India Shining !!!

Although “India Shining” was the caption promoted by Late Sri Pramod Mahajan to bring his party (BJP) back to power in the 2004 general elections, i guess now is the time this caption fits aptly. Not for any political reasons.. but for the fact that India and Indians are remarkably doing great in the global arena these days. While posterboys like Abhinav Bindra,Ustad Zakeer Hussain, Resool Pookktty, AR R, etc have individually contributed to bring glory to the nation recently, the fact that India is one of the few nations in the world with a positive growth rate adds to the glitter. In fact, India enjoys the second position behind China, in the league of high growth rate countries. (Incidentally, the same ranking figures in the list of most populated countries.. this make me muse if population has a correlation with growth rate.... he he ). Indian IT leaders are increasingly being sought after to be appointed as the IT advisors to presidents and prime ministers of countries including the developed ones. In matters related to spirituality and holistic approaches, the world has already understood India’s prowess. Yoga , ayurveda etc have already become synonymous to peace and healthy way of life. Hence, Its apt to conclude that India has marked its presence in the global scene.... such that the world has started looking once again towards India for answers... I am sure this is only a begininning and very soon we will be enjoying the reverence and accolades we have been receiving centuries back....
Let us strive to make that happen....

Talk of the nation - Slumdog

Thanx to the continous persistence of my bro, I landed up in the balcony of Sridhar Cinemas to watch the much acclaimed Indian(?) movie …. Slumdog Millionare.

I must admit I had a lovely time enjoying the movie . The brilliance showcased by the film’s creators in its visual, audio and technical craft is indeed commendable. The movie maintained an optimum pace all along, thus ensuring the full attention of its audience, throughout its length. The director was brilliantly successful in displaying his skills in the art of filmcraft. Since I don’t intend to convert the crux of this blog into a canvas of flattery, I would rather sum up my appreciation to the technical crew by giving credits to the director, script writer, music director, the young cast and others. However, I would be insulting my conscience if I don’t  make special mention of AR Rahman who gave out yet another best in the form of the background score, to the extend that  it made me think, if Indian directors were ever successful in extracting music out of him for BGM. As is believed that talents cannot be hidden for long, I firmly believe that AR will get his due credits very soon from the global arena. Mimicking Kollywood, which is famous for giving sobriquets to film personalities, the international media has started showering praise on AR with the catchphrase ‘Mozart of Madras’. I am sure he will live upto his reputation.

But I have a strange feeling after watching the movie- Is there a single Indian in the movie other than the hero and heroine, who is portrayed positively leave alone characters with zero negatives. ( those of you, who are good at numbers would definitely wonder at this usage ‘zero negatives’, but then I am reminded of a friends dialogue to me – this is how new usages are created-Well I just wanted to convert ‘nil traces of bad character’. ) How else could you explain the exaggerated negativity in all characters ranging from the school master to the TV Host played by Anil Kapoor.  Sans the kids from the slum, I challenge the reader to point out  a character with a positive tint, in the film.

 It may be a coincidence (although, I find it difficult to believe so) that all movies portraying India as a nation of mere slums, brothels, imperialist colony etc are magnanimously appreciated by the Oscar jury and other better ones don’t find a place, even in nominations. Or is it that Oscar jury is blind at large to the tons of masterpieces from the rest of the world outside the US boundaries, for fear of… (well  I don’t precisely know fear about what, since the Yankees are ridiculed to be fearful of anything and everything ).

As the grand evening at the Oscar venue is nearing, I am sure there will be greater visibility of the movie in the media … Lets keep our fingers crossed till Feb22nd….