen suchha hue and cry about a movie on JL. Should i see this movie? Please fill the blanks for me otherwise i will have to rush towards a theatre.

Thanks in advance

[dreamer]

Anyone want to see movie .. I have downloaded english version b4 getting released in India ... well .. about movie .. I can not understand that what is the difference between Oscar nominated movies and some dashing bollywood movies which just move you from inside .. many movies have been made .. one I can remember right now is ... Ijazat (have u seen this) ... movies like Rang De Basanti well seriously nice movie .. Omkara wonderful story (obvious Shakespear's ) and every actor has just lost in his/her role ... they just could not make it to international stage I really wonder why ...

Navin Bhai rightly said I am fan of AR Rahmaan but b4 this Jai Ho .. ek bhi line yaad nahin hai is gaane ki toh .. baaki listen to --Dil Se -- ... Man superb album ..

jo bhi movie banti hai leek se hatkar .. ek toh indian audians (who really matter u know seeti maarne waale) ko pasand nahin aati .. doosari uske directors ke paas itna paisa nahin hota ki oscar tak pahuchaye us movie ko ..

I mean to say leave things like ... criticizing India and indians .. think how can we make our movies better ... in this particular movie there is nothing so special neither special photography nor special acting ... we have seen many better things portrayed in our bollywood ..

[crsnadar]

Tumhaare desh ke upar to roz ke darjan tamaache padte hain, ye to bina baat ka ho halla hai fir bhi itna dukh !!

Mumbai Attack pe nahi pade the tamaache? Jab gareeb aadmi aatmahatya karte hain tab nahi padte tamaache? kisi ladki ko utha ke le jaate hai kuch log sabke saamne tab?




Shweta ji,
You wrote efficientely & all correct.
It'e really encouraging to see some Jat girl writing such awakeing lines.
But have I ever said the above mentioned issues are not to look upon?


I come across words & lines I wrote, Everyday & Everywhere I live.

But to your own words..the movie did not show these real issues.
What you have mentioned are among real worries & issues we should look upon I agree & agree to it's most.




..not just to justify a oscar nominated movie

[prashantacmet]

Priya nadar ji
Can u please enlighten me about this ****? Infact, i haven't seen any movie from last 2 years. I have never seen suchha hue and cry about a movie on JL. Should i see this movie? Please fill the blanks for me otherwise i will have to rush towards a theatre.

Thanks in advance

nyadar ji..bata dyo ne. **** ka matbal......kyoun merre peessu ka naas karwao thaam

[prashantacmet]

Shweta ji,
You wrote efficientely & all correct.
It'e really encouraging to see some Jat girl writing such awakeing lines.
But have I ever said the above mentioned issues are not wrong?


I come across words & lines I wrote, Everyday & Everywhere I live.

But to your own words..the movie did not show these real issues.
What you have mentioned are among real worries & issues we should look upon I agree & agree to it's most.




..not just to justify a oscar nominated movies

Shweta is always right !!!. But "It's not right nadar ji"..ki thaamne uss **** ka matbal ne bataya...

[crsnadar]

Shweta is always right !!!. But "It's not right nadar ji"..ki thaamne uss **** ka matbal ne bataya...

Movie dekh le bhai apne aap samajh me aa jaayega...
But Theater me hi dekhna Computer pe nahi..jyada achchha samajh me aa jaayega..
Movie ke starting me hi hai iska description..5/10 mins me samajh me aajaayega..

[navingulia]

Friends and brothers,
its fair for every one to have an opinion, what ever it is. some of us see it one way and others in a different way.

i stick to my opinion
india has been shown in very poor light by exaggerating negatives beyond imagination, to spice up the movie for entertainment purpose. just like tv serials show extreme exaggeration of family negatives for entertainment.

There has been wonderful movies and this one makes to oscar instead, surprises/shocks me
Lagaan could never have made an oscar because the white man had been beaten in that.
if anyone except rahman takes an oscar i would be damn surprised.

Prashant sir, **** means ****. the film shows that a small boy when locked up in a public latrine jumps into a pit full of head deep **** , in order to get amitabh bachchans autograph.

when any foreigner guy sees this movie, he will feel that this is india.

(Richard attenborough's Gandhi, full respect. till date i regret that no Indian could show an equally strong depiction of Gandhi)

Oho, i didnt know that on JL if you write ****, it appears as four stars. :) it is the most common english word for expressing frustration when something goes wrong, synonym=potty ,,, i cant stop laughing, this is too much

[anilsinghd]

Orkut profile pe bhi ye points daal diye :eek: - ye nahi socha ye bhi ek aisi videshi jagah hai jaha pe hamaare desh ke muh pe ye so called tamaache maarne waale kitne incidents aur log mil jaayenge :rolleyes:

Grow up !

And how many people use this cheap language 'abe deep me kya jaane ka yaar ....' - tumse kaha kisi ne aisa kuch yahan ?? Aur jo kehte hain wo tumhaara 'Ye sab kya hai..?' sun ke sudhar jaayenge kya? :o

Tumhaare desh ke upar to roz ke darjan tamaache padte hain, ye to bina baat ka ho halla hai fir bhi itna dukh !!

Mumbai Attack pe nahi pade the tamaache? Jab gareeb aadmi aatmahatya karte hain tab nahi padte tamaache? kisi ladki ko utha ke le jaate hai kuch log sabke saamne tab?

Yaha desh ki sachaayi hi yehi hai ki har ek kadam baat kuch galat ho raha hai to kis kis ko rokoge sach dekhne aur sunne se? Aankhe fod dena bhikaari bana dene ke liye koi nayi ya 'unproven' baat nahi hai, isse to kahi jyada jaghanya kaam hua karte hain yaha har roz. Insaano ke body parts nikaal diye jaate hain, aur Noida me shayad suna ho ki kitne nar kankaal paaye gaye the aur kya kiya gaya tha unke saath ye bhi shayad suna ho aapne - aankhe fodne se bada ya chota tha wo kaam?

'Poverty' dekhi kitni hai aur kya jaante ho aap uske baare me, shayad ye koi jab tak nahi jaan sakta jab tak wo bhukhe pet, bimaar shareer, fate kapde aur bina sirr pe dhang ki chat ke apni zindagi guzaar ke dekhe.

Poverty dhundhli pad jaati hai aksar jab hamari aankho pe sukh saadhano ka parda pad jaata hai - Kaha kaha reh chuke hoge aap, kitni states me? 3 ya 4 shayad - baaki ki kayi pichdi aur gareeb states ki haalat ka kaise andaaza ho sakta hai aapko ?

Ho sakta hai movie me kuch exaggeration ho ya fir uski prashtbhoomi me kuch her fer ho par India ke slums ke log dog se batdar zindagi guzaar rahe hain (aur kayi jagah to aisi hoti hain jinko slums bhi nahi kaha ja sakta)


Shweta ji , daraya mat karo aap itni ucch koti ki hindi ka upyog kar ke ! :confused:


Anyways , not right to comment on the movie as I have not watched it , but the image of India is not exactly what it is even in Europe , still many believe India is all about dowry etc and very crude and tradition ridden.

And if a movie is nominated / goes to Oscars , people are bound to see it , so it does do a lot in terms of creating the impression! :)

I will not suggest to break the negative things but rather would invite people to concentrate on doing positive things which overshadow the negative things! :)

I try my lil part to explain India to my colleagues , people I meet! I infact got one of my colleagues to visit my home,parents, family and my cousin sister's marriage and he loved it and has fond memories of it and he did say that the image he had before was totally different!

