Slumdog Millionaire!!!!!!!

Hello Once again Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Reality Bites once again and today we discuss one more topic which is close to reality. Yes we are talking about none other than the much-hyped and awarded film - Slumdog Millionaire.

So before beginning let me give you a brief idea about the story of the film.
Slumdog Millionaire is the journey of a boy ( Jamal Malik) from the slums of Mumbai to the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati. The story is set in flashback mode and is an account of how Jamal a poor slum dweller knows the answers to the questions asked on the show.

What remains prominent in this journey is the condition of the downtrodden in our city Mumbai and at the same time this story is about destiny and a will to do anything for your true love. Based on the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup this tale is hard-hitting and at the same time interesting too.

Just like our blog this tale of ‘rags to riches story’ is difficult to digest because my dear friends some great philosopher had once proclaimed – ‘Reality Bites’ and this film is certainly not for the weak hearted who love typical bollywood movies. Yes, this film is about hope but its heart wrenching to see the condition of our so-called economic capital-Mumbai. In short great performances, great story and great direction is how you can sum up Slumdog Millionaire. (Oops I forgot great music by Mr. A.R.Rahman:D)

The following is a list of awards won by Slumdog Millionaire till now:

2009 Broadcast Film Critics Association The Critics' Choice Award:

Won: Best Picture
Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
Won: Best Writer – Simon Beaufoy
Won: Best Young Actor/Actress (under 21) – Dev Patel
Won: Best Composer - A.R. Rahman



2009 Chicago Film Critics Association
• Won: Best Director - Danny Boyle
• Won: Best Adapted Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy
• Won: Most Promising Performer - Dev Patel
2009 Golden Globe Awards
• Won: Best Motion Picture - Drama
• Won: Best Director - Motion Picture - Danny Boyle
• Won: Best Screenplay - Simon Beaufoy
• Won: Best Original Score - A. R. Rahman
The above are a list of some of the prominent awards won by the film. The film has won more than 60 awards till now.

But every good thing is always criticized by cynics and yes a superb film like SM has also been slammed by some of the great stalwarts of our country.

According to Mr. Amitabh Bachan:

The Indian star had said" a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations... It's just that the Slumdog Millionaire idea, authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a westerner, gets creative global recognition."
The Guardian (UK) said only a westerner could have made such an honest film. Indian producers are "fixated with making flimsy films about the lives of the middle class... Like Bachchan, they are too blind to what India really is to deal with it," it said.

Come to think about it, Amitabh is not entirely wrong. Westerners do love to see Indian poverty in fact Indian poverty still sells like hot cake in USA and UK. That is the only reason why films like Mother India, Salaam Bombay and Lagaan; all based on poverty get nominated in the Oscars.

What image of India will a 7-8 year old kid living in UK have of India when he watches this film? Films like SM might even prove to hamper the image of India which now no more is known as the third world under-developed country.

But at the same time we cannot ignore the truth because ‘TRUTH IS BITTER’ but it still persists no matter how much we try to ignore it. Dharavi is the biggest slum in Asia and that is the truth; an impoverished underbelly exists in major part of Mumbai and India and that is true and certainly we are not new to the fact that maximum percentage of our Indian population does dwell on the streets and the slums.

I feel instead of criticizing Danny Boyle (Director of Slumdog Millionare) we should try to improve the condition of our country by doing something for the poor. This movie should serve as a wake up call for the politicians. The day when we truly eradicate poverty from the face of our country will be the day when we can proclaim that – “you pathetic westerners have no right to portray our country in a negative light.”

Last but not the least some thoughts to ponder on:

1.) Why no Indian director thought of making the movie?
The answer is simple: We Indians love escapist cinema which takes us into a different world altogether. Also, the film wouldn’t have fared well at the box office.

2.) Amitabhji in numerous of your films like Deewar, you have been shown as a poor boy who becomes a criminal in order to become rich or take revenge against the society. So isn’t that making a fun of poverty and indirectly inspiring & leading unemployed poor people to the world of crime?

That’s all for this fortnight friends and before I sign out do post in your comments and yes one more important thing: let us all observe two minutes silence in the loving memory of ‘Chandni Choked Distributors’ oops I mean Chandni Chowk to China ( God save us from this

~ By Archer Akshay

Happy New Year???

First of all Happy New Year to all you guys and sorry from the bottom of my heart to write in a blog after such a long time. Well now without wasting any further time boys and girls let’s begin with today’s topic of discussion…. Happy New Year??Please don’t get confused. Yes that’s the topic of our new blog. And why not after all that we have suffered in the past year, are assured of a safe and joyful new year?

To those who have forgotten the happenings of the past year or suffer from a short-term memory loss like Mr. Aamir Khan; let me give you a quick flashback of the past year:

Following is a recap of the disastrous 2008:

5.) Financial crisis takes the world by a storm and devastates the economy of major countries.

