And the Oscar goes to.....

1:14 PM at 1:14 PM

Heard this a zillion times last night, Best Supporting Actress/Actor, Best Short Film, Best X, Best Y….blah blah blah…..dude what got me jumping off my couch, dancing and whistling away like a pakka rowdy was when I heard the golden words…..And the Oscar goes to ……A.R. Rahman !!! – not once, this man decided to give us a reason to celebrate twice in a span of 10 minutes…


What a moment in Indian history…..he is the light at the end of a long lost, narrow, dark, and depressing tunnel! The song Maula Mere Maula from the movie Delhi-6 led me to believe it doesn’t matter whether you are a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or a Christian…..the mediums (MUSIC is instrumental) that connect our soul to the supreme being have no religion, don't believe in discrimination – they only comprehend the language of love and devotion!


You blurt out “Slumdog Millionaire” in India and the hypocrites who have no connection with the movie or the Mumbai slums suddenly creep out from their caves, with strong opinionated judgmental statements – Does it matter that a Britisher and not an Indian decided to direct the movie – if not Mumbai, it would have been the slums in South Africa or Philippines!!! It is imperative to read in between the lines and decipher the profound aspects of what is being depicted. Slumdog’s message from my perspective was that success comes with fearless determination, ambition, inspiration, motivation and a pinch of luck! It has nothing to do with a person’s race, religion, caste, financial status, gender and the likes! And having lived in Mumbai and passed out from a college in Bandra, I have crossed Dharavi – Asia’s largest slums more than I can imagine and have seen the filth myself! The movie is just a reflection of reality – the sooner we learn acknowledge and accept the facts, the better! This is no preaching – just my two cents!

Coming back to the Oscars – I am not surprised that Slumdog – the
underdog bogged the limelight at the coveted awards ceremony! 8 Oscars – no kidding :). The cast and crew added spice to the excitement, concluding the event in style! Kudos to Resul Pookutty, whose achievement exemplifies in the true sense, the story of an underdog attaining unimaginable heights. I was euphoric to witness an Indian performance at the Oscars – Talent speaks far away from our motherland, slashing all boundaries and making us proud!
Am so proud to be an Indian – Jai Ho!!!

3 comments:

BuckBear said...

A leading movie from india, an australian host and my favourite - a leading candidate from israel about the war in lebanon in the foreign film category.

These Oscars sure have an international flair to them.

Slumdog Millionaire succeeds not only as a box-office seller, but as a window into who we all are, as human beings, regardless of nation or fortune of birth. What I like most about this film is that it may break people out of their sheltered existence.

What were the Bachans thinking when the big one rubbished Slum Dog ? was he thingking Aish would get an Oscar for Pink panther !! Get a life !!

triple distilled said...

its officially slumdog overkill...have been seeing this everywhere..personally i thought the first half of the movie was great and the second half contrived almost bollywoodish...it definitely is not rahman's best work and yet he won an oscar...goes to show that talent wins awards and heres hoping that this success rubs off/ inspires others and it does not take the academy years to recognize indian talent until its almost too late like they did with satyajit ray....

Swetha Krishnan said...

@ BuckBear - thanks for putting up with the rowdy! I absolutely loved the company :)

@ triple distilled - I agree that SM is not the greatest movie ever made, and Rahman's Roja still awaits an Oscar - I am happy that India is represented at international festivals and Indians are finally being recognized for their talents!