[amans]

how can the hero learn to speak british style english and such good english as a result of working as a tour guide at taj mahal? impossible. the heroine broke off her engagement after the success of the movie to concentrate on her "career." frieda pinto is said to be a gorgeous/extremely beautiful woman in everday news and on web?!
Unbelievable! looks average.
what is this world coming to?!

[poonam]

Well, I'm very gald that they made this movie!

Coming up should be the one about this recent incident in Mangalore pub...where these "true Inidans" assaulted non-Indian tradition follower girls!:mad:

Coming to Slum dog , there is a lot to write about. Agreed that there is a precedence of better movies in Bollywood than this which could have been more eligible for Oscar than this one.

But talking abt only SD, I found a wonderful storytelling, acting (this new guy) and direction. Honestly, never thought it would make to any sort of awards though but I'm delighted that it did. It indeed is a wonderful "story"!

P.S. Can you imagine , even in your dreams, any hollywood actor giving autograph to a **** coated boy...?! See how grounded our bollywood stars are ...;)(tongue-in-cheek)..

[vikassingh1]

Hello Navin,

I second you totally.

To say that I felt horrible to have watched this movie with some of my American friends here in US is an understatement.

I believe very strongly that first and foremost, if we do not respect ourselves, no one else will respect us at all!!

Angrej challe gaye, but whether it is Sonia Gandhi or things depicted in this movie, we still in our councious and sub concious minds believe that whites will always be better than us!!



Slums and Dogs

1. The movie projects that India is all about slums and dogs, something the western world loves to see and feel.
2. The quality of direction and movie making is poor.
3. In the show anil kapoor and his audience mocks and laughs at the participant when they come to know he is a poor chaaiwaala. In Indian society, I have never seen any one making fun of a poor person for his poverty in public. But the movie tells the world that Indian society is like this.
4. There isnt and there never was any ngo in mumbai that kidnaps street children and makes them beg after maiming them, cutting arms and legs or binding them.
5. AR Rahman deserves oscar but for his other music given earlier, music in earlier films has been far better but still, he is probably the only deserving nomination.
6. Police in mumbai doesnot hang boys in their police station and give them electric shocks to find out if he has cheated in a reality show.
7. I have till date never come across a beggar child whose eyes had been burnt by pouring hot oil into them. If it doesn’t happen, why do they show that.
8. when in one scene the boy tells the white american lady, see, this is real india, she takes out money and gives him saying and this is real america. Meaning india is bad and they are good.
9. What surprises me is that much better movies which projected indian society and its values as good and strong (mother india, lagaan) did not succeed at oscar and when you show india as poor and pathetic, you make it.
Can the possibility of getting ‘Oscar’ buy us into accepting this movie as great??
Amitabh Bachan rightly said “I did not want to be part of this film in any way” and he was very right when he said “the world should realise india is not all about slums and dogs”
Anil Kapoor said at a conference after golden globe “I feel like a slumdog myself having made it here” (how willingly he is looking down on himself)
Am I wrong in my observation?
Navin Gulia

Btw – slumdog is not an indian film, it is made by Warner bros.

[raj2rif]

I watched the movie and found it to be very entertaining and good. The scenes of slums and life of slums shown was pretty realistic. Both the younger kids acted extremely well. A R Rahman was his usual best in Music. I think the best character was Salim and the actor played it extremely well.

Over all a very good movie.

[navingulia]

interestingly, there are a mixture of 4 reactions to this movie and they are extreme opposites.

1. those who are finding it insulting
2. those who are finding it enertaining
3. a poorly made/average movie
4. a masterpiece

two questions from me:-
1. in the british reality show 'big brother', jade goody shouts at shilpa shetty "go back to the slum you have come from". if this movie makes it big at oscars(which most probably it will) , wouldnt more number of westerners calling all indians as 'slumdogs'???
2. why does 'indian slumdog' make it to oscars where as 'mangal pandey', rang de basanti, lagaan, mother india, guru, and so many masterpieces on indian culture fail? how come its so easy for indian slumdog to make it to oscars??

[raj2rif]

interestingly, there are a mixture of 4 reactions to this movie and they are extreme opposites.

1. those who are finding it insulting
2. those who are finding it enertaining
3. a poorly made/average movie
4. a masterpiece

two questions from me:-
1. in the british reality show 'big brother', jade goody shouts at shilpa shetty "go back to the slum you have come from". if this movie makes it big at oscars(which most probably it will) , wouldnt more number of westerners calling all indians as 'slumdogs'???
2. why does 'indian slumdog' make it to oscars where as 'mangal pandey', rang de basanti, lagaan, mother india, guru, and so many masterpieces on indian culture fail? how come its so easy for indian slumdog to make it to oscars??

Dear Navin Bhai,
Firstly, it is a movie that is showing the life of slums. Regarding your question comparing it with other movies that you have mentioned, I don't think except Rang De Basanti/ Mother India, any other comes close to Master Piece.

Regarding "Slumdog", that is the question we need to ask our inner soul. 60 years into independence, we are no longer a young nation. What have we done to improve the lot of a common man? These are the realities of the life,which we see every day in every city. We are unable to provide education to our children. We have no courage to tell people to follow family planning. When we do, we do it to make the numbers to please our masters. Don't you think that we really need to do some soul searching.

[cooljat]

Concur with you Col Uncle !!! :)

Btw, recently watched the movie and I must say its one awesome flick ... fantastic acting by young kids, mesmerizing music by Rehman and good direction by Boyle. It's a one good 'movie' n I didn't find anything objectionable in it ... agree with Sumit's views that its one inspiring story of rags to riches. I no where felt that it was targeted to Slums or something like that.

Its one creative movie and I give it 4/5 !!


Rock on
Jit


Dear Navin Bhai,
Firstly, it is a movie that is showing the life of slums. Regarding your question comparing it with other movies that you have mentioned, I don't think except Rang De Basanti/ Mother India, any other comes close to Master Piece.

Regarding "Slumdog", that is the question we need to ask our inner soul. 60 years into independence, we are no longer a young nation. What have we done to improve the lot of a common man? These are the realities of the life,which we see every day in every city. We are unable to provide education to our children. We have no courage to tell people to follow family planning. When we do, we do it to make the numbers to please our masters. Don't you think that we really need to do some soul searching.

[navingulia]

Virender Sir, no one would agree with you stronger than me that 60yrs down the line we ought to have done something already about the poverty.

here there is someone showcasing one small worst aspect of our society to get an oscar. showcasing to the world that 'This' is what india is.

ask any foreigner, 'how are indians?' he will say 'short, slim, dark and dirty',,,,, thats how the characters of the film were chosen.

despite our poverty and slums, i am still happy with our society over american/western society, we r closer to the soil and reality. For a few countries to become the developed west there has to be an under developed rest of the world.

american west and its media depicts countries like india, china, middle east, islamic world, as the bad societies with lots of taboos and evils and for themselves they project an image of a perfect society.

-----

this topic is bound to have two opposite camps, i am comfortable with that. i have a valid point and concern and am sure about it.

as for the quality of movie, i will be damn surprised if anyone except rahman gets an oscar. though i fear that it may happen other way round.
----
i rest my case

[rkumar]

see, again i would say, every one has equal right to an opinion. my own opinion shouldnt carry greater weightage.

but going through history and even present day, i see strong propaganda by west to make every other society feel backward and inferior. and trust me they are good at it.