4.) Israel declares war on Palestine resulting in mass human tragedy.

3.) Multi-budget movies with superstars bomb at the box office both in Hollywood and bollywood.

2.) Terrorism raised its ugly head again with India facing the wrath of terrorists throughout the year.

1.) Himmesh Reshammiya once again tortured millions of people with his second movie Karzzzzz (The producer has still not been able to repay the loan)

So that was a rewind of the eventful 2008. What is in store for us in the year 2009 can only be predicted by eminent astrologers. However the year 2008 also saw a few good moments:

1.) Spain emerged as the Champions in Sports by winning Euro Cup ( Soccer), Wimbeldon ( Tennis) and the Davis Cup ( Tennis).

2.) India launched Chandrayaan successfully.

3.) USA witnessed history after Barack Obama became the first Black US President.

4.) Michael Phelps an American swimmer won 14 Olympic gold medals.

5.) India emerged as the bigwigs of cricket by launching their very own 20-20 franchise ->IPL.


I just hope and pray that this year each and every country will get lots of joy and happiness. At the same time hope that the terrorists are wiped out from the face of this earth.
With a war already started (Israel-Palestinian) and a blast on 1st January in Assam, I am really afraid what will happen in 2009. But let’s be optimistic and let’s be united.
Things to watch out for in year 2009:

1.) Will India-Pak conflict result into war?

2.) Will Israel agree for a cease fire?

3.) Will Salman Khan finally settle down in life and accept that he doesn’t know how to act?

4.) Will Obama prove to be the solution to the worlds’ problems?

- Archer Akshay

Peace or War???

The objective of war is not to die for your country, but to kill the other bastard (from across the border) for his……

This is India’s 9/11 : John Mc Cain.

Rightly said Mr. Mc Cain, this is indeed India’s 9/11 and maybe war seems to be an option now. Who can forget America’s war against terrorism and the way they assaulted Taliban and Iraq. Almost five years later India seems to be in a similar state of affairs.
If the destruction of world trade centre transpired one of the biggest battles of the century than what should be the answer to almost 64 blasts in a year?

Every Indian and every Pakistani by now knows that we two countries can’t stand each other. In fact there are very few neighbouring countries in the world who can claim to be peace-loving and supportive at the same time. Sorry Shakespeare Sir, we modern fools completely disagree with your famous statement: love thy neighbour, like thou love yourself.

And to prove this fact we have a written record and a gory record of three wars with our neighbouring country. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that once upon a time we were part of one country. Following is a brief history of the wars fought against Pakistan.


The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965: It was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between India and Pakistan. This conflict became known as the ‘Second Kashmir War’ fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947. The war began following the failure of Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was designed to infiltrate forces into Jammu and Kashmir to precipitate an insurgency against rule by India. The ‘five-week’ war caused thousands of casualties on both sides. It ended in a United Nations (UN) mandated ceasefire and the subsequent issuance of the Tashkent Declaration.


The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: The 1971 war was a major military conflict between India and Pakistan. The war is closely associated with the Bangladesh Liberation War (sometimes also referred to as the Pakistani Civil War). Although there is some disagreement about the exact dates of the war, hostilities between India and Pakistan commenced officially on the evening of December 3, 1971. The armed conflict on India's western front during the period between 3 December 1971 and 16 December 1971 is called the "Indo-Pakistani War" by both the Bangladeshi and Indian armies. The war ended in the surrender of the Pakistani military after armed hostilities on two fronts.

The Kargil War: The Kargil War also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir. The cause of the war was the infiltration of Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri militants into positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC), which serves as the de facto border between the two states. During and directly after the war, Pakistan blamed the fighting entirely on independent Kashmiri insurgents, but documents left behind by casualties and later statements by Pakistan's Prime Minister and Chief of Army Staff showed involvement of Pakistani paramilitary forces, led by General Ashraf Rashid.
The Indian army launched its final attacks in the last week of July; as soon as the Drass sub-sector had been cleared of Pakistani forces, the fighting ceased on July 26. The day has since been marked as Kargil Vijay Diwas (Kargil Victory Day) in India. (Is it a mere co-incidence that the date when we achieved victory is the same as the day of the attacks?)

Current situation:

We all know what the current situation is. It’s clear where the terrorists are from. It also somewhat seems obvious that there is a Pak hand behind the attacks. So what do you’ll think? Is war the only option left?
Let me give a brief idea about the military prowess of the two nations:

India has around: 1,325,000 active troops
Pakistan has around: 620,000 active troops

India's territory: 1,269,345 sq miles
Pakistan's territory: 310,403 sq miles

Yes it’s true that India has the upper hand, but a war between the two nations will surely manage to involve the other superpowers like USA and China. And a war will definitely take India 10 years back.
And as our Prime Minister and Defense Minister have rightly stated no one wants war. As Erasmus has rightly stated “war is delightful to those who have had no experience of it.” What do we civilians know the meaning of war? The right step at this time is to wage a war against the terrorist’s camps rather than the country because even we don’t have concrete evidence right now to establish a Pak Government connection in the terror attacks.

