You have no idea, Sir ji!
Namaskar Sir ji
This letter is in response to your recent blog post where you have expressed your anger on the film Slumdog Millionaire getting Golden Globe awards.
I haven’t seen the movie Slumdog Millionaire. But I know that the slums featured in that movie is a reality. Life is not a K-Jo film Sir ji. When you get time, just take a walk around Mumbai. Yes, through the very same slums which have been portrayed in the movie Slumdog Millionaire.
And if you haven’t noticed, Sir ji, Hollywood has time and again featured the bad and sad elements of their society in their movies. Going by your argument, after watching Hollywood movies the world should be thinking that America is a country that consists only of criminals, racists, rapists, pregnant teenagers, drug-peddlers, pedophiles etc etc. But is that the case? They used this wonderful medium of Cinema to fight against those evils, Sir ji. And you become angry when the same is done here. Oh, in the process, you were also angry at the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray too!
Like the commentator #6 rightly pointed out in your blog post,
“being ‘Western’ in any sense (by way of the production and the director and so on) has anything to do with the appreciation Slumdog has got. People loved Monsoon Wedding all over the world. This film was basically a Yashraj ‘wedding’ film with ‘intelligence’ added to the mix. There is nothing that the two films have in common except for the fact that these are both ‘compelling’ works.”
Filmmaker Micheal Moore keeps making movies like Sicko, Sir ji, and they keep giving him Oscars. Going by your argument, they shouldn’t have done so, don’t you think?
And what is it that you are angry about Hollywood not honoring commercial movies of Bollywood, Sir ji? Are you sad that you didn’t get an Oscar for your NRI flick KANK? Or your son did not win the best comedian award for his ‘excellent’ performance in Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom? Why do you need the honor of Hollywood after all, Sir ji? That you’re not proud of the recognition within your own country? Or do you think that no matter what crappy movies Bollywood churns out in the name of mainstream masala movies, you should be recognized internationally?
And when you talk about recognition, what do you think about all those film awards which have the “Indian” tag attached to it, Sir ji? You and your folks at Bollywood conveniently ignore the great movies, actors and directors down in the south and it’s film industry and sell Bollywood as the “Indian” cinema in the international market. And now you’re worried that your mainstream masala movies don’t get international recognition?
Poverty in India is a reality Sir ji. And even more real is the class-difference in our society, because we have the richest people in the world and the poorest. It is also a reality that you (and the section of people whom you represent) have the privilege of running into the luxurious hospitals, but hundreds and thousands of Indians lie and die everyday in the untidy general government hospitals, without having proper diagnosis or medication and where the docs treat them like dogs. Yes Sir ji, in the very same India where you and I exist.
Sir ji, as our father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi used to say, walk into the villages to know India. Or you don’t even have to go that further. Just walk into the suburbs of our metro cities. I’ve seen Bangalore’s for example. Just go past the 30 KMs of the city. And rather than ranting, try to do something about it. Lord Balaji of Tirupathi would love that than your million dollar worth of gift to him.
Yours truly.
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January 15th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Very well said man…kudos!
Although im a fan of B. for his flamboyance and style on screen and acting, i wish he be more careful when opening his mouth on matters regarding our society and i really hate his silence and politically correct stands he takes
January 16th, 2009 at 12:34 am
Joe – i had seen the movie over a month ago and I can tell you the scenes of the slum add to the beauty of the movie.. It is a fine picture and to date the only one I attended where every person stood up and clapped at the end. FYI there were probably just 4-5 of us Indians in the theatre, the rest were sober Americans. The child stars were just marvelous.
Every city has a soul, take away some parts and the soul gets corrupted. So Bombay should be seen and understood as it is, which most people do.
January 16th, 2009 at 1:12 am
Haha… well said Jo. Mr.BigB repersent that category of movies (unlike other regional language movies) where the stories occur only in 5-star hotel like houses, and even the poor-hero loving rich-girl will be still wearing Versace T-shirts. I do not know why people get offended when outsiders depict the real India though it’s true that some channels such as CNN will almost always show only the bad and most orthodox side of India.
BigB and his SmallB along with MissWorld should get out of their 4-crore Bentley luxury sedan once in a while to take a walk and look around the real Mumbai.