I agree only partly with you Navin on this. West has shown our good side also. These days they are showing the story of India on one american channel. More and more people in USA are learning for the first time how great the Indian culture has been. However, let us face it, we Indians (Hindus) are very individualistc in everything and care very little for fellow Indians. Individual Karma only matters for our ticket to heaven. We shout from roof tops when poor tribals are lured to become Christians. How often VHP takes their cause and fights for them ? Poor people in India are treated like vote banks and no one cares. It hurts middle class Indian pride when our slums are shown on TV. However, we rarely fight for cleaning these slums. More than the makers of slumdog, I blame my fellow countrymen for creating such slums in the middle of big cities. Why can't middle class come in streets like they came after 26/11 ? Why our media can't become active on slums and other similar issues? Are these slums and the poor people living there not part of India? If we have closed our eyes towards them, what is wrong if someone from out side reminds us ?

RK^2

[aryasatyadev]

I am pleased to see all the view points of various members...... I don't know why we are thinking that India is that what is being projected through the movies....... and moreover why are we afraid of the truth...... I was there in Mumbai during those riots....... I have seen the life of slum dwellers various situations are almost reality there..... and now I am in the other part of the world in a small country Haiti in carrebean........ here we are some 300 Indians..... I have watched the movie with many others but it is afterall not so bad....... infact we should praise the talent shown by the kids in that movie....... and dear... when two days before when we celebrated our Republic Day..... All Haitian people and UN officials were impressed...... In their openion India is a 5000 year old civilisation which has tought world the virtues of tolerance and love...... but never haterd..... I request you all friend to be positive...... pls don't critisize anything just for the sake of it or because we are Jats...... Enjoy dear.... Love All.....

[poonam]

These days they are showing the story of India on one american channel. More and more people in USA are learning for the first time how great the Indian culture has been.

RK^2

Thats right!

Michael Wood has done a good job. I managed to catch a few episodes, will watch the rest as well. Liked it.

Navin, you must watch it..it will make you feel better...:)

And also, the ones who think west only likes to see/film a poor India will get some respite too..:p

[kapdal]

To be honest, I don't know what the fuss is about this movie. Probably I was disappointed with it as I went with high expectations. But even stand alone, if I discount my expectations and the fact that it shows India in bad (some would argue correct) light, I think it is a very average movie. Not worthy of awards for sure, and definitely not of Oscars, if one considers them to be the pinnacle of movie awards. Personally, I think the awards are about marketing/hype- and to an extent they are because the westerners don't see such movies often. But comeon- AR Rehman getting a nomination for Jai Ho- Does it even compare with the masterpieces he has given in the past? At its core, Slumdog is a bollywood movie with all sorts of masala and the feel-good factor of underdog coming up tops. This kind of thing is new to the west and hence they liked it, but we have been there and done that and done it much better. You take any theme or scene- you can find a much better parallel in Indian cinema- brothers' conflict (deewar,etc.), underworld (Satya,company), prostitution (chandni bar, etc.), conning foreigners on Tajmahal (Bunty and Babli), riots, romance,etc. (too many to name). For me the test is this- would I like to watch Slumdog again? Never. While I can and have watched the better made movies a number of times.

On the issue of portrayal of India, personally, I didn't like it. Though I don't think it is any tamacha on our face. Lots of it is probably real or realistic. There is no denying the poverty or the conditions of people in slums. But if you see the movie as a whole, they have taken each and every stereotype about India and put it in the movie- garbage, slums, beggars, riots, child trafficking, brutal police, underworld, poverty, arrogant super-stars, tajmahal, conning foreigners at tajmahal, prostitution, minority persecution, call centers and what not- you name it and they have it in there (though to be fair, I didn't see an elephant and a snake charmer). It is that particular Western view of India, where nothing right can ever happen here, which gets to you. Actually, they could have named the movie "How to rediscover India again and again and come up with the same stuff yet again". I won't have had any issues if they had taken a particular or some particular negative themes and did justice to them. But it is the skimming through issues just to deliberately touch on everything negative that put me off. It is as if the director made a laundry list of all the bad stuff he had ever heard of and then just laid it down one after the other. You start feeling the stereotypes when the slumdog is shown as Jamal whose mom gets killed by hindu rioters. And you have had enough when the game host show introduces Jamal as a chaiwallah and then constantly mocks him as chaiwallah through out the show. Which game show host in India would go so horribly politically incorrect on reality TV? Again, my contention is not that nothing wrong happens in India. And I don't have an issue with the director showing 'wrong' things about India. But I have an issue with him selectively showing wrong things and generating an impression that nothing right happens in India.

[navingulia]

RK Sir, i agree with all the points raised by you. definitely, those points need to be attended to sincerely by our society and by us. there is no debate on that.
the movie, i still dont agree on.



I agree only partly with you Navin on this. West has shown our good side also. These days they are showing the story of India on one american channel. More and more people in USA are learning for the first time how great the Indian culture has been. However, let us face it, we Indians (Hindus) are very individualistc in everything and care very little for fellow Indians. Individual Karma only matters for our ticket to heaven. We shout from roof tops when poor tribals are lured to become Christians. How often VHP takes their cause and fights for them ? Poor people in India are treated like vote banks and no one cares. It hurts middle class Indian pride when our slums are shown on TV. However, we rarely fight for cleaning these slums. More than the makers of slumdog, I blame my fellow countrymen for creating such slums in the middle of big cities. Why can't middle class come in streets like they came after 26/11 ? Why our media can't become active on slums and other similar issues? Are these slums and the poor people living there not part of India? If we have closed our eyes towards them, what is wrong if someone from out side reminds us ?

RK^2

[navingulia]

1. its not only me who feels movie is average or below average.
2. a white guy making a film on indian slum to easily be nominated for oscar doesnt go down well with me. it is too expected an idea.
a) the film hasnt been made to bring out the cause of people in poverty
b) it doesnt give any message directly or indirectly
c) none of the big money it earns will be used for welfare activity for people living in slums

the only thing the movie can do is inspire lot of poor people to spend money on calling up reality shows.

at the end of the day it doesnt matter if the movie wins ten oscars, we all have to go ahead with routine lives but i have expressed a very valid point of view.

[anilsinghd]

why does 'indian slumdog' make it to oscars where as 'mangal pandey', rang de basanti, lagaan, mother india, guru, and so many masterpieces on indian culture fail? how come its so easy for indian slumdog to make it to oscars??


Navin , My stab at it would be again something we are already discussing in another thread. We all are more biased towards picking up the negative of things , there is an inherent appeal to the same.

If we consider emotions , I am pretty sure we experience positives and negatives of similar degree , but we are not so great at appreciating the positive ones , but are very meticulous about making sure we recongise the negative one with care. :)


Not sure , but that's my take on it. Agree?

[navingulia]

i agree anil.
blatant, shocking show of crime, violence, poverty, nudity easily gets acclaimed as art. if it carries a message its fine but if it doesnt...


Navin , My stab at it would be again something we are already discussing in another thread. We all are more biased towards picking up the negative of things , there is an inherent appeal to the same.