But if when and where we find a Pakistan connection then my friends “WAR IS THE ONLY OPTION LEFT. And war won’t determine who is right or wrong but only who is left…..”



- Archer Akshay

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi:

A strict warning right from the beginning to all the readers: This is not a superhero flick.
If you want to see something different than go watch actors wearing black masks and flying in the air or better watch a futuristic movie (2050) with no story and no future. And last but not the least, SRK plays an ordinary guy in the movie.

Those guys who think SRK is not versatile and plays the same lover boy roles than friends please watch SRK’s portrayal of Surinder Sahni and you will be dumbfounded.

Story:

On the whole, the story is ordinary but the presentation of the story is excellent and the performances; OH MY GOD!! They are just brilliant. To begin with, the story begins on a somewhat clichéd path as the girl is forced to marry a boring man because of the same old traditional Majburi (majburi plays an important part in Yash Raj movies my friends).
Surinder Sahni is SRK’s best role till date and the way he has etched out this ordinary guy is really commendable. Sahni ji is a guy whom we have seen many times in our lives. He is caught in a conflict of sorts as he has to win Tani ji’s heart and achieve her love. So what does SRK do? Does he change himself for her or a new guy wins her heart and takes her away from the boring Sahniji or does Sahniji manage to win her heart in spite of his boring yet sweet lovable nature?
Let the suspense remain…

Performances and Direction:

SRK:

What should I say about SRK that hasn’t been said before? We all know he is the ultimate King of bollywood and the ease with which he moves from one character to the other is really marvelous. He surely will be the No.1 contender for this year’s best actor award. His portrayal of Surinder Sahni will remind us of the main character in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s films. This is a brave venture on his part to play a character so different from Raj and Rahul.

Anushka Sharma:

For a debutant, Anushka Sharma is a promising actor who carries of her role with confidence. After all, acting opposite the King Khan and acting in a Yash Raj movie is not an easy job and she should be applauded for her brilliant acting.

Vinay Pathak:

Apart from Surinder, Vinay Pathak’s Bobby is a surprise package. Vinay is on a roll these days with so many films under his belt and a perfect role in a Yash Raj movie adds another feather to his cap.

Director:

Adi Chopra has presented a simple story in a beautiful canvas. His command over story telling is evident throughout the film. Good direction, but the length of the film could have been trimmed a bit. On the whole he has done a brilliant job, just hope we don’t have to wait another 8 years for his next film.

Music:

The music is melodious and the song Haule Haule has repeat value. A special compliment to Salim-Sulaiman who have composed such beautiful soothing music.

Final Words:

Over all Rab Ne… is a complete package full of all the emotions and I am sure the audiences will walk away with a smile upon their face on watching this film. Go for this movie just to experience the acting prowess of SRK. He has opened the doors for the common man yet again in mainstream bollywood.

Finally, I would end on a dialogue which is mentioned in the film.
“Hum hain rahi pyar ke Phir milenge Haste Haste…”

Final verdict: Go for it, it’s worth watching…


By Archer Akshay

My Rating: ****


Some Trivia for the readers:

1.For those who feel Yash-SRK collaboration churns out the same type of movies here’s a quick past record of the duo:

Darr( A film about a grey character’s obsession with a girl)

DDLJ( A story of love without no boundaries)

Dil Toh Pagal Hai( A story set amidst dance and drama)

Mohabattein( A story of how a man takes revenge with a person who had ended his love)

Veer Zara( A story of a person who is jailed for many years for his true love)

Chak De India( A story of a hockey coach’s passion to win some lost pride and glory)

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi( A love story between an ordinary couple)


2.This is Aditya Chopra’s third film as a director.

3. Earlier Soham Kapoor was considered for Anushka’s role.

4. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi will not be releasing in Pakistan.

5. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was released without much promotion and fanfare.

Followers Comments:

The following are a list of comments you guys have expressed during our conversation in orkut. These really gives an idea of what you'll have to say related to the recent tragic incident.


I asked Ketki Vanmali: What do u have to say about the entire tragic incident.Do you also think Pak is involved considering the fact that they themselves have been the victims of terrorist attacks ?


Ketki Vanmali’s reply:

It’s as simple as "destroying thousand houses in India and then destroying one or two in their own country just to show off...."

