Word: slumdog
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...favorite scene in Slumdog Millionaire comes toward the end, in the tense battle of wits between the supercilious game-show host, Prem, and the hero, Jamal. Prem expects Jamal to lose, and when he doesn't, assumes that he's cheating. Once Prem realizes that a kid from the slums might win - fairly - he angrily tosses him off to a waiting police van. "It's my show," he says. In two tight shots, with just a few lines of dialogue, the film manages to capture the ambivalence and, sometimes, anger that Indians often direct at those who don't stick...
...Watching the arc of Slumdog Millionaire's reception in India - it has moved speedily from obscurity to minor phenom to backlash to major phenom and now backlash again - I thought of all those indignant Indians denouncing the film as real-life versions of Prem the game-show host. India spent several years, and millions of dollars, promoting the story of "Incredible India," a shiny new world of prosperity, innovation and opportunity. That world certainly exists for millions of Indians, and for a while it was nice to believe that the lucky inhabitants of "rising India" would somehow lift...
...quite Slumdog's tale of rags to riches - more like shining maggots to Oscar gold. The path that led Japan to take its first Oscar in Best Foreign Language film at this week's Academy Awards started with the film's lead actor, Masahiro Motoki, contacting author Shinmon Aoki to quote a passage of his novel Coffinman: The Journal of a Buddhist Mortician in the actor's own travel diary. "Maggots are life, too," the passage, in the voice of the novel's protagonist, reads. "When I thought that, I could see the maggots shining...
...What is significant for us in India is that Rahman won two Oscars, and Pookutty won, too," says New Delhi-based film critic Vinayak Chakraborty, "This officially recognizes the power of the songs and dances of Bollywood cinema. It is debatable whether Slumdog is Rahman's best work, but it does give cognizance to Indian talent." In addition to Rahman and Pookutty, many of the film's cast are already celebrated, respected names in Indian cinema. Gulzar, who won the Oscar for best original song along with Rahman for Jai Ho, is a venerated writer, poet and lyricist; actors Anil...
...Since its release here in late January, not everyone in India warmed to Slumdog the way western viewers did. "Initially when I saw the film I didn't like the parts where people spoke English and cracked American jokes," says Tony Deol, a Mumbai-based assistant film director. "For someone in India, living in Mumbai, it rang false." Those who liked the film, however, say they hope the Academy's accolades will help mainstream good Indian cinema. "By recognizing Indian talent, I hope people in the west will realize there's more to Indian cinema than just song and dance...