Much has been said about Danny ‘Trainspotting’ Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, its Golden Globe win, and its 10 Oscar nominations, and the fact that it’s India’s triumph just as it is a Britisher’s. However, it isn’t an Indian film to begin with. So we shouldn’t be all too happy that we are being recognised at the world’s highest cinematic platform.
It’s a straight-out Hollywood film that manages to capture the soul of Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup’s book Q&A, and does everything else to make it their own. And this begins with the name of the protagonist in the book, Ram Mohammed Thomas (Hindu, Muslim, Christian), to Jamal Malik (just one Muslim). For the uninitiated, this could be a small licence to work, but to the larger understanding, it’s about purging international integrity and only focussing on one microcosm of human society. And this is only for starters.
But then, I am diverging. The reason SM isn’t such a big deal for India is also because it is definitely not the best work of music legend AR Rehman. He was most musical in Hindi films like Dil Se, Lagaan, Roja, Rangeela, Taal, Swades, Guru, Jodhaa Akbar, Yuvvraaj and most recently, Ghajini.
Ditto with Anil Kapoor. First off, AK plays a supporting character in SM unlike the lead roles he has played in several Bollywood films like Shakti, Mashaal, Meri Jung, Karma, Mr India, Woh Saat Din, Tezaab, Eeshwar, Parinda, Lamhe, Beta, 1942: A Love Story, Viraasat, Biwi No 1, Taal, Pukar, and most recently, Welcome.
The same can be said about Irrfan Khan who delivered sterling performances in Hindi films like Salaam Bombay, The Namesake, Magbool and Life in a Metro.
SM isn’t veteran lyricist Gulzar’s (who wrote ‘Jai Ho’ in SM) best work either. He is best known for his supremely divine songs in Bollywood like Mora gora ang layle (Bandini), Tera bina zindagi se koi (Aandhi), Musafir hoon yaron (Parichay) and Tujhse naraz nahi zindagi (Masoom) to name a few.
Therefore, it is but sad that the Oscar jury is handing out an award to India albeit indirectly to such stalwarts of the Indian film industry. However, if you are interested in knowing more about these four stalwarts, it is best you watch the above-mentioned Hindi films instead.