SLUMDOG
MILLIONAIRE A REVIEW
Struggle is common to all. Success
is possible only in films. This is reality and not pessimism. The underdogs have taken a new ‘avatar’. They are now slum dogs. They no longer live in ghettos like the social outcasts of the the ‘civilized’ west. Do the film producers and
directors have any sympathy for the poor? May be, they do sympathise. But by sympathising they only insult the slum dwellers. The slum dwellers want dignity and freedom; not sympathy and difinitely not pity. The game shows in the TV media are great advertisement gimmicks and they have nothing to do with the real advancement of knowledge. Only ignoramuses can believe this theory. One fool would have earned some money. But millions of fools are wasting their time and money in watching such game shows which is an insult to human intellect. Meanwhile, some sharks are making big money in the market.
A.R.Rahman seems to be in cloud nine. He reminds us of his work in ‘Guru’. Some compositions are blatant copies of some old works(ringa ringa). He has got the nomination. Whether he would get or not is a different question. If market forces decide, Rahman would definitely get the award for ‘original’ compositon. May be aboriginal composition. Big herds would rush to theatres. Nowadays the Hollywood masters’ imaginative powers are fast depleting. They are more and more relying on computer graphics. Taking such absolute trash movies with pseudo science themes, some directors have made fortunes. No doubt, history will throw them to the dust bin. An old print of Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Circus’ is thousand times more entertaining and enriching than the movies produced by spending billions of dollars.
They say SDM is a ‘must watch’ film. A.R.Rahman may turn out to be the first Indian to get for music an oscar. But Satyajit Ray got lifetime achievement award. Though Ray was a great director, there were greater directors like Rithwik Ghatak. But they stand nowhere near George Eisenstein who directed the famous film “Battleship Potemkin:” See the music, dialogue, editing and direction of that film. Then judge Rehman and SDM. Again as I said earlier, there will always be efforts to enhance the saleability of a product in the market. For a film, awards help.Music and arts can not flourish without human values. Today in the quest for profit and power man can only kill arts, music and literature. Mr. Rahaman is doing a nice job and he has already got the reward. Indian feel proud about him! They can also feel proud about the slums, the slumdogs, brothels, anti-social dens, mass misery and poverty of our beloved nation.
SATHYA