Is The Oscar Committee Racist

There has been a lot of talk about Slumdog Millionaire and its run at the Golden Globe as well as the nominations at the Oscars.10 Oscar Nominations including one for best picture. Don’t be surprised if it walks away with the Best Picture Oscar as well, since academy members have been raving about it.

Slumdog released in India last week, and while the reviews in the papers have been the highest I have seen in a while, I am quite surprised at the reaction of the academy towards this movie. For a Hindi movie buff, Slumdog is just another commercial pot-boiler. There are several movies like this release in India every year and none of them make it to the Oscar nominations. Sample this Taare Zameen Par, a movie reviewed on DelhiPlanet earlier, was in the race for the Oscars and never made it to the nomination category. To me this movie was one of the best movies produced and directed in cinema.

Thoughts to ponder over are What if a movie like Taare Zameen Par (TZP), a movie which showcases the story of eight year old Ishaan (Darsheel Safary) who suffers greatly until a teacher (Aamir Khan) identifies him as dyslexic, was directed by a Danny Boyle or a Steven Spielberg. What if a Slumdog Millionaire was directed by an Aamir Khan or a Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Would Taare Zameen Par still have had the same effect on the Oscar commitee or would Slumdog Millionaire still have wowed the audiences at the Golden Globes or Oscars.

Personally I feel that there are at least 5 movies every year which are as good as a Slumdog Millionaire or even better. But they never make it to the Oscars. Then comes along a movie like TZP, which is a movie above all of the regular commercial fare, and that is booted out of the Oscars. Pity!!

Anyways, for now, if you have not seen Slumdog Millionaire, go watch it. It depicts India in a manner which is really a true depiction. Maybe that’s why the audiences in the west are enjoying it, they seldom get to see movies which depict real life so well.