January 16th, 2009 at 1:44 am
HI Jo,
all the best
I have gone thru ur psot. and agree with the tings u have mentioned. but i felt the way u responded to big b is not so great. infact not good. its more of “Just like insulting” than conveying what u want to say… plz try to give some respect to the peple like big b whatsoever. After all he is one of the greatest, talented personality that every indian can be proud of. (im not saying what ever he says is correct)… hope u take this in the right way
January 16th, 2009 at 3:42 am
Great post Jo.. couldnt agree with you more on this..
January 16th, 2009 at 5:46 am
Jo,
I’ll be honest…i hate and despise commercial entertainers…I have no respect whatsoever for these unintelligent chopras, kjos or bhansalis…i do think industry in the south, kannada and telugu excluded in recent times, produce some wonderful work that are golden globes worthy or even oscar worthy…and I do appreciate cinema that addresses the worst kind of problems faced by our Indian society…
Having said that, I also say that this is prejudice on your part…having not seen the movie…
now having seen the movie, here, around a very international audience, i present my views…SM is a good movie, not great, but just good. No matter how many Indians cheer for it, it is ultimately a British movie, with a British crew and production, but yes, a movie set in India about an Indian boy. I was sitting there in the theatre watching the movie and all I hoped was for people to not to think that India was entirely that underdeveloped.. there were many moments when I cringed in my seat worried about the perception of a non Indian. It is very important that my country is not thought wrong of. Now I am not saying that India is the land of riches and skyscrapers in mumbai need to be presented.
Let me see if I can explain…there are two types of international viewers..
1. People who think of India as a ‘garam masala’ bikini clad, smile all time, sunshine movie set
2. People who think of India as a very filthy nation that is downtrodden by poverty comparable to the worst of African nations
Now I would like a little bit of a balance between the developing India (am not talking of garam masala here) and the problem stricken India..
“They used this wonderful medium of Cinema to fight against those evils, Sirjee. And you become angry when the same is done here.”….please do let me know if you are of the opinion that SM does anything, even try, to fighting against evils in the movie. Would you actually show SM to a foreign friend of yours and tell them, look at this…this is India?
The rags to riches story, however unconvincing it is for me, is intelligent in one aspect and we, the viewers are fools to argue about it. The part of the movie, where the slums, the problems are really shown is set in the 1985 India…the movie fails to show the development of the society as the movie advances, but hardly makes up for it in a scene with tall buildings towards the end of the movie.
I donot agree that SM is a compelling piece of cinema because i’ve seen much better Indian movies that have been failed to recognise internationally.
wont spoil it for you with more details…let me know how you like it when you see it..
January 16th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Well written Jo. I echo your thoughts on Big B’s stand on SDM. Its a typical “Grapes are sour” type of reaction from the Mega Star. didn’t expect it from him though.
Regards,
Barani
January 16th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Hmmm..another controversy on SM.. I wonder wat wud AB think or reply if he reads this.. he might say being in mumbai for several years he has seen heights of poverty.. or will he say he s running a charity already to help them..
His comment sounded typically from a bollywood person supporting too much for commercial blockbusters… n not a rational thinker.. This is not expected of HIM.. Jo, I liked ur concluding statement vry much.. did not know about it at all..He proved not an exception among so many other film stars who pour their wealth on Lord balaji..
January 16th, 2009 at 10:24 am
You said it ….
January 16th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Did you see this?
http://bigb.bigadda.com/2009/01/16/day-267/
January 16th, 2009 at 10:44 am
SirJee,
Very Very well said.. I am a big pankha.com of yesteryears Amitabh. In fact i even used to be a regular visitor of his Big Adda. But lately he has been making a fool of himself. Am glad i am fan of yesteryears AB, even more glad that i refrain myself from being blind pankha.
I watched Slumdog Millionaire and Loved it.
Great reasoning here..
Keep it up..
Sarvesh
January 16th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Vineeth: Thanks. I don’t have anything personally against AB (I loved his performance in the movies like Black), but this comment from him was totally ignorant. And you are right that he wisely choose not to comment on more important issues in his blog and resort on such ignorant comments.
Maddy: You are right Maddy. I haven’t seen the movie and I don’t judge the film, but if a movie has a story line that is to be shot in the slums, I don’t think it can be shot in a posh apartment.
I will definitely checkout the movie as soon as it released here.
Ajith: I agree with you that news channels should have more responsibility in showcasing India properly. That is also something that I too am concerned about. Because CNN etc concentrates more on bad news from India and they completely ignore the brighter side.