If we consider emotions , I am pretty sure we experience positives and negatives of similar degree , but we are not so great at appreciating the positive ones , but are very meticulous about making sure we recongise the negative one with care. :)


Not sure , but that's my take on it. Agree?

[downtoearth]

well i dont know wot to say...but have something to say... goras recognize india as a land of beggars and snake charmers and we recognize america as a land of ferrari owners ...

they have shown wot an indian tourist guide doesnt show....


i enjoyed the film before the interval....that potty scene was amazing....american kids can wear jordan t shirts,they can have posters of shummi on their walls but only indian kids can play this hardcore fan character role....that was great....:p;)....

i accept everything in the movie...we have to face the fact that mumbai is going to get a trophy for the slums but the only thing i dint like >>>

director dint show even aa single good thing of slumdogs:rolleyes::mad:

people dont feel so bad....now the ball is in our court...even we can make a film with great ideas like goras are unhygienic ...a roll of tissue paper in toilet doesnt fulfill the standards of HYGIENE...;););););)

[coolphool]

Slums and Dogs

1. The movie projects that India is all about slums and dogs, something the western world loves to see and feel.

The western world does not love to see slums and dogs. In fact people in America and the rest of west feel sorry for the suffering poor people of India. Every year American alone give away billions of dollars in charity to help poor people in developing countries.

People in India need to stop thinking of western people to be heartless sons of bitches who relish every bit of suffering that people in the developing countries go through.


2. The quality of direction and movie making is poor.

True! Very True! The movie sucked!


3. In the show anil kapoor and his audience mocks and laughs at the participant when they come to know he is a poor chaaiwaala. In Indian society, I have never seen any one making fun of a poor person for his poverty in public. But the movie tells the world that Indian society is like this.

Dont forget you are watching a drama movie. You are not watching Big Brother. Dont expect a sliver of reality from moves based ob dramatic themes.


4. There isnt and there never was any ngo in mumbai that kidnaps street children and makes them beg after maiming them, cutting arms and legs or binding them.

I think you missed the point here. The kidnappers were posing as a NGO. They were in fact a gang of thugs.

And yes! I have personally seen thousands of kids with similar physical disabilities begging on the streets of India.



5. AR Rahman deserves oscar but for his other music given earlier, music in earlier films has been far better but still, he is probably the only deserving nomination.

I agree on this one too. Music sucked in the movie!


6. Police in mumbai doesnot hang boys in their police station and give them electric shocks to find out if he has cheated in a reality show.

India has one of the worst track records when it comes to torture by police and other paramilitary personnel.


7. I have till date never come across a beggar child whose eyes had been burnt by pouring hot oil into them. If it doesn’t happen, why do they show that.

Come on Gulia bhai! What world you are living in? I thought you were into social work. I have seen similarly disabled beggars all over India. And so have millions of others who have seen the movie and shared their opinions.



8. when in one scene the boy tells the white american lady, see, this is real india, she takes out money and gives him saying and this is real america. Meaning india is bad and they are good.

I just saw that scene again so I can make an informed comment on this one.

Come on Gulia bhai! Give me a break! It is about social justice. The woman handed out a 100 dollar bill to compensate the kid for the beating.

People do not travel to India so that they can reinforce their negative opinions about the country. Infact such misinformed individuals never travel outside their country.

Most of the people who travel to India do it for getting a break along with a spiritual renewal. People in the west think India is a very spiritual country and has a way of life that heals the scars of day to day struggles.



9. What surprises me is that much better movies which projected indian society and its values as good and strong (mother india, lagaan) did not succeed at oscar and when you show india as poor and pathetic, you make it.
Can the possibility of getting ‘Oscar’ buy us into accepting this movie as great??
Amitabh Bachan rightly said “I did not want to be part of this film in any way” and he was very right when he said “the world should realise india is not all about slums and dogs”
Anil Kapoor said at a conference after golden globe “I feel like a slumdog myself having made it here” (how willingly he is looking down on himself)
Am I wrong in my observation?
Navin Gulia

Btw – slumdog is not an indian film, it is made by Warner bros.

It is a matter of choice. I personally agree wtih you that the movie isnt oscar material. Infact here in America it is the critics who are more excited about the movie than the regualr viewers.

People in India need to stop looking at themselves as victims everytime someone shares their perspective of their country.

The movie has done a good job at bringing out a major problem of child suffering in India.

One of the reaosns people in America are so shocked by the movie is because there is a culture of life in this country. Human life is appreciated. Human suffering is looked down upon. People are finding it unbelievable that someone somewhere in the world is suffering so much.

By the way, people in the west think of Indians as very intelligent, highly educated and overqualified individuals. They think of us as doctos, scientists and engineers. They think of India as a very religious and spiritual country. They think of Indians in India as nice warm-hearted and welcoming individuals.

Ofcourse all those myths are bashed as their men are beaten up, their women raped and their belonging stolen, when they visit India. I have personally witnessed people ripping off unsuspecting western tourists; not once by tens of times.

India is a great country for Indians only. Thats becuase we have adapted to life as it is here. We dont see things from the perspective of the outsiders; something that I got to do after moving to America.

Look, the point I am trying to make is that people in India need to stop looking down upon westerners as downright mean-hearted individuals. But ofcourse you cannot do it unless you see things out here for yourself the way I see it.

[sidchhikara]

Here is a link to a very popular American blog discussing SM... see the comments section at the end.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/27/poor-parents-of-slumdog-c_n_161447.html

[navingulia]

Phool Sir, again i agree with most points raised by you. i dont hate americans or for that matter people on any other country including pakistan.

but my point is same 'a white man making a movie on indian poverty/slums' is too obvious an idea. (i can however concede that i used harsher words than necessary at places)

i always follow a thumbrule of not following 'hear say'. i again say, i might have seen handicapped children but with my little knowledge i havent seen a single case where a child was maimed deliberately. the crimes against children i have seen are:-
1. keeping them dirty and underfed
2. not getting them medical attention when they are ill and so in a way letting them die.
3. putting children into begging and the society encouraging it by turning a blind eye.

the movie just showed hearsay and gossip material.

slumdog wouldnt be deciding the destiny of this world or even our society. i have criticised it as a critique, reiterating regularly that its only my opinion. thats all

but definitely , i am finding the discussions on the movie intresting because very diverse versions are coming up.

[navingulia]

Thanks for this link Sid, good inputs of diverse opinion


Here is a link to a very popular American blog discussing SM... see the comments section at the end.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/27/poor-parents-of-slumdog-c_n_161447.html

[sumitsehrawat]

Aap ek baar ye video dekhiye... Rabbi ne ek ye bhi 'real' India dikhaayi hai apne ek gaane ke dwaara... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0EdbEsE0pw

Kissi bhai ne aaj tak kuch kyun nahi kaha? Kyunki ye ek Indian ne gaaya hai ya fir ek Jat ne gaaya hai? Maana ki ye mahez ek gaana hai aur movie bade peymaane pe dikhaayi jaati hai... par still... Rabbi ne on behalf of those 4 sufferers (http://kamotim.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/amazing-song-jinhe-naaz-hai-hind-par-woh-kahan-hai/) poocha hai apne hi deshvaasiyo ko ki kaha the bhai tum jab ye ho raha tha humaare HIND me... aur ab kaha ho jab ye ho hi raha hai...

agar aap gaur karenge ispe to yahi paayenge ki inki baaten bhi galat nahi hai. gaane ko to ye bhi issi gaane me kuch acchi baat bhi keh sakte the Hindustaan ke baare me, hain na? Agar yahi soch hai to inko kyun nahi question karta koi? btw... Im a big fan of Rabbi and this song is really very nice. And there's another one from him 'Jugni'... http://rabbism.blogspot.com/2005/07/jungi-rabbi-shergill-lyrics.html

Lyrics thode mushkil hai catch karne shuru me issiliye paste kar de raha hu...


