The whole world is vibrating to the success and applause of Slumdog Millionaire. Can I choose to be on a different frequency? Not really. It will require too much effort and I’ll come across as prejudiced.
But here I am with my prejudice. And that is why this write-up does not appear in the review column of this website. Cause I’m here with my prejudice. I have every right to it.
Technically the film is brilliant and daring. Background score is enormous. ‘Jai ho’ very typically is a Mumbaikar’s hail embedded in Gulzar’s scintillating poetry. Acts are perfected to the T. Every frame has captured true emotions and the gory life. Probably that is why I found it disturbing. It stirs up most uncomfortable emotions and you have no choice but to complete the journey that the director intended. And in the end the coming together of lovers does placate the rocky feeling you’ve had throughout.
It is the love story that has worked for the film. Just like it did for ‘Titanic’ which too was technically magnificent, but it was the love story that made it popular.
Another dimension is that somewhere along, people have identified it with ‘the secret’ and ‘the universe conspires’ theory. Quiet surprising but yeah that identification cannot be ignored. That is, if we look at it that way.
I too am a huge fan of this magnetic theory. But I had to make a lot of effort to identify that motive in the movie. Even if it was meant that way, and people have identified forces of ‘will’ at work in that story. Unlike when I saw it, I could not locate that detail in the story. I thought the whole story was laying too much emphasis on destiny. Well, then the story does make sense. Infact, I believe that this one theory validates the conclusion. I’ll take this up under a different heading. I’m deviating here.
Coming back to the movie, to me the story was only about Jamal vs Salim or light vs dark. Did someone say triumph of love over hate? Good over evil in the end? The story itself is not compelling enough. But the message is universal.
Rehman’s music has always sounded like world music. It never sounded Indian, in the typical sense. From this very album, I like the background score for which he upped the Oscar. But that is strictly in context. I was thrilled and smiling when I was watching the sequence of children running, only and only because of this score. The throbbing feel, the texture of the sound was very living and full of life. I thought the movie had begun on a happy note! It is difficult to guess if Rehman’s inspiration had been the train or the African drums.
The other song sounded more like a squabble, except for the choreography part. With the song it seemed more like a crowd jeering than hail, really. I had to listen to it again and again to appreciate the hail spirit with which the movie was concluded. The triumph of good, or love, or the boy’s belief - I’m not sure; probably all of those. I really will have to listen to a lot more sounds before coming to appreciate this music. Because he does experiment a lot with so many genres and sounds that do not necessarily come in the category of music, but plain sounds. And still manages to blend and compose music out of those sounds. RD did that too. But Rehman has a very soulful music that just doesn’t resonate with me, especially his fast numbers. I like the more mellowed music of ‘Dreams on Fire’ though the lyrics are ordinary. I like his other songs and ‘Dreams on Fire’ is mentioned only for comparison sake here. And of course I forgot to mention, the lyrics of the songs are very typically Gulzar. I have listened enough of it yet could not appreciate it more than his other compositions. Really if it takes a SM to get appreciation for a poet like Gulzar then I reject this platform.
I hope the world listens to what we compose, in the context we compose and open up their mind to even that which is not their style. Cause what they have appreciated by means of this award is really not a masterpiece. Gulzar’s poetry has been much more stimulating all the way through. Music by Rehman had been melodious, and not a random collection of sounds.
But it really is not just Gulzar or Rehman or … or … It is the team work that worked for SM. Everyone has contributed to bring out the essence. It really is not this thing better than before or that contribution more appealing than this. It really is the complete contribution that well blended. Nothing seemed out of context, out of sync.
I think director Danny Boyle has done no different job. He just combined all ingredients. Tragedy, a love story, technical perfection, and of course blended art and sounds that captures life of Slums and Mumbai. It really wasn’t creative, but it really was daring and a perfect recipe. So how does it matter if it was made with Indian crew? Sensibility was not that of an Indian.
