Why is India going overboard about Slumdog Millionaire? It is not a victory for Indian cinema, says Sandipan Deb in The Indian Express. Yes, rejoice for the six children who acted in it. And for AR Rahman for winning two Oscars for his music. But Sandipan a;so says that Rahman’s music in the movie “is not even of his average quality.”He is all praise for the other ‘Best Film’ nominee: The Reader.
“Frankly, I don’t think Slumdog Millionaire deserved the Oscar for best film. And even more frankly, I don’t think Resul Pookutty should have invoked “my country and my civilisation” in his acceptance speech for best sound mixing.”
John Elliott (on his blog Riding the Elephant) has a different take on Slumdog’s Oscars. He says the awards “are a win in India’s success story.” “As A.R.Rahman, the Indian composer, who won two Oscars for the best score and for his hit song Jai Ho, said after receiving his award, Slumdog is all about “optimism and the power of hope in our lives”. And that is the mood of Dharavi and of India’s millions of budding success stories.”
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Frankly my dear, who gives a damn? Is SM Indian? Is it British? It’s great that we live in a globalised world where black and white notions of ‘nationhood’ are breaking down, to no great lament. The fact is that Indians believe that SM is ‘their’ film because it is based in Mumbai, uses an Indian star cast and, heck, even employs 100s of behind-the-scene technicians. Its music director, A R Rahman has walked away with 2 Oscars. Now, should we start a debate on whether he’s Hindu? Muslim?
My two-bit advice: enjoy the moment.