Bilqis: Jinhe naaz hai hind par
-RABBI


Mera naam Bilqis Yakub Rasool
Mujhse hui bas ek hi bhool
Ki jab dhhundhhte thhe vo Ram ko
To maen khadi thhi, rah mein
Pehle ek ne puchha na mujhe kuchh pata thha
Dujey ko bhi mera yehi javab thha
Fir itno ne puchha ki mera ab saval hai ki
Jinhe naaz hai hind par vo kahan the
Jinhe naaz hai vo kahan hain


Mera naam Shriman Satyendra Dubey
Jo kehna thha vo keh chukey
Ab padhey hain rah mein
Dil mein liye ek goli
Bas itna kasoor ki hamne likha thaa
Vo sach jo har kisi ki zuban thaa
Par sach yahan ho jatey hain zehreelay
Jinhe naaz hai hind par vo kahan the
Jinhe naaz hai vo kahan hain


Mujhe kehte hain anna Manjunath
Maine dekhi bhatakti ek laash
Zamir ki beech sarhak Lakhimpur Kherhi
Adarsh phasa jahan naaron mein
Aur chor bharey darbaron mein
Vahan maut akhlaq ki hai ik khabar baasi
Jinhe naaz hai hind par vo kahan the
Jinhe naaz hai vo kahan hain


Mazha nau aahe Navleen Kumar
Unnees june unnees bar
Unnees unnees unnees unnees
Unnees baar
Unnees unnees unnees unnees
Unnees unnees unnees unnees
Unnees unnees unnees unnees
Unnees baar
Looto dehaat kholo bazaar
Nallasopara aur Virar
Chheeno zameen hamse humhe
Bhejo pataal
Jinhe naaz hai hind par vo kahan the
Jinhe naaz hai vo kahan hain

[sumitsehrawat]

Absolutely right!


People in India need to stop looking at themselves as victims everytime someone shares their perspective of their country.

By the way, people in the west think of Indians as very intelligent, highly educated and overqualified individuals. They think of us as doctos, scientists and engineers. They think of India as a very religious and spiritual country. They think of Indians in India as nice warm-hearted and welcoming individuals.

[anilsinghd]

People do not travel to India so that they can reinforce their negative opinions about the country. Infact such misinformed individuals never travel outside their country.

Most of the people who travel to India do it for getting a break along with a spiritual renewal. People in the west think India is a very spiritual country and has a way of life that heals the scars of day to day struggles.


Correcto!

People in India need to stop looking at themselves as victims everytime someone shares their perspective of their country.

Bang On !

Great writing style Phool , add me to the list of fans of yours , I love the crispness you offer! :)

[navingulia]

what i liked about Phools remarks was that he agreed and disagreed. it wasnt one sided.
however, i would want to express a point of view thats different on some points:-
1. we grow up hearing stories from elder family members that children are kidnapped and their eyes gouged out or hands and legs cut. this scares the children in remaining safe. now i would ask every one to consciously try and remember when did they last see a child beggar whose eyes seemed to have been deliberately blinded or limbs cut??? if any such case anyone can tell, i can promise to immediate action on ground.

2. foreigner women are attacked and raped if they come to india??? is definitely an extreme exaggeration. in goa case a mother left her teenage daughter doing drugs and alchohol in care of strangers. in jaipur case it appeared consensual turning sour later but the guy got life term. in chandigarh, 5 guys got rigorous life imprisonment. while i personally would condemn even one case of eve teasing. i feel the statement that foreigner women are attacked and raped in india makes it sound so prevalent.

3. You made a statement like 'poor us, we dont like others showing us a mirror' , considering ourselves victims. thats not the case my friend, my criticism was very specific to film that a film just by showing extreme cases of police torture, poverty and dirt, as if it is prevalent here and getting nominated for 10 oscars, doesnt go down well with me.


--------
a different point, will america like to see mirror????
1. except for pearl harbor they have always faught wars in other countries and usualy places they had no business. korea, vietnam, aphghanistan....
2. 60yrs of blockade on iran.
3. their carpet bombing in countries like iraq, aphghanistan, vietnam and the atomic bombs might have wiped a fifth of the worlds civilian population - men, women and children. has there ever been a movie or news on that???
4. they have run the worlds economy with their might to suit themselves, sold arms to both warring sides, kept conflicts alive to sell weapons.
5. abu gharib or guantenemo bay werent just two cases. they were the two which came out.
6. yes, some people will call them smart, i agree. but they definitely arent a greater people than others.
they can spend a two trillion dollars on war without a hiccup. an amount that could have been used to remove poverty from the world or but would they want the rest of the world to be as developed as them?? i doubt
Obama does give me hope.

every one in west wants to do charity (ahsaan), not many wanna do seva (service). when i was a child sometimes i would catch a bird hurting it in the process and then caring for it, feeling great that i was doing nice. i grew up thankfully. it is time america grew up too.

see the normal/average american citizens might be softspoken or gentlemanly and sensible too. there are lots of things about the amreican society which i appreciate a lot but a couple of posts on this thread showed us as 'losers' who are wanting to crib. it is not that way

it is not only the islamic world which is projecting the 'us versus them' image, america is doing it to its advantage, where ever it wants

i am still to see a movie that will show america the mirror and make it to oscars.

[navingulia]

again it might only be a way i see it
but for one america to be as developed as spending two trillion dollars on a war without effecting its economy there has to be a poorer part in the world
for some indians to be as rich as spending 400crores on a daughters wedding there has to be poorer indians.


please read the link sent by sid. the production house of slumdog has paid a pittance to the child artists and when asked why they were given such less pay, they said that the children have been paid three times the amount an average person earns in their neighbourhood they come from. very justified????

[kapdal]

I am sorry Phool, but I don't agree with some of the points mentioned by you. Just to be clear, that doesn't mean that I am speaking in favor of Guliaji's points. I have put my 2 cents earlier on the thread.

While I fully agree with you that we shouldn't generalise the western people as heartless son of bitches, but similarly we can't generalise them as Indophiles who think of India as spiritual country full of intelligent people. There would be pockets of India-lovers and India-haters, but majority of the people are indifferent to India. And when they see a movie like Slumdog, they definitely take back a negative impression of the country. I personally had the experience of being quizzed by some of my colleagues here about whether "all this stuff really happens?".

In my opinion, the movie makes a mockery of child suffering. Just highlighting a problem can't be glorified. The movie just exaggerates each and every suffering and then quickly moves on- as you yourself said it is supposed to be dramatic- then why burden it with noble causes? The problem of how children are used for begging was much more effectively and truthfully shown in Madhur Bhandarkar's Traffic Signal. How many of the beggars in India would have had the experience of forced amputations or blindings? While I don't deny the possibility of such brutality, these are no way common occurrences. But you can be rest assured that the next time an ignorant foreigner, who has watched the movie, comes to India and sees a blind beggar, he'd be certain about the cause. And the movie is full of such stereotypes which are exaggerated multiple times. Just think about it- each and every person shown in the movie apart from the hero and the heroine has been shown as negative (brutal/rude/inhuman) in one way or the other (can think of only one exception- the mother who is killed anyways). And the so called beauty of the movie is that the hero/heroine come out tops despite the sh*t show all around. Just mathemetically speaking, it is difficult for someone to meet bad people 100% of the time. Much more difficult than a slumdog to win a million. If they wanted to be realisitic, they could have spared a few characters- why show the gamehost indulging in mocking a chaiwallah?

