The 2009 Academy Awards

Not a lot of surprises on the winners front. Hugh Jackman was a competent host but I missed the humour of the previous ceremonies. The 2007 show was my favorite. Ellen Degeneres as the host was funny and pleasantly irreverent. Plus there were some killer sequences by the shadow dance group (if you could call them that) Pilobolus; if you haven’t seen them check them out on youtube- they are freaking amazing.

I’m sure having 5 previous winners introduce the nominees in the acting categories seemed like a good idea on paper- it didn’t translate that well on the stage though. The process seemed sickeningly indulgent not to mention time consuming. I’d have preferred to have complete versions of the nominated original songs even though the medley was pretty good.

In any other year Slumdog Millionaire wouldn’t have won Best Adapted Screenplay- being one of the film’s low points. But I guess with the bunch of screenplays nominated this year, it seemed like the best choice: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was too much like Forrest Gump, both written by Eric Roth; Doubt adapted from a play which can be considered easier that adapting from a book; Frost/Nixon again adapted from a play and is almost a verbatim representation of the interviews it is based on; The Reader was a story many people couldn’t sympathise with. Add the fact that Slumdog went on to win the Best Picture Award, the screenplay award was pretty obvious.

The biggest surprise for me was Departures winning the best foreign language film- I thought Waltz with Bashir was a sureshot winner with Cannes winner The Class as a possible longshot. Sean Penn’s win, though not entirely unexpected, was also a “huh???” moment for me. And it was fun to see Danny Boyle jumping on stage “in the spirit of Tigger”, Kate Winslet’s dad whistling for her to make out where he was seated and the entire Slumdog team on stage for the Best Picture Award. If only the Academy had decided to nominate Wall E and The Dark Knight in the Best Picture category, Slumdog Millionaire would’ve had tough competition. Wall E was arguably the best film last year but the Academy conveniently relegated it to the animation category. As for Dark Knight, if it’s leading man was not a superhero but an ordinary conflicted person it would’ve struck Oscar gold or at least a nomination. Guess a record-breaking blockbuster comic book movie didn’t seem serious enough for the Academy members.

The best moment of the show was when Philip Petit, the man who walked the tightrope across the 2 towers of the WTC and the subject of the winning documentary feature Man on Wire bounced on stage, did a disappearing coin trick and then balanced the Oscar statuette on his chin. That’s one spontaneous performer.

The Slumdog Millionaire Rollercoaster……

Has finally reached its pinnacle. From late last year, this picture had been building up an anticipation I’ve never felt before. I saw it last month and its very obvious flaws notwithstanding, I knew I’d like to see it triumphant at the Oscars.

Let’s talk about the movie before getting down to dissect its Oscar fortune. As the name of the movie is splashed across the green banian of a cricket playing kid with the strains of the magnificent O Saaya playing in the background, I knew I was watching something special. That whole sequence is my favorite in the movie. Trust Danny Boyle to throw you into the madness headlong- it’s exhilarating. There’s this bit in the sequence where the camera moves out from showing a small portion of the slums from above to a bigger one, then even bigger and finally encompasses the entire slum seen in its blue and grey roofed patchwork glory. Freeze that shot and it looks like a painting.

The movie works because of its upbeat spirit which effectively comes through. The passion of those working in it and especially of the director is seeped into the movie. It is not perfect cinema but it’s honest- you know that it’s been made with a lot of love and commitment.

I read Q & A when it first came out in 2005- it seemed like an OK book but nothing great. 3 years later it’s inspired the year’s cinematic sensation. The book was not such a great success judging by the fact that the book is now titled Slumdog Millionaire (with a small mention “previously published as Q & A”) trying to cash in on the movie’s fame. I never thought it would make an Oscar worthy movie- it was too filmy. But after watching the movie, I realize it’s not so much about the story as about the way it’s told.

