i'd been waiting long n eagerly to go watch. avoided the dvd's n downloads...first day second show and thirty minutes into it the disappointment started creeping in. it was the cliches that did it for me - taj mahal, dharavi, dhobi ghat, vt...i mean, of course, it was well shot n edited, etc but left me as cold as the half empty cinema hall. anthony dodd mantle is one of my gods n one of my highpoints last year was meeting him when lighting up the millionaire shoot for them...but i guess when you shoot 2 film n 5 hd cameras rolling all at once, you will have an excessively edited film, right. slick yes but so shallow. the kids who played the middle part were the best...n the music - rahman has done much better stuff in the past...
smells of the beauty pageants thing - need to find new markets, shower them with faux attention. lapped up soo well...first, firang technicians infiltrated the industry, now they're gonna be making our films too! it's gonna take me sometime adjusting to this globalisation where i cannot go shoot in their country but they can come here...even in times when projects/films are being shelved due to "recession" while we sit home write blogs, drink or attend yet another meeting!
of course, it's gonna win a handful of oscars...or course, it's gonna be a blockbuster grosser...right film at the right time, nothing extraordinary. go see but we're not gonna blow an evening talking about it...banned any conversation about it last evening at the party :)
7 comments:
I completely agree. Heaven help us if it wins any more awards. There will be the reams of acolades from all kinds of wannabes, armchair-commentators etc. Whew !!
hey ashish/sarika: thanks for dropping by...tho' i feel it is going to win big time at the oscars n make it all even more unbearable :(
...woah!...who's a sour puss then!...miao!...scratch your eyes out!...
I am surprised at your review of the film Ajoo, and though I am not a techi like you I know a good film when I see one - I'd even go so far as to say I'd spend good money to own it on DVD...but maybe I am just a grumpy old man from England who does not know his aloo gobi from his roti.
I was particularly disappointed on reading your attack on firang techinicians being allowed to go to India to shoot while deshis are not allowed abroad. I don't know if your comments are from your own experience but I must say your allegation is ABSOLUTELY NOT (repeat) NOT TRUE! I have personally seen and talked to Indian film crews in my neighbourhood here in the UK using British backdrops for their films in the recent past.
However, I do agree with you that the musical score was yuck! even though I am not familiar with Rahman's work...but as I said before, maybe I'm just a grumpy old man from UK-side who grew up on Ravi Shankar, Tirlok Gurtu, Shankar etc. etc. I also agree that the kids in it were cool...I liked the bit when the young Jamal jumps into the cesspit just to get Amitab's autograph...and his older self as a tourist guide at the Taj...simply hilarious...and enterprising! as one of India's govt ministers noted when he recommended the film for general viewing as reported in a recent edition of the Times of India (online).
I was going to email you privately on this but since you've put your thoughts in the public domain I thought it only fair to put my thoughts in the public domain too...let the debate begin...
hey oat,
great to hear your views. and i am glad you liked the film like countless others have.
yes, yes, you may have seen indian technicians working in uk - but, they are working on indian films produced by indians merely using the west as a backdrop. i am talking about phirang technicians working on indian projects in india produced by indians. they come in on tourist visas.
surely you must've read about the uk banning foreign labour in these days of an economic slowdown to protect local jobs.
...hey Aj! I am glad you responded to my comment. Yes, I have heard that the British govt. has put the brakes on immigrant intake into the UK, which is a recent development due to the current economic climate, but surely why on earth have people like yourself who are in the industry not taken the initiative and done what Boyle has done. After all the book, Q & A by Vikas Swarup on which SLUMDOG is based, was published in 2005! It would have been brilliant if an Indian director/producer had come up with the idea of making it into a film. I do take your point however that the west is clamping down on foreign workers to protect local jobs but that is as I said due to the current economic downturn. If you want the Indian govt. to reciprocate the sentiments expressed by western governments maybe it is something you and your colleagues should take issue with with them...and I'd support you all the way on that! Cheers mate!
...I also read on the BBC website that the producers of SLUMDOG are going to donate some of the takings for the betterment of the slumdwellers...I wonder how much of it will filter down to those who matter...already there are rumblings by the parents of some of the child stars that the kids did not get paid well enough...I'm not surprised!! After all the accolades it may recieve I hope some of the stardust will fall on all those who put in hard graft to make the film a success...
...by the way, who is oat?...;)
Hey AJay.. Now that you have talked about the firang working in india angle, youve got me thinking :)..
Honestly speaking, I didnt think Slumdog was as wow as it has been made to look like.. Its a good film, actually quite a good film -- but it has been a little too hyped up. And the reason could well be that an english director is making a very Indian film.
More than Dev, I think the kids did a better job. I dont know what role Ms. Pinto had that even she managed to gather accolades for herself.. Its just the firang director effect..
Nevertheless, the film was good, more so because our friends have worked on it ( Minu was 2nd unit camera and U did the lights..)
Baaki, whats up in life??
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