Finally, the bit below you wrote is too self-degrading in my opinion.



Ofcourse all those myths are bashed as their men are beaten up, their women raped and their belonging stolen, when they visit India. I have personally witnessed people ripping off unsuspecting western tourists; not once by tens of times.

India is a great country for Indians only. Thats becuase we have adapted to life as it is here. We dont see things from the perspective of the outsiders; something that I got to do after moving to America.
.

Sh*t happens in India. But it happens everywhere. What about the Indian students killed in US? Or the British girl abducted in Spain? Any tabloid worth its salt would have one such incident everyday from some corner of the earth. Forget such big incidents, there are incidents of racial abuse, mugging, molestations, etc. happening everyday in the West. And many a times, Indians are at receiving end. Look my point is not to indulge in a shouting match on who is more evil. There are all sorts of people at all sorts of places. While people in West are not heartless son of bitches, we too are not a country of thugs and rapists. Also, the fact that these things happen everywhere should be no excuse for us. We should try our best to avoid them, not only for foreigners, but for everyone. But frankly, I didn't see the need of beating ourselves down (unfairly) on a debate about a silly movie.

[shekhar_nehra]

Slum Dog Millionaire !

Well so many points discussed already.

I believe first and foremost it’s a movie and must be seen as a movie only. No need to draw too much inferences out of it.

This movie is made for a commercial purpose just like any other movie. I saw this movie much before it was officially released in India and before it was acknowledged at Golden Globe awards. I had no high expectations from it as is the case with award winning movies. It was recommended by a friend says it’s a good movie. And I found it Good ! Let me explain why.

At the end of movie one gets a good feeling ... triumph of personal responsibility against all hardships. A person purely being lucky, taking his chances and things going in his favour, he had nothing to loose but something to gain. He is holding on to only one hope to meet/win over his lady (Latika). He becomes a hero by fluke. Its pure drama .... set of events turning a normal man into a rich person and his lady love making it to his life.

It is a low budget movie (when compared to many Bollywood movies ). What ever is shown in movie need not happen or does not happen as such in India. After all it’s a movie and not a documentary film.
But what ever is shown in movie, one thing is for sure its very well set in Indian context, if ever possible it can happen only in India. It is directed and presented in such a way that it appears close to real life in India. Look and feel of game show, site of shooting Taj Mahal and Mumbai slums etc.

Now comes the problem part, its effects.

What will a foreign national viewer get out of this movie? Simple answer is he'll get what ever he's looking for in it. If he's looking for half filled glass he will see it, else if he wants to the empty half he'll see that too. But why should we be worried at what he's seeing. Obviously their opinion about India would not be just based on this particular movie. It’s all together a different debate how does this opinion affect any one in India.

Any Indian watching this movie might feel offended at India's Slums and some incidents being shown as is the case here. Some members are taking this as a slap in their and India’s face.

American press giving reviews about the movie starting with something like “A Muslim, oppressed child in India.... ". Providing religious angle to the whole movie.

All this fame and controversy about whose saying what created around the movie is just to augment the sales and viewer ship.

The movie is getting all this limelight in west is because its directed and produced by Brits and only reason we are discussing it here is also same, a story about India being told by a Brit to the West.

On way of looking at this movie could be that though we have much good cinema here in India as compared to this movie we Indians appreciate the effort and are tolerant enough to take it as a movie in spite of all the flaws in it. We need not embrace it or reject it but take a movie as a movie being aware of all goods and the bad in it.

[shekhar_nehra]

Moreover what is nice about movie is that hero chooses to be humble and down to earth yet firm and not taking it to underworld like his brother. Keeping soft corner for his childhood friend. How almost every question relates to an incident from his life.

[trueblueindian]

please understand the movie is made for commercial purposes, and it is surely the producers delight, if talked about culture then we as a society has so many shortcomings which are depicted in many films from Bollywood/Hollywood.

one fact to realise - the characters in film roll around muslim names, why ? does those names reflect the whole of India,the slums? NO.. Christians and Muslims are the leading races in today's times and Islamic names are more familiar in the west, just to co-relate :) with audience and are living in much larger no. of population size. The film has been made by a person who is expert in world cinema and knows what to deliver to audience & he is no bollywood producer/director he has to take into account his audience, in fact Indian distributors were not willing to invest in this film and only after the announcement of the film to be nominated for oscars and it's chances of success they started to run after it :eek: the producer must not have taken Indian earnings to a large extent in his account while financially planning the SM project.

As for the stories of showing India in a bad state, the poverty and crime (even torture is a crime) the director has done no crime because that is the actual state of affair here, arrr phir director/writer (an indian as suggested in earlier post) antaryaami tae hoga nahi aur na hi west or christian propagandists, opinions form either from experience or from reliable information and statistics aarrr deekhey woh aae sei hai jo hakikat ho hai; haaan thodi bahut seasoning tou ho hi jaati hai.:rolleyes:

waise isstey zayada GHAZNI ki ninda honi chahiyea thi jo ki aek remake ki remake hai ... what a shame, in fact that really weakens the Indian cinema's creativity credentials in front of the world more than any other films of recent times here.:tamatar:mad: aakhir unauthorised remake chori nahi tou kya hai aur woh hum aksar proove kartey rehetey hai chahe annu malik ho yaa phir many a such remake baadshah's, so navin bhai what reputation are we discussing here as far as cinema and depiction of indian society is concerned, please take a serious note of what we really project in front of the world, do we really need enemies like you pointed out ? when we provide respect and give shelter to our stealing classes :eek:

[sidchhikara]

Here's a review in Slate ... its quite balanced ... and very critical.

http://www.slate.com/id/2209783/

[ritu]

well made movie with excellent performances...esplly by those two young kids.we should feel proud that a movie based on indian characters has gone so far .only ppl living in slums of bombay can tell the reality there..and for amit ji it s like grapes are sour.we should treat this movie like a movie not as the real depiction of slums.

[navingulia]

to sum up some reactions
1. a good/wonderful movie - i concede the director has knowledge of film making and story telling and has done it well. some positive aspects brought to notice by shekhar, the humble hero not succumbing to crime and only in search for his lady love, good . the child artists - good
2. an average/below average movie - didnt show us anything new, ar rahman is good but not better than his own best. very obvious theme of a westerner making movie on poverty here.
3. slap in our face/insult - yes, it is widely watched movie, could effect opinions around the world. u make a movie on one aspect of our society exaggerated to make it seem prevalent, feels insulting. People who feel its prevalent should stop staring at squatting backs(on a lighter note, squatting backs has been mentioned too often in discussions on this film), there is much more to india than that.
4. just a movie/commmercial movie - right, agreed, at the end of the day we need to worry more about our own worries and causes and our bread and butter work. this movie wont cause a world war.
5. entertainer movie - a person watching it for movies sake , it is very just for him to take it as an entertainer. it is an entertainer.
6. movie depicts reality - we know reality, if this movie helps us do something to deal with this reality, i would be only happy it came out.
7. will anyone risk making a movie on 'abu gharib' or the civilian population destroyed by american bombing and make it to oscars??? the way america instigated islamic extremism in aphghanistan with pakistani assistance to fight russia and then when russia left, they left aphghanistan to fend for itself. the dirt they left unattended is falling back on them and the world and they are still heroes??
america or the west would never allow anyone to make movies about negatives in their present or past (they ve to be perfect heroes and saviors of this world) but if we want to call parts of our society and history as bad, they would be more than willing to help.