Govind: I’m sorry if I got too carried away while responding to AB. It is just that his sheer ignorance of what happens on ground got me angry. And about your comment, no offence taken.
George: Thanks George.
Archana: You got me wrong.
I was not defending SM but the other general points in AB’s blog post. I don’t know if SM is good, bad or mediocre. But why cry “India bashing” when one such movie is made? We release movies like KKKG, KANK, RNBDJ etc in the foreign theatres and people flock to theatres to see those movies. So why not ONE such movie in between? Even in the parallel movies line, we have movies like Monsoon Wedding that shows the big fat Indian wedding. The balance which we are seeking is already there.
My American clients with whom I deal with for the freelance projects have never asked if I have a snake charmer living nearby. They have asked which is the nearest airport for me to reach Bangalore airport though (Yeah, they know Bangalore and Mumbai) and they live in a small city in Phoenix. Perhaps if you go to a rural area of Texas or other southern USA state, they might have a different perception. Because some of those people do not even bother watching news or they don’t know much about their own states. But don’t blame rest of them for the ignorance of a few people. We have our own ignorants too. We think all foreign women are sex-hungry sluts. And some of us even grope them in the crowd and occassionally rape them. But do you or me think or do in the same way?
Baranidaran: Thanks Barani.
Ramya: Yeah, perhaps he would resort to such defence. The fact of the matter is that most of us give to charity and the volume might vary according to what we earn.
Neha/M: Thanks.
Siju: Being in the company of his political friends, it seems that he has adopted someo of their characteristics. Escapism for example.
I think it’s so silly that he said he was merely acting as a ‘postman’. So is he blogging to share others’ opinion and not his? We did not hear that before anyways.
Sarvesh: Thansk Sarvesh.
January 16th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
as for Mr B not being happy with the portrayal of slums in slumdog… mujhe bhooli bisri si yaad aa rahi hai ki he was gonna act in Shantaram… pray tell, were the slums portrayed as Taj Mahal over there? Mr B didnt have anything against Drona if I am not wrong? tsk tsk… bias, prejudice, envy… hum sab iske shikaar hain… wotsay u?
January 16th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Good One Jo !! Very well written !! I am with you 100%
January 16th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Hi there jo.. i think AB has taken back his words in his post on day 267..
http://bigb.bigadda.com/2009/01/16/day-267/
January 16th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Sonia : Agree with you totally!
Narayanan : Thanks bro.
Sally : I saw that and it’s just that he’s playing safe
January 16th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Jo, its not a few people…its a majority! you’ll be surprised! When a stupid commercial movie is released here, its never the native British people who go to watch them, its the Indians or British Indians and Pakistanis that swarm the theatre…the last movie I saw a couple of brits seeing was Jodha Akbar. SM is an international movie for an international audience. There were barely any desis there
!
The fact is that people who do watch news (minorities again!) and people who have access to India (ex: your clients, minorities again!) are the ones who donot give into the perception….rest of the world, a majority, who still are ignorant fools, think we live in dumps! And to talk of development, since when did we start making news? except, ofcourse for kashmir and bomb blasts?
I’m just saying I understand why Amitabh said what he did…but the issue is blown way out of proportion by the media and us alike…the length of my comment warrants it
somebody above said the slums added to the beauty of the movie…I agree
January 16th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
Well, i guess we should all wait for the movie to come out to find out if it is really worth all this hype that it is generating..
Maybe it is going to be somewhat like City of Joy.. that was a wonderful film na… lets wait and see.. but one thing Jo, i think that you hav become a bit excited and gone a little too far in getting angry at Mr.B. He also is entitled to his own opinion as you or I. Just because he is a public figure does not mean that he should always have opinions that make everyone happy… but then again, i totally agree with you Jo that actors and directors down in the south and it’s film industry is totally ignored and that Bollywood is sold as the “Indian” cinema in the international market.. many good movies from here dont get the recognition that they deserve…
January 17th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Archana: And how many of that majority asked you whether we still go to school in bullock carts?
Perhaps those who would still ask would ask the same to their own countrymen who comes from different parts of the very same country. An American blogger would be making a guest post here soon and you will see examples of this.
Sally: And I’m entitled to put my counter arguments too.
A little too sharp perhaps, but that is fine, because the soft remarks do not always make an impact.
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