The flaws are obvious- the most glaring being the dodgy screenplay. The book was taut if not anything else. It would’ve been more plausible had they had shown every question that Jamal answers. I have this feeling that Simon Beaufoy compromised on the logic part to play on the emotions. It’s not the best of adaptations but the pace of the movie and the positives manage to make up for it- just about.

The main characters of Jamal and Latika are not well fleshed out- their bond doesn’t really come across. You can’t really grasp the depth of their relationship. Jamal, while in the youngest avatar is a sprightly little kid, grows to be a nondescript, uninteresting character. My favorite character is that of Salim. His is well etched character- family loving but with an inherent mean streak. That scene where he sells off Jamal's precious Amitabh Bachchan autograph is intantly chilling but that's what makes the character very real. Though I wish Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala had played the adolescent Salim better- it felt like he was just mouthing some theatre lines.

That brings me to a small niggling flaw- the jarring switch from Hindi to English as the brothers move from childhood to adolescence. The English sounds so forced and affected after the unfettered Hindi dialogues. Or else they should’ve stuck to making the entire film in English- it would’ve maintained the continuum.

Slumdog isn’t a movie about individual performances- I’m actually surprised that Dev Patel and Freida Pinto got nominated at a few awards. Freida had nothing much to do- her real test would be the Woody Allen movie. Nor do I feel is Slumdog a movie about Mumbai- though the city is a very apt setting for the curve of the story. All the print space taken up by how Mumbai has been shown in a bad light, blah, blah, blah were all just beside the point. Critics might have made a far more stronger case out of the screenplay loopholes.

As a cinematic experience though, Slumdog triumphs in a big way. The cinematography is dynamic and the editing crisp- you feel as if the camera shots are choreographed to the background score. And what a score it is! Rahman has done better earlier but the way his score has been used in the movie is a feat to be seen. He totally deserves all the accolades he’s received.

But I reserve my highest praise for Danny Boyle. He must be a magician to create a heartfelt movie from a not-so-good piece of writing. Plus he looks like a fun person- not like the dour, philosophical types.

To everybody who hasn’t seen Slumdog Millionaire- go watch it. If you could watch it without any prejudices (I know that’s tough with all the hype surrounding it), you’ll love it. To those who have seen it- watch it again, even if only to get high on the O Saaya sequence.

10 Oscar nominations….

....for Slumdog Millionaire in 9 categories (2 in the best original song category). I can hardly wait for 23^rd Feb to come. I was expecting 7 nods (hadn’t accounted for sound mixing and sound effects editing). Though I’m bursting with a lot of adrenaline and a whole lot of things to say, I’ll reserve comment till D-day. But here are my Oscar predictions anyway. I haven’t seen any nominated movie save The Dark Knight, WALL-E, Kung fu Panda, Wanted and will soon watch Slumdog. These are based on other awards received and the award buzz. Can’t predict the technical awards for same reasons.

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire. Without WALL-E as competition it is a shoo-in for the top prize.

Best Director: Danny Boyle; David Fincher might spoil the party though.

Best Actor in a leading role: would be a face off between Mickey Rourke & Sean Penn. I would say Mickey Rourke.

Best Actress in a leading role: Wide open field. The one sure thing-Angelina ain’t getting it. Kate Winslet would’ve been my bet if she were nominated for Revolutionary Road but with The Reader can’t be too sure. Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway would be strong contenders.

Best Actor in a supporting role: Heath Ledger. If not for his demise, I would’ve said Josh Brolin.

Best Actress in a supporting role: Penelope Cruz. This one's the toughest category this year.

Best Foreign Language Film: Waltz with Bashir

Best Original Score: A.R. Rahman. But i have a niggling feeling that Thomas Newman for WALL-E might just stop Rahman.

Best Original Song: Jai ho. (If it does, Rahman gets 2 plus one for Gulzar). Then again Slumdog's got 2 nods in this category- so, by default, the award might fo to Down to Earth from WALL-E. I’m surprised there are just 3 nominees. But I am pleasantly surprised to see O Saaya among the nominees. When I first heard it, I thought now this feels like a song made just for the movie with the train-moving-on –tracks like beat. It would be great to see Rahman, Sukhwinder Singh and others performing them come Oscar night- another thing to look forward to.

