Why do IITians poke their nose into everything? Do they think that they are the best that the country has to offer? Or is it that the rest of us are totally worthless? Now before you ask, why am I ranting and panting, this is about a book that I recently read... Its called Above Average, which if anything, is way below average. Probably, it’s not the author’s (Amitabha Bagchi) fault; he was just emulating what his fellow mate, Chetan Bhagat did. (He not only got away but also made tons of money with it.)
Probably, its not even Chetan’s fault that the book did well (commercially, I mean)... Probably, it’s our fault. Yes, our collective fault. The importance that we have accorded to technical education, especially engineering, is absolute madness. Just take a trip down, Hauz Khas in Delhi, and you’ll find scores of youngsters, with here- and-there moustaches with a bag carelessly slung across their shoulders, entering the numerous FIITJEEs that throng the area. Go to any school, and you’ll find half the class missing...Why? Well, they are all preparing for the entrance exams, and school studies are just not worth it!
Catch hold of one, and ask him. Why?
Just why does want to be an engineer? 6 out of ten would say, they don’t have an idea. Three would say their parents asked them do so, and one smarty-pants would push his spectacles up, look at you with an air of superiority, and would say, ‘I just love computers. So I wanna be one a Software Engineer.’ Ask him, why IIT? The answer, ‘Oh its the best...that is why.’ And what’s so good about it? They would ramble something about professors and the curriculum, and before you can ask a counter question, they would quietly slip away, making some excuse about getting late for a class or something like that.
The truth is, that none of them actually have a reason. All they know is that, IIT is the first step to a commercially successful career. IITs, IIMs, and then a plush job with Goldnam Sachs or a Lehman Bros. (Hmmm.... Wonder, if its still at the top of the list!!) Probably, their thought about the ladder is not completely wrong. But then, have we ever wondered why has success been reduced to mere numbers, and even it has been, then why all the zeroes get added only to a specific sector/profession? ( Zero...Ask Fuld!!) Why is a course that teaches you to crunch numbers being accorded a higher status than any other form of education? And is education worthwhile only if it translates into numbers? And why, only certain degrees are able to make that transition, while others are stuck at the doldrums?
These are some of the questions, that we need to think about...consciously, collectively. And if we don’t arrive at the answers soon, than probably we’ll have to live through the ignominy of reading/listening trash from people like Chetan & Amitabha, bragging...and adding to the myth.
Dir: Danny Boyle
Cast: Dev Patel, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto
Music: A R Rahman
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The Question
Slumdog Millionaire has won 10 Oscar Nominations. But why has it evoked such varied emotions
A. It is an emotional rags to riches story
B. It is the first film to depict the life of Mumbai's slums
C. It is written by an Indian
D. It is made by a white man.
The Film
'Slumdog' try typing the word on any text editor, and you'll have the spell check suggesting a typing error. Probably, it is the only space where the film is still unknown. Yes, Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire set in the slums of Mumbai, is the most talked about film at the moment. But what is it that makes it so special?
Loosely based on a an Indian bureaucrat's novel (Vikas Swarup's Q&A) about a boy from the slums winning a quiz show, the film charts the life and journey of Jamal Malik, from the gloom of Dharavi to the glitz and glamour of television. At first glance, it is a simple rags to riches story set in a Dickensian world. But look closer, and you'll find that this ain't that simple.
Although Jamal's life serves as the foreground, the film is as much about Mumbai and its sociological history, as the story of it's protagonists. Infact, not a single film in recent history has been able to capture the changing topography of India's biggest metropolis in a better way than this film. Whether it's the city's obsession with film stars or the nation's frenzy about television. Whether the nightmare of the communal riots or the city's tryst with 'development'... Slumdog has it all. And yes, that's not it all. It also manages to capture the essence of Hindi cinema, with it's numerous coincidences, 'filmi' love story... and to top it all, also has a song & dance sequence. In a sense, it's a film about opposites. And Danny Boyle has managed to generate such electricity by clashing opposites that it has managed light up a gloomy year. ( The film was released in the US & UK towards the end of 2008 )
The film uses a stream of consciousness narrative, and the finesse with which the director has incorporated the context with the text is remarkable. Loveleen Tandon, the film's Co- Director, deserves more than just a pat on the back for the perfect casting. Whether it's Ayush Khedekar as the five year old Jamal or Madhur Mittal as the teenaged Salim, no one...absolutely no one else could have performed it better. The photography by Anthony Dod Mantle is ... Beautiful...as one of the cast members said, 'He even made look shit beautiful.' It is simple, and yet it manages to make the ordinary look extraordinary. Much has been said about Rahman's compositions, but to be honest, he has given better music in other films...
The Reactions
The film premiered in India this week, but even before it was released it evoked strong reactions which ranged from adulation and glory to rage and fury. If on one hand we were enthralled by it's 10 Oscar nominations on the other hand, we were enraged by its portrayal of India. Some even went as far as calling it Poverty porn, while other have claimed that this is, perhaps, the best film, ever been made in/about India.
The Answer
We are enthralled because we need certification from the West for every little thing we do. The dabba system has been a phenomenon in Mumbai since ages, but we needed a Prince Charles to certify its efficiency. We needed a Bill Gates to realise that Indian Cuisine is great. We needed a Don Bradman’s certification before we proclaimed Sachin was God. And yes, we need the Academy of Motion Pictures to say that we make brilliant films.
We are enraged not because this film has shown poverty. We are enraged not because this film has spilt the beans about India Shining. We are enraged not because this film has showcased our hypocrisy.
We are enraged because a White Man did all of this.
The End
It’s 2.30 in the morning, and I really don’t know whether I should write this, but I just couldn’t help myself from putting down my thoughts on paper… and this is about a movie that is yet to be officially released in India… Yes, it’s about Slumdog Millionaire.
Now , this isn’t a review. This is just an extension of the overwhelming emotions that this film has evoked inside me. I have just finished watching this movie, and this undoubtedly, and I am ready to put my head on the block, is the best film that I’ve ever seen. This is the best movie ever made in/about India.
I have never ever seen any film in which the essence of the nation has been captured in a better manner, and yes, I have never ever seen such innovative cinema. Although, I know that this film is based on a book, it just reinstated my belief that Cinema is the highest form of art. Everything about this movie is better than what has ever been, and probably will ever be.
This is superlative cinema.
The narrative is fabulous. The film flows in the stream of consciousness form, and is journey of a gali ka kutta from the slums of Bombay, into the glitz and glamour of modern Mumbai. The screenplay is taut, and seems to speak the language of music…the rhythm starts slowly only to develop into a crescendo at the climax. This is text book cinema, and yet, it breaks new grounds in film-making. The film has captured the ever changing topography of the country, and has been able to paint the most realistic portrait of history, although this is a work of fiction. Long time ago, I had read a maxim which said,’ Nothing is true in history except names and dates, and everything is true in literature except names and dates’, and this film stands in testimony to that.
Slumdog Millionaire is a treatise/tribute on/to India, it’s diversity, it’s idiosyncracies and it’s hysteria. This is what cinema should be, and this is what cinema will be. I shall write no more…I can write no more. You have to watch this film to understand what going on inside me. Just a word of caution…it is a film alright, but don’t treat it like one.
