SHOULD SLUMDOG MILLIONARE BE REWARDED IN INDIA?

Walking away with 8 Oscars out of its 10 nominations, the movie, Slumdog millionaire created history not only at the Oscars but also in India. A.R.RAHMAN became the first Indian to win two academy awards(one for original score and another for the song “JAI HO”) .Resul Pookutty made it to the Oscar for sound mixing category.(Earlier only two Indians Satyajith ray and Banu atthaiya of ‘Gandhi’ fame have made their way to the academy awards). Hence, India has a reason to rejoice. But as an ardent fan of the maestro, I feel that “JAI HO’ is not the best of his compositions. A.R.R was also quoted saying the same and that he had expected an Oscar for ‘lagaan’ than for Slumdog As far as direction, script, etc. are concerned, there are many Indian movies which truly deserve an Oscar. The reason for ‘Slumdog millionaire’s recognition is that it is a British movie based on India and not from India. The negative sides of our nation have been exaggerated (like child beggars, prostitution, Hindu-Muslim conflict, shit-swimming). The movie’s recognition by the west only indicates that west likes such a portrayal of India. The western people, who have not been to India, merely take it for granted that the movie depicts the real India. At a time of economic downturn, when Indian economy is quite stable compared to that of the west, the awards have come as an opportunity for the west in devaluing our nation. And honouring such a portrayal will be the worst move from our side!