But hats off to our coastal security system... They allow any tom dick n Harry to enter without checking... WTF are they for... any one can still attack railways, malls. If they can provide tight security to Celebes, cricketers, politicians, then are we not humans... don’t we need tight full-proof security? Till now how many politicians and Celebes have been killed in terror attacks and how many common people have been victims of these attacks.But still.... you can see 4 - 5 guards outside Amitabh's bungalow but only 1 - 2 police guards at railway station... poor thing!!!


I asked Siddharth: Why so much anger against Pakistan? (By the ways let me tell you guys Siddharth has been deeply affected by all this tragic events and has even started an anti-Pakistan community. Hats off to you man!!).


Siddharth’s reply: Pakistan sucks yaar............there is no way that this country can ever change…


Ojas Raut’s comments on the arrests of LeT leaders:

Arresting the LeT COMMANDER AND ALL SUCH THINGS ARE NOT going to change things. It should be followed by hot pursuits in Pakistan and destroying all the terrorist camps. India has to kill these bastards ASS......... because after arresting them there will be again some terrorist attacks to release these bastards.


I asked Hemal: What do you have to say about the entire tragic incident? What should we do to ensure our safety?

Hemal’s comments:

I really felt bad about the entire thing.
My school is going to have a rally done day to protest against these attacks.

I feel insecure at places like Juhu. I feel that
these terrorists should be handed over to the public.

Let us handle those heartless bastards.
They come to India damage us and themselves die
wtf
( Dear Politicians, Hemal is in ninth standard, yet he has more brains than you insensitive fools).

The above comments are an evidence to the fact that we people have had enough. Please, take a note of what we think about the system.


- By all of you.

"Politician Chor Hai" "Attack Pakistan" "NSG Zindabad”!!!!!


"Politician Chor Hai" "Attack Pakistan" "NSG Zindabad”--- These were the few but most commonly heard slogans in the Peace Rally which took place on the 3rd of December’08 at the Gateway of India.
It seemed as if entire Mumbai was present to show their support.


People expressed their opinions by wearing t-shirts that proclaimed “I love Mumbai"!
I could see anger in their eyes, ready to take on the terrorists. No fear, just hatred against them.

People of all the ages were present to show their support and love for the city. Photographers, journalists, cameramen, police officials, everyone thronged to witness an epoch-making event.

Mumbaikars were livid with rage and openly showed their angst by shouting slogans and waving placards which comprised of one message: Enough is Enough.
But one thing which was indeed heart-wrenching and that was the way everyone was in tears and paid homage to the slain victims by lighting candles.

Approximately two lakhs Mumbaities were present there which included social workers, college kids, working professionals, bollywood celebrities and many more. The only people which were absent were our Politicians and it was actually a good thing because we would not have spared you selfish power-hungry “morons.”

Whatever may be the outcome of this rally; it was indeed great to see the spirit and unity among the people of Mumbai in spite of our diversities and troubled past. But I only pray, we remain united forever and our fight against the atrocities committed by the Govt. and terrorists persists. It’s about time we woke up from our slumber and protested for our constitutionally granted birthright – ‘a safe and secure society’.

But is this enough?
Will this stop terrorism?
Rallies are to portray anger and not to take action... Or are they??
There was some action post-rally like the resignation of R.R. Patil and Vilasrao Deshmukh.
But again some politicians were elected.
Will they make a Difference or be the same like other politicians???

Should we wait for our answers or for another terrorist attack? Or should we take some action?

Fire of Revenge is still burning in our soul.

Let this fire increase and destroy our enemies.

Let us- the future of India start a NGO which will fight against all the culprits which have brought shame upon Mumbai. (Politicians included).


Please Mail me at akshata.vedak@gmail.com to help to open a NGO.

LET’S TAKE SOME ACTION NOW!!!


Some extra-ordinary slogans and placards witnessed in the rally:

We need thousand more Unnikrishnans in our country.

Declare Pakistan as a terrorist State.

Vilasrao Desh“Murkh”

Politician Chor Hai

Pakistan Murdabad


Questions that need to be answered:

Will India initiate action against the terror camps?

Why only two lakh people were present considering the fact that we have a huge population of 2 crores?

Shouldn’t we hold more rallies to show our distrust and protest towards the politicians?

Will one rally cause a change of heart in the politicians?

- By Akshata Vedak

Will the real Asif Zardari please stand up?

Mr Zardari has been making himself look foolish by asking India to show evidence of Pak citizens’ involvement and then putting guilty on trial in Pakistan, while he himself requested UN intervention to investigate murder of his wife. He himself does not trust Pakistan investigation agencies, but assuring justice to Mumbai terror attack victims. What co-operation we, India, can expect from him? His decision of first accepting the request made by India to send ISI chief to New Delhi and then reversing his decision on the pretext of ‘miscommunication’ is pitiful. His decision of not surrendering twenty most wanted personalities to India is indication that Pakistan is involved in Mumbai terror attacks.



~Vinamra Gharat