Jai ho?

jai ho, err Slumdog Millionaire has been facing 2 kinds of responses for its 8 or so oscar wins. The first group is ecstatic at the Oscar loot. The second is dismissing it & saying: "Would we have got an oscar if an Indian film maker had made the movie?"

My position is quite comic. I am unhappy for the oscars since I think the movie is not quite deserving. But to the second group i express disdain, & that i shall elaborate below succinctly:

1. Oscars or Academy awards are given by the American Academy of Actors for American / british cinema (please read English if you skipped it). regional movies have a separate category for nomination where Taare didnt make it.

2. yes, bollywood has thousands of movies better than Slumdog, but none made by an American / British filmmaker. Have you ever thought that of the zillions of award functions that Bollywood hosts, how many even acknowledge world cinema, forget bestowing awards on them! We can't be complaining of injustice when we don't even reach a similar platform.

3. Maybe the movie is crap, but it dint win a filmfare or such award? so why complain? Those are not awards, and hence, not ours to comment on. The american audience votes for them. We can vote down Slumdog in filmfares if we wish.

4. my most important reaction is that a lot of Indians won the oscars today. Our best music composers & mixers won the award. Is that not good enough? They made an English film & won it? its better than making a hindi film, which they are used to, and still wining! get a perspective guys!!!