Rags to riches

 

 

I had my reservations on "Why we must condemn Slumdog Millionaire" (TSI, Feb 2-8), till I watched the movie twice. It is not a classic. In selecting "Slumdog…" as the best motion picture of the year, the jury have degraded the Oscars. And as the "Bollywood’s Greatest Music Directors" issue (TSI, Mar 2-8) put it very mildly, it is “with one callow intention… to draw up a caricature of every possible negative side to India.” Also, it is not an Indian movie as “the fools in the Indian media” believe. An Indian film shot on the Alps does not make it Swiss. What is most disgusting is the Indian politicians’ exempting the caricaturists from entertainment tax and letting them earn millions for showing India in poor light. It is not a rags-to-riches story either, for it shows luck. If yoga could take the West by storm, why can’t the rich ragas. If we want the ultimate awards, our maestros will have to ‘sell’ the ‘product’ (reality or fantasy) with the right mix (audio, video, etc). Resul got the Oscars for mixing.

Varin Dhir

Ahmedabad