I am not at all surprised by the elimination of Devdas from the Oscar foreign film category. Devdas and Lagaan are class apart. One cannot compare Lagaan with Devdas. This movie never comes to near of Lagaan. The acting by couple of actors was another horrible. One cannot compare the acting of SRKhan with AKhan, not even to the acting with the spin bowler in the tead. I wonder why it was selected to Oscar nomination. It was true that it was one of good movies produced in Bollywood in year 2002.
Aamir Khan and Lagaan team great show. We are waiting for your next movie, another Lagaan...
One wonders why such a movie should aspire for an Oscar? If I remember correctly, during its Cannes sojourn someone a critic)commented that the sets of the movie should please Imelda Marcos! With such an opinion in the West, Devdas was destined to a rejection. Why the Oscars, it was rejected in India outrightly.
It brings out another question. Why this new craze to be 'accepted ' by the Academy and its courtiers? Why should the Indian movie industry need a stamp of approval at all from America? Oscars are American, for America by America. Hollywood is not the center of the Universe. It has its own grand awards ceremony just as it has its own idiosyncracies . That Hollywood is a grand dream factory with billions put in, makes the Oscars a worldwide show. Otherwise, it is just another American televison reality show on an annual re-run.
This obsession of qualfying with an Oscar brings out a very desperate and low self-esteemed nature of us Indians. We crave for recognition and go crawling all over to Los Angeles to beg for it on behalf of entire India. We put the stamp of India on a movie and sell India! For God's sake! A movie is just a movie. If good, it stands by itself, represents itself and is a creation. If bad, it goes into the cans. The Mona Lisa isn't Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa or Italy's Mona Lisa. Just Mona Lisa. A creation with its own identity apart from its creator's. A good movie is similar. It needs no stamps of approval. Nor does Bollywood. It stands on its own.
We make movies for money for heaven's sake. It is our industry, our way and our entertainment. Why do we need someone from the West to come and take a look and say Well Done! Keep It That Way My Boy. The problem is we do not have an academy of motion pictures. Just a dozen award ceremonies with a market brand name in front of each one of them. We have no Cannes, no Golden Bears and no BAFTA. The IFFI is a mis-management in study. Our great Bollywood (We even plagiarised the name of Hollywood) does nothing to maintain it or run it or even support it. The National Awards are the only saving grace, but these days they too are tainted.
My advice to all, lets have our own Academy for judging movies and our own Cannes for exposure to foreign films. Professionally done, with full participation from Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood or any other wood. Then we stand by ourselves
RE:Why the Oscars
by Rima Harjee on Feb 15, 2003 12:46 AM
Of all the messages posted here regarding Devdas and the Oscars, this is the only one worth reading. All others are either defending the movie or the decisions made to discard Devdas.
Really, why does an Indian movie needs an Oscar award?? Are the Indian directors/producers creating movies to please the foreigners or are they doing it for themselves?
Bansali's Devdas is a lousy film. Just spending money and grandeur doesn't fool people. Nor does the comment that Devdas lost because it had the story of a loser (then what about the movie "Life is Beautiful"). Getting an Oscar nomination is not like buying those deshi best actor and actress award for Shah Rukh and Aiswarya Rai. Shah Rukh was absurd, and so was Aiswarya in the movie. The only good piece of acting had come from Madhuri Dixit. Shame on the new Devdas movie, Bansali, and his team (except Madhuri Dixit.)
while lagaan showed the greatness of fighting spirit and belief in one self and true altruism.. Devadas showed the stupidity of the human spirit when getting attached to and becomes too selfish in a way.
In my opinion that film leaves the audience depressed i don't know if any film which does that can go to great hieghts also devadass should not have been sent for oscar though it was great in terms of setting and artistic sense of the setting.
