Sunday, July 26, 2009

(At last) it's written!

Year 2004 ,there was a small column in news about a book of fiction . What took my attention more than the plot was the fact that it was written by an Indian beaurocrat and that it was immediately signed up for a motion picture. I eagerly waited for the book. Saw its copy in June 2008. Did not buy it because I had no time to read.
Somewhere in September 2008 I read an Anil kapoor’s ( an Indian movie star) interview in which he mentioned about a movie off from an English director.He had no clue about the director .Though he didn’t refuse the offer When he casualy mentioned it to his son, he was astounded and told him that he was a great fan of this director and the offer is not to be refused. He accepted.
The film sweeped the golden globe awards . It was released in the theatres in early December but I was too busy again to watch it. So it’s like I didn’t get to read the book or see the movie ,I took track of for almost 4 years . Then came the biggest honour . The Oscars. The ‘Mozart of the east’ got two Oscars in one go! It was the front page news and a national frenzy. Slumdog Millionaire a motion picture directed by Danny Boyle based on Indian beurocrat Mr. Vikas Swaroop’s fiction Question and Answers was a hot news. It spoke of the misery of slum dwellers and destiny . Amidst the great frenzy and the flash lights I wondered where did the slum kids who acted in it go. The very next day I saw a complete cover up on the kids in the Hindu weekly supplement and then there was the Oscars dinner where these kids pictured with Dev Patel in the celebrity dinner. At the same time there was another Oscar for a short documentary about a girl Pinky who had a cleft lip. It showed how a surgery transformed her life. Pinky got international fame and so did the plastic surgeon who would have done that work anonymously for years. So it was a happy scenario . I almost equated it with the fairy tales we used to read and enjoy. It was like all the bits of news were reaffirming a fairy tale to me. I was ecstatic to the extent I wanted to write something on it.But I didn’t. Then when the excitement was over I thought was it not pseudo-fame for these slum kids! They reached a place even the most famous stars from India haven’t reached . They are flashing smiles in fashion shows and magazine covers . But what comes next when the media flashlight shifts to something else. They need news. They made a great show out of the murder of a fourteen year old girl and the misery of her parents for months and then it suddenly was wiped out from the scene like it never existed. It has to happen. Thereafter how do these children deal with same miserable life again , having tasted success and grandeur. While I was busy with these thoughts there came the news that the child actor Rubina’s father was arrested for trying to sell her off. So what changed in Rubina’s life? May be she was saved just because she is famous now or may be she was being sold at a high price because she is famous now. Well again I wanted to write something and again procrastinated. So I neither read the book nor saw the movie or write anything.
Last week after my exam I finally watched the movie and particularly admired the never give up attitude of the protagonist and the tenderly woven love story. The next day Rubina khan was in news again because her slum was destroyed by the municipality. I thought I must write something because it’s been long I have been postponing it.

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