Slumdog Millionaire-Its just a good movie
Hi guys!
I didn’t know that the Slumdog Millionaire has become such a big issue. NDTV was doing a show on it today. I was surprised at the kind of discussion NDTV anchor was trying to generate. He was asking whether Hollywood should make more movies on India? What are the lessons to be learnt from this episode? The answers that the panel was giving were as ridiculous as the questions. On suggestion was that we should more degree and schools to teach all aspects of film making. Another was saying that multiplexes are good for the film industry. The debate was just going around in circles.
Let me tell you what I think. One Hindi movies do not have any story (except for a few) and Slumdog Millionaire has an excellent script as pointed out by Kakkad, a film maker. I have stopped seeling Hindi movies because there is no story. The story is the most important part of the film. If the story is good, even the acting and direction looks good. Long time back, I learnt a lesson from the chairman of a company in US. He indirectly told me how to tell a convincing story while commenting on my presentation. Once convinced of his suggestion, I converted the idea into a book titled “80/20 rule of communicating your ideas effectively.” If your story is good, 80% of the job is done. What the Indian film makers need to do is get a good story.
The second thing about the movie is its direction. Hollywood has the capability to show reality. Their scenes do not look artificial as they do in Hindi movies. As mentioned in my previous post on the subject, Anurag Kashyap, Director describes it well when he says, “What we show our viewers is complete sham. Even a jobless guy finding it difficult to make ends meet is just too well dressed in our movies.” The second thing that Bollywood directors need to do is build their capability to show reality in the Hindi movies.
Avinash Narula
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
Hi Guys!
I was telling my wife yesterday that we will need to see Slum Dog Millionaire because the comments that I have received on this subject are at two extremes. One set of comments say that the movie is good while the other suggests that the movie is not showing reality. What a controversial film? But one thing that everybody seems to agree upon is Rahman’s music is fantastic.
However, the focus of criticism has been on what has been shown as a slum. But I think that if a movie has been nominated for Oscars, it has to have good direction, a good story or script (which is what is missing in Hindi movies) and a message. Why has nobody focused on these issues?
I think a good movie should have a good story which should be presented in a manner that everything looks possible and realistic. I remember the movie (foegetting the name) where it is shown how climate change covered countries like US with snow and the president of US had to take refuge in Mexico. I think that the movie had a good story, a warning about what climate change can do. To some it may be hard to believe but it was shown very realistically.
I hope people focus on not just the slums but the whole story and what they felt when they came out ofthe cinema halls.
avinash narula
Loading ...
I saw Slumdog Millionaire today. Boyle has really done a good job with this movie. While the movie deals with the gory details of the underbelly of Mumbai, it doesnt really leave you with a sick feeling. The story feels like a commentary and at the end you just feel good about the whole movie. Very well done I must say.
The music score by Rehman is amazing, the actors who played junior Jamal and Salim were the real stars. They were simply too good. Freida Pinto had just 15 mins of screen presence. I think she was overhyped.
Reply