Best Animated Feature: This one’s a no brainer- WALL-E

I’ll just keep my fingers crossed till D-day. Meanwhile I have a date with Slumdog Millionaire on Sunday.

YAY!!!

A. R. Rahman won the Golden Globe- one of the 4 awards for Slumdog Millionaire. Can anything top this……..the Oscar would!!!!! I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

The appeal of Mills & Boon

No, this isn’t about literary worth of the Mills & Boon novels (MBs as readers refer to them) - there is none. MBs, in most girls’ lives, is a phase that passes as soon as she scores her first real boyfriend. But over the years, I’ve discussed about them quite a few times during idle times when you discuss about the silliest possible things. And now while reading one I was chewing on those discussions. Yes, I haven’t passed that phase, I’m still hooked to reading them and I doubt I’ll ever get over them even when I have kids of my own.

I was inducted into the Mills & Boon reading club at the behest of a guy…..Yes- I’m not kidding…a GUY!!!! I was in the 11^th standard then and he was a final year student at Cotton College, Guwahati. The two of us were partners for a TV quiz show and we were making polite conversation while returning- the “how many siblings do you have”, “what are your interests” type. “Reading” was my answer to the last question.

“Do you read Mills & Boon?”

“No, I haven’t read even one.” (At least I didn’t answer “Duh….what’s that?” I knew what he was talking about.)

“What??!!! You haven’t read an MB being a girl???!!!”

“Ummm…..no…..”

“Go back to the hostel, search for one and read it.”

End of discussion- we moved on to other topics. I believe he didn’t mean to be smarmy or lecherous- it felt more like “it’s a rite of passage- you ought to read it once.” I got back, luckily found one the very same day and more fortunately, liked the first MB I ever read. I still remember the story (if you could call it one)- about a blind guy and his trainer.

I’ve had many reactions from various people regarding them. In Bhopal, there were those who read them like any other book including some fanatics- one of my seniors had 500 MBs; those who read them sneakily (covering them with newspaper- and no, it wasn’t to keep the book in pristine condition but to hide their steamy front covers; those who were too prim and propah to read them and looked at the first category with shock & mild horror. And then there were those who hated them- mostly boys.But that’s understandable.

One of the best descriptions of MBs came from a friend of mine. A group of us were going home by the same train. This friend had come to see us off. I and another friend (a guy) went over to a book kiosk on the platform. I bought an MB after making quite a fuss about getting a good one. He asked me what they were all about. I explained it was a romance- he didn’t seem to get it (or rather get the fuss I made about it). The other friend quips from behind us “Arre, ye ladkiyon ka Debonair hai.”

I laughed….though I wasn’t supposed to- “how could you laugh at something even remotely sexual” would have been the general refrain by the college know-alls (remember, this was Bhopal). Anyways, when I came to think of it I couldn’t help but agree. MBs are generally a girl’s first steps to knowing about sex and the like as X rated mags are for boys. Women need to hear the words; men need to see the…..ahem…. “stuff.”

Another funny portrayal was given by another friend- this time a girl who’d obviously grown out of them. It was along these lines (not word-for-word though- blame my memory):

Pg 3- first meeting

Pg 15- first argumentative kiss

Pg 25- “almost” made love

Pg 50- first “bang” (her words, not mine)

Pg 80- Big misunderstanding after everything was going hunky dory for some time

Pg 100- Breakup sex

Pg 130- Confrontation after a bit of mooning around for the love lost

Pg 135- Misunderstanding cleared up (should never have jumped to quick conclusions)

Pg 140- Final “bang”

