AR Rahman has won his first golden globe and all of us are shouting from the rooftop that he has done us proud.
Yes indeed, but let me play the devil’s advocate and ask you the question, how many of us have actually listened to the soundtrack of SM? (I am not talking about NRIs here). Many of us who have not listened to the soundtrack are now predicting that he would even get an Oscar!
My opinion: AR Rahman is a genius and he does not need a Golden Globe to prove that. I have not listened to SM so far, so I cannot form an opinion for sure if he deserved it. What I can surely say is that he deserved the biggest of awards for his score in Roja, Thiruda Thiruda, Kannathil Muthamittal, Dil Se, Alaipayudhe, Rang De Basanti, Minsara Kanavu, Kandukonden Kandukonden, Lagaan, Swades, Bombay Dreams, 1947 Earth..the list is huge. Does a Golden globe change our perception of him? We do not need a golden globe to recognize his talent. But I notice that many of us (by us, I mean Indians) do not comprehend the magnitude of talent that is available with us. All of us went ga-ga when Elizabeth was nominated for 7 Oscars. Did we even think about what a talent Shekar Kapur was/is, before Elizabeth? I remember only bad things said about Shekar before Elizabeth. After Elizabeth, he has not won any award..does that make him a lesser filmmaker? In my opinion, his ‘Four feathers’ and ‘Golden Age’ were equally good films. And so were Mr. India and Masoom.
It is unfortunate that many of us badmouth our geniuses and need West to recognize their contribution. I have several examples. Take any blog about Kamal Hassan, there are at least a few comments which criticize him - that he hams, that he wants to project only himself etc. A performace like Mahanadhi, Guna, Hey Ram and Virumandi anyday can be compared to the best in the West(or East). Yet we ridicule him saying that his ambition is to win an Oscar.
Ilayaraja..After Subramaniabharathi, this is one artiste who has never been given his due(by the State, by the society at large). We are doing a big mistake by not appreciating the kind of talent that Raja is. There are many die hard fans of Raja and I am sure they would object to my opinion, but can you justify not giving a Padmashree to a talent like this man, who has contributed for the last three decades?
AR Rahman himself – Do you know that ARR was ridiculed for his background music when he initially entered films? Just watch Roja now and you will understand how his music enhances the film. Dil Se, 1947 Earth, Golden Age – a number of films where the BGM has been exceptional.
K. Viswanath – The contribution of this genius to Telugu Cinema has never been appreciated by the ‘Neo Pan Indian’ media and therefore his genius has never come to limelight outside AP, and to some extent, Tamilnadu. At a time when films all over India were nothing but Masala potboilers, he thought of Sankarabaranam, a carnatic musical. He had the comprehension to rope in KVM for music and the master stroke was to rope in SPBalu for rendition of songs. Sagara Sangamam, Swathi Muthyam – such gems…!
I am not much aware of Malayalam films, but in whatever I have seen, Mohanlal and Mamooty are no lesser than any talent that is ruling the world today.
And to top it all, Bachchan’s over the top performance in Agneepath. After he won the National Award for it, so many people criticised him. Yet today we are praising Slumdog and from whatever I have seen bits and peices of it, it just looks like a ‘Classic over the top’ Indian masala film.
Does it mean that the Golden Globe is not important..Let us put this in perspective. The GG is important. In two aspects. Any recognition is inspiration for an artist and therefore as a recognition it is important. Also, a GG or an Oscar enhances the business potential of a film. It enhances visibility for the GG/Oscar winner’s other works. Once an Indian gets a Golden globe or an Oscar, it opens a lot of business avenues for Indian filmmakers across the globe. Mind you, these are two important benefits that we get from a GG or an Oscar and I am not undermining that. Today the news is out that Taare Zameen Par is out of the Oscar race. It is not in the top 9 shortlisted films by the academy. With due respects to the academy and to the shortlisted other 9 films, Academywaalon, we respect your decision, but I personally think that most of your members have either not watched our film or have not comprehended it completely.
Let us not wait for GGs and Oscars to appreciate huge talents that we have amidst us. I am happy for Rahman, the kind of genius that he is, this is only another beginning for him. But make no mistake, GG or no GG, Oscar or no Oscar, he is one of the best of all times! And so are our own Kamal, Raja, Mani, Mammooka, Lal sir, K Viswanath, Naseer saab and many others. Oscar and GG – Yeah, you are welcome, it enhances our business potential, it gives us a good feeling, but thanks – we have people who have given better performances than some of the GG and Oscar winning performances.
Originally posted in www.passionforcinema.com
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