the right choice

i’ve already had my say on slumdog millionaire, and mumbai. but that was before they won, everything. on oscar night, or oscar morning in india, eight statues is a bloody sweep!

slumdog millionaire is a story that echos the vortex of constant madness that is a place called mumbai. it is both a city of love and a city of hate, caught in the endless and very real aspirations of millions.

before the film, it was a city on everyone’s lips, horrified by events now slowly fading into the digital archives of TV news channels. real life lost, live on TV. events of random death in the midst of opulent hotel ballrooms, where millionaires are welcomed by a red carpet of entitlement; a city of ordinary people who never made it home, and are now forgotten by all expect those who loved them. that was after the terror, and before the film.

after the film, it was a city on every indian lip, and with an opinion to match. a city of extravagant hope where all comers are entertained; a city of celluloid ambition where the passport to promise is an unlikely walk on a red carpet in far way los angles. a dream where the city of angles meets the city of hope.

indians are a vicarious lot and will appropriate what is not rightfully theirs, even if tenuously indian by association. we love a winner, and generously welcome all pretenders. so, like all things indo-british, this film renewed the symbiotic and convoluted relationship of two histories intertwined.

while the british celebrated their sovereignty as independent film makers over the suzerainty of hollywood; millions in india, in different ways, celebrated some of their own, genuine talent known and talent latent.

but for mumbai, the final word goes to a r rahman, an indian, who won for best original score and song. in acceptance of his oscar he said, “all my life i had a choice between hate and love. i chose love, and i am here."

photogtaphs: the oscars, live on prime time breakfast TV, bangalore, india, february 23rd, 2009