Pg 150- Epilogue- usually ending in marriage or a baby

Then they also have these types of MBs- the really hot ones (red cover); sweet ones featuring a cute family (pink cover); medical romance featuring doctors and nurses…why the prejudice against other professions? (green cover); modern romance featuring billionaire guys and ordinary girls (blue cover and they have really embarrassing and sexist titles- “The Billionaire’s Virgin Bride” anyone?); the intrigue series (purple cover and my favourite series- a mix of romance and suspense); historical romance (another shade of purple and I hate them…what’s with the m’lord and m’lady business). The hero is, without exception, good looking and perfect everywhere save for a slight streak of chauvinism while the heroines (yucks!! Bad choice of words) are at many times really ordinary. All MB authors are women- that explains it and the fact that they arealways from the heroine’s point of view. What I’d really like to read is a story from the guy’s perspective. Maybe someday…..

MBs do serve some purpose though. I remember reading one which had the protagonists having phone sex and going “Ah…so that’s what it is.” On the flipside though, they are a bit “fairy-tale”ish and paint a perfect picture of love. I know they’ve spoilt me- I won’t settle for anything less that a real life counterpart of the MB hero. But I’d choose an MB anyday over a “filmy” or “fashion” mag, they make me feel good on a bad day and let me escape into a fantasy world for a short time. So I guess I don’t even want to get over them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

That's the view from my balcony at 9:30 in the morning on 2nd Jan. Delhi is pleasantly cold now after a brief period of bone-chilling cold and terrible fog at the new year. I love this time of the year- makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

This year will be a good one- I can feel it in my bones. God (or any other higher power) knows that we need something to cheer us up after last year. Let's hope we are a little wiser now after our past year's follies.

Experiments with Vietnamese Coffee

I’d been traveling the week before last- I was in Hyderabad for a conference. I’ll spare you the academic details. It wasn’t such a great conference though there were a few good presentations. The only good thing (..ok, one of the good things other than the stimulating???!! conversations) that came out of the visit was that I had access to the idiot box and I got to watch a nice, feel-good French romantic comedy called “Comme t’y es belle” ( “Hey good looking” in English).

I know I’m cribbing, but I’ve good reason- there was no pick up at the station (at 4:45 am). But that’s a minor offence. I had to carry 2 humungous posters for the scheduled exhibition there that couldn’t be folded and necessitated a coolie at all the stations. I put up the posters and later saw that the exhibition was scrapped (by default, as there were only 3 entries). The venue and my accommodation- the Taramati Baradari Cultural Complex- was picturesque enough but not somewhere you’d like to be cooped up for 3 days. It was far away from everything- no auto or taxis around, you can only call for a cab and that costs a bomb. So I was stuck there with no place to go.

Got to see the Golconda Fort Sound and Light Show, that like other such shows, starts impressively but fizzles out later- how many times can you light up the same structures for dramatic effect? It reminds me of the repeated face close-ups accompanied with thunderclaps in the saas bahu soaps. I’m pretty sure they could come up with interesting ways to showcase these monuments- laser shows perhaps. Amitabh Bachchan’s voice does sound extremely impressive and majestic in such surroundings though. (I thought he endorsed UP tourism).

While I was cooling my heels in Hyderabad, my boss was in Vietnam for a workshop with the authorities there regarding the design of rural pre-schools. The workshop was a success- at least one of us had a good time. I’d asked him to bring a Vietnamese coffee filter (I’d googled about Vietnamese specialties) which he thankfully remembered. We got down to it yesterday and though the coffee tastes good it takes forever to drip through the filter. You see, Vietnamese coffee preparation consists of pouring some condensed milk in a cup and then pouring hot water through the filter containing ground (not instant) coffee. The water is supposed to drip and not stream through- that’s a good 10 minutes per cup……. I don’t think our office boy will ever prepare Vietnamese coffee again.

I’ll leave with a recommendation- go listen to the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. It’s not the usual Rahmanesque sound but it’ll grow on you- it’s sheer genius. And the Jai Ho track is phenomenal.