[crsnadar]

India is full of problems "Social, Communal, Economical & Regional"
We can say at least our Indian society is Media Driven & it's not new..it's since the old age cinema.
Everytime some Documentry/Movie/Film/Coverage etc comes among Indian society which is relevant to above mentioned problems..the thing comes into few hearts is "..HOPE"
Hope of new Ideas, Actions, Moves & Thaughts reinforcing the rectification process leading to a positive change.
As it was regarding SLUMS in INDIA
It was not just for the entertainment but for much more that that.

Though not the first show but I watched movies on 23rd Jan the First Day..
It has covered some parts of our Juhu Airport also so we all here were discussing about like "how the film would be..!!?"

We were curious right since I heard it's music & came to know it's performance & ofcourse theme/script. I liked it most ...specially "aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke tale" by AR Rehman & Gulzar

We were hopeful that the movie would definitely reveal some genuine problems the Indian slum dwellers encounter on daily basis.

We were hopeful that movie will focus mainly on PROBLEMS faced by slum people but incidently it came out like to focus on LITTERING & MOCKING just to spread controversy & win prizes on issues which are favourite of critics & attached emotionally to a greater mass over the globe.

Some people say it was a commercial film...but think yaar ...commercial film with such a noble theme & that's even focusing on other less relevant issues who are already known to the world.
When it was such a significant initiation by some director..then why didn't he focused on Real Problems..& ..was it needed of featuring those s**t scenes.

If the focus was reality then why not shoot those morning scenes along the railway tracks between Boriwali & Kandiwali. That is also reality of India.

Suppose a film made on villages to show difficult & struggling life of villagers & if..movie starts with some villagers attending nature's call in fields..how would we feel about the Director..is it the reality..ya may be it is the reality..but it is not the ONLY reality..now most of the villages have Toilets & Bathrooms in their home so they would feel happy if the film would show those & focus mainly on other genuine problem like female foeticide, education, castism, communalism etc etc...rather than to show only a few people who still use open fields in the morning
So the director must focus on real problem not to PRIZES
LAGAAN & CHAK DE were examples how a movie can impact on human mind positively.

That's why I have objections to those s**t scenes which were irrelevant & were not required for the storyline at all.
I have objection to scenes people making fun of a poor boy which may even widen the gap between rich & poor..that's even in India where we are already well divided almost on all criterion.

Good things were the struggle & learning process of a slum underdog child to his destiny.

& regarding situations of slums in india e.g. for DHARAVI which was depicted by the movie you just read the mumbai mirror of 28 jan

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article&sectname=Columnists%20-%20Others&sectid=47&contentid=20090128200901280248197893163146

to know what is their lifestyle.
They also dream equally though not so big but they also do.
I would say on personal opinion,
Topic is superb & justified
Theme/Script was good
Acting was excellent
Music also excellent
Lyrics of song "Jai Ho.." superb

but
Direction was not good at all & irrelevant all the way.

[VPannu]

Simon Beaufoy lifts best adapted screenplay award for Slumdog Millionaire.
and another one.....its getting even better and better
Anthony Dod Mantle - Best Cinematography
and here is hat trick, another one for
Sound mixing.
another one for film editing- Chris Dickens

[ravichaud]

Many quality films often provide an introspection that is often slightly painful, especially from a visual standpoint. They often force you to think about issues "larger than you," and your day-to-day grind.

Dismissing facts such as a large under-priveledged population, religious strife, or child-exploitation as inflammatory or a smug gesture from the West seems a bit off-the-mark. Especially when there is some truth to the matter.

There are very few people in America that will disagree that India IS on a path to Great Power status (and many agree that India has already acheived this).

Rather, it would be more on-target to acknowledge such conditions of injustice, and showcase them as a means of awareness.

There are no shortages of films that provide Americans with an introspective view. Atrocities against Native Americans, Tragedies of National Policy and Social Injustice are all well-documented in film, by the hundreds.

The final answer in the movie "it is written" strikes at the soul of what America and India have in common...an unlikely rise of opportunity when hope is present; the Nexus of Indian-American relations...raising awareness for those less fortunate.
ric

[spdeshwal]

"whole of my Life I had a choice to choose Hate or Love, I chose Love,
that is why I am here"
AR Rahman

You are true ambassador of love, that is the essence of Indian culture!
And you are a true ambassador of Indian Culture!
I am so so proud of you Rahman!

Congratulations to rahman, Gulzar and the Guy who won Oscar for sound Mixing, Pukutty!
He reminded the world most beautiful sound in the world" OM "

Also, Congratulations to the team of Smile Pinky

[Nishantrathi82]

"whole of my Life I had a choice to choose Hate or Love, I chose Love,
that is why I am here"
AR Rahman

You are true ambassador of love, that is the essence of Indian culture!
And you are a true ambassador of Indian Culture!
I am so so proud of you Rahman!

Congratulations to rahman, Gulzar and the Guy who won Oscar for sound Mixing, Pukutty!
He reminded the world most beautiful sound in the world" OM "

Also, Congratulations to the team of Smile Pinky
http://www.jatland.com/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif
Great Speech total 6 for Slumdog and one for Smile Pinky best documentory based on a small village of UP.
Well done Mr. AR Rehman :)
Great going 4 to go :)

[sejwaldeepak]

Now 7 for slumdog.

[Maniisha]

Now 7 for slumdog.

Its 8 .. Best Picture too .. :)

[sejwaldeepak]

Its 8 .. Best Picture too .. :)

bera sei manne.. ghanii manna rajji ho.. dekhi na ii .:D:p

[vivektaliyan]

Jai ho.....jai ho.....:rock:rock:rock:rock:rock:rock:rock

[SANDEEP5]

Baaki saari baatein chhod do kyonki India walo ko A R Rehman ki vajah se 2 Oscar mile hain Baaki ke to angrejo ko unke kaam ke liye mile hain the say

" JAI HO"


:)

[kulduhan]

Hats off to AR Rahman for composing universaly accepted composition , He was really deserving for this crown . And i really liked the speech for the awards that 'These are dedicated to my country '

No offense ' the earlier nominated movies "Lagan and Taare Zamin Par " were much superior, in every aspect, to Slumdog, but these were made by Indian's so that these had to loose.Why is it so that whenever an NRI or a Foeign Individual makes a film based on plight of India, that the film gets such a recognition?:confused:

[satyenderdeswal]

Bhai naveen...

Movie to nahi dekhi kyun ki trailer dekhtey hi mood off ho gaya tha and buri tarikey se gussa araha tha Producer , Director and Actors per...

Pata nahi kyun per paise and fame ke liye desh ki chhavi kharaab karney per unki antaratmaa kabhi nahi kacchot ti unhey??

