Congratulations to A.R. Rahman and Resul Pookkutty! Quite well-deserved Oscars for both of them. As for Rahman, he really deserved an Oscar for his first film, Roja, and so, this is quite late. And neither Jai ho nor any of the songs from Slumdog Millionaire can be considered his best work compared to his other 135 soundtracks. But then again, as they say, it doesn’t matter where the runs come from; better late that never for him. And for Pookutty, what a true honor for a Malayalee, for a child among eight from rural Kerala to grab an Academy Award! An inspiration to many, I’m sure.

The only thing that I wasn’t so pleased about was the movie itself. I went to see it after my friends raved about how amazing it was. Spectacular. I saw. Came out. And thought, okay. It was good, of course well worth it’s eight Oscars, but not quite spectacular. A three-hour Bollywood movie squished into 120 minutes. I felt like something was lacking. But more than that, what annoyed me was that every possible stereotype about India and about Mumbai were incorporated. The director took great liberties in distorting reality with perhaps a bit of imagination. If America was a truly cosmopolitan nation, fully understanding of the global world, I wouldn’t worry because I know they will see it as one part of India. But as of now, America isn’t that. And so, movies like these only strengthen stereotypes. Only poverty. Only slums. Only illiteracy. Only unsanitary conditions. Only India. It was a good movie but I only wish it showed a bit of the other side too.

Congrats ARR, Congrats Pookutty! And most of all, congrats Mumbai! Hope these sons of yours at least relieved a bit of pain from 26/11. They truly showed that talent has no boundaries and nature knows no borders. What a proud moment!

Note: Btw, loved how Rahman added “Ella Pugallum Iraivanukke” in his speech. So talented yet so humble!