From trailer, I concluded two of ur points as absolutely true with out any doubt:-

#The movie projects that India is all about slums and dogs, something the western world loves to see and feel.

#What surprises me is that much better movies which projected indian society and its values as good and strong (mother india, lagaan) did not succeed at oscar and when you show india as poor and pathetic, you make it.




Slums and Dogs

1. The movie projects that India is all about slums and dogs, something the western world loves to see and feel.
2. The quality of direction and movie making is poor.
3. In the show anil kapoor and his audience mocks and laughs at the participant when they come to know he is a poor chaaiwaala. In Indian society, I have never seen any one making fun of a poor person for his poverty in public. But the movie tells the world that Indian society is like this.
4. There isnt and there never was any ngo in mumbai that kidnaps street children and makes them beg after maiming them, cutting arms and legs or binding them.
5. AR Rahman deserves oscar but for his other music given earlier, music in earlier films has been far better but still, he is probably the only deserving nomination.
6. Police in mumbai doesnot hang boys in their police station and give them electric shocks to find out if he has cheated in a reality show.
7. I have till date never come across a beggar child whose eyes had been burnt by pouring hot oil into them. If it doesn’t happen, why do they show that.
8. when in one scene the boy tells the white american lady, see, this is real india, she takes out money and gives him saying and this is real america. Meaning india is bad and they are good.
9. What surprises me is that much better movies which projected indian society and its values as good and strong (mother india, lagaan) did not succeed at oscar and when you show india as poor and pathetic, you make it.
Can the possibility of getting ‘Oscar’ buy us into accepting this movie as great??
Amitabh Bachan rightly said “I did not want to be part of this film in any way” and he was very right when he said “the world should realise india is not all about slums and dogs”
Anil Kapoor said at a conference after golden globe “I feel like a slumdog myself having made it here” (how willingly he is looking down on himself)
Am I wrong in my observation?
Navin Gulia

Btw – slumdog is not an indian film, it is made by Warner bros.

[satyenderdeswal]

Respected Madam,

In My opinion, It is not so as suggested by you that "we should treat this movie like a movie not as the real depiction of slums"

As much as I know "In international society, movie is the mirror of ur society".

Secondly If there are 10 ways to express a thing or to show a reality,then it is not necessary that u shud always pick the worst way to humiliate ur country's image...



well made movie with excellent performances...esplly by those two young kids.we should feel proud that a movie based on indian characters has gone so far .only ppl living in slums of bombay can tell the reality there..and for amit ji it s like grapes are sour..

[navingulia]

the big fight
8pm, saturday, 28feb
eminent people debate slumdog on ndtv 24x7

would be interesting to watch

[gajender]

Congress has bought copyrights of the song JAI HO of slumdog millanior . tthey say that this song meets with there ideology. So they will use it in there ELECTION COMPAIGN. I am totally agree with them. I give them full credit of the success of Slum dog milllionior. Bcoz if congreesss dont rule india for india there were no SLUMS and if there were no SLUMS then there was no SLUMDOG MILINIOR .and no OSCAR AWARD. GOOD LUCK INDIA .

[gajender]

Congrees created enough slums in last 60 years for 50 Oscars.

[deepshi]

sab theek hai..
Many ..or..most of the things are correctly depicted..

u beg;) to differ,,n il clear ur hazy thoughts..

wel, my perspective..

[shailendra]

...I remember reading the first few posts of this thread when it was first put out- wanted to add my two cents then, as I had very much enjoyed the views presented here and was dying to represent and share my own... and then.... for some reason- did not post anything.

Well, for one thing I had not watched the movie at that point, and even though had exhausted my reading on it from the different sections of the published material all around the place, etc. I still thought it would be quite unfair for any comments in vaccum, regardless of them being pro or against it; that is TILL I saw it...

But NOW I feel that anything that I add is probably already all here and don't need to sound monotonous and/or harping on the same issues;
But having said that I would rather go with what a certain Mr. Abhishek Bachchan said at the recent 13th Wharton India Economic Forum in Philadelphia; something that kind of sums it for me.... (and trust me- he would be the last person on any topic that I would hope to get even two cents worth of words right in one sentence :D, UNLESS of course if it has got to do anything with his famous last name or the last name that is 'Rai') ....
BUT like I mentioned before; trust me folks, this- has been surprisingly quite the right summation:

He said..."The Chinese and the Indian film industries are huge, but the most visible and audible platforms in the world is one of English. Until you make a film in that language, you are not going to fit in the rest of the world. For example, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has an Indian subject but is made in English. (Had it been made in Hindi, say, by Inder Kumar, I do not think it would have as many viewers.)
"At the end of the day, 'Slumdog Millionaire’ was a Hollywood product for Hollywood. It was not made for Indians," Abhishek said... Period!

Amen!

[sukush]

I've seen the movie. Felt uncomfortable throughout the movie as...reason: it portrays my country as something negative on the world platform. What surprises me is intellectuals talk about all kinds of things, and most commonly whether the things in movie are true or not.
My point is: if bad things shown in movie are not true, that's good. If they are let's finish the conversation quickly on the "problem definition" and move to "solution". It's all about profits. The movie is not made to make money and run development projects in India, I'm convinced after reviewing the movie, there are couple of things intentionally put to make India look bad/become controversial to become popular and fill pockets.
In terms of viewpoint on movie. I agree with the above quote: it's a Hollywood product for Hollywood. It was not made for Indians.
What surprises me and makes me sad is: too many of us have lost the will to stand up for the country. and task for intellectuals is: so many of us don't even know, why we should be proud of being Indian?

[sidchhikara]

...I remember reading the first few posts of this thread when it was first put out- wanted to add my two cents then, as I had very much enjoyed the views presented here and was dying to represent and share my own... and then.... for some reason- did not post anything.

Well, for one thing I had not watched the movie at that point, and even though had exhausted my reading on it from the different sections of the published material all around the place, etc. I still thought it would be quite unfair for any comments in vaccum, regardless of them being pro or against it; that is TILL I saw it...

But NOW I feel that anything that I add is probably already all here and don't need to sound monotonous and/or harping on the same issues;
But having said that I would rather go with what a certain Mr. Abhishek Bachchan said at the recent 13th Wharton India Economic Forum in Philadelphia; something that kind of sums it for me.... (and trust me- he would be the last person on any topic that I would hope to get even two cents worth of words right in one sentence :D, UNLESS of course if it has got to do anything with his famous last name or the last name that is 'Rai') ....
BUT like I mentioned before; trust me folks, this- has been surprisingly quite the right summation:

He said..."The Chinese and the Indian film industries are huge, but the most visible and audible platforms in the world is one of English. Until you make a film in that language, you are not going to fit in the rest of the world. For example, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has an Indian subject but is made in English. (Had it been made in Hindi, say, by Inder Kumar, I do not think it would have as many viewers.)
"At the end of the day, 'Slumdog Millionaire’ was a Hollywood product for Hollywood. It was not made for Indians," Abhishek said... Period!

Amen!

That is true ... is meant for western audiences.

I wonder if Amar Singh wrote that speech for AB .... Bollywood has its share of creeps and weirdos. Everyone in bollywood thinks they could've made a better movie ..... maybe they could've. But I am not sure if it would've had AB in it...... he was busy shooting for Dostana or Delhi 6 .... since he only associates with such fine films.

This show of indignance from bollywood is getting old. They produce nothing but crap .. except a few good ones in between.