Click to play videoIt was an incredible night at the Oscars gala in Los Angeles. Slumdog Millionaire swept eight of the most coveted honours at the Academy Awards 2009 on February 22. India's celebrated music director AR Rahman took two Oscars. Rahman's first Oscar was for the best original score. Rahman also shared the Oscar for best song, Jai Ho with Gulzar, a celebrated poet-lyricist. More cheer awaited India as Resul Pookutty's Oscar for best sound mixing created a record of sorts.
Suddenly, India's ample technical and creative talent in film making was at the centrestage in the world. Everyone sat up and took note of the sweep of Indian cinema. With recognition comes acknowledgement and opportunities.
CNN-IBN quizzed actors Shabana Azmi, Kamala Haasan and composer Ehsaan on the big haul at the Oscars and what it means for Indian cinema.
CNN-IBN: What does this day mean for Indian cinema? A film based on India with AR Rahman winning for his music, Gulzar winning for the lyrics, Resul Pookutty winning... what does it mean?
Shabana Azmi: It is celebration time. It is absolutely delightful and I congratulate all of them from the bottom of my heart. For me obviously this opens doors for Indian cinema. But to me the most important thing about Slumdog Millionaire winning the Oscars is that the slum dwellers sense of self esteem is now heightened. It gives the world a big picture of the slum dwellers, which is different from the one they are used to. It is largely that they are the scum of the earth and that they don't do any work and they are not to be respected and along comes this film, shows the truth as it is and makes you realise the resilience and the spirit of the people who live in slums.
CNN-IBN: Will the lives of people living in slums change or should this be just taken as cinema?
Shabana Azmi: No, no! There lives are not going to change because of this film. They are not going to get more money; they are not going to start living in better houses overnight. There is no magic wand. But definitely perceptions of them will change to a little degree and that's all that art can do. It can create a climate of sensitivity in which it is possible for change to occur and that change occurring in perception about people who live in the slums and work towards the city... to me is the most magnificent achievement of all.
CNN-IBN: The movie uses Indian landscape, uses Indian actors and is set in India. Does this do anything for Indian cinema? Do we call it and Indian victory?
Kamala Haasan: We should allow this baby steps and we should take step by step but this day means something to Danny Boyle, Rahman and to an extent some of the Indians. But it doesn't mean anything to Indian cinema till Indian cinema tries to make quality films. So when it does that, it will deserve the recognition and it doesn't mean that we are not making quality cinemas. We are not respecting quality cinemas as it should be. That is because content might be king but placement is very important. S you have to place good cinema in the right perspective. I am talking about the distributors, investors and the producers of good cinema. If you good think of good cinema as won't do well, it is the general opinion that film acha hai par nahi chalega (film is good but won’t be a hit)… this is a bad attitude. You are not a businessman, you are an audience. That should change and when that changes and everyone wants to get into the share market business of cinema that is silly. That is not what cinema is all about. It is an art and you should enjoy it like that and every cinema is art and every art cinema is cinema. We don’t know what they mean by art cinema nahi chalega kind of a thing. Everything is changing now.
CNN-IBN: Shabana Azmi would you respond to that? There is no art cinema, there is no commercial cinema and Slumdog is a British film and British film industry should be very, very happy today.
Shabana Azmi: Yes! Absolutely I agree and I agree with everything that Kamala Haasan said. But I also see this as a step towards Indian film makers and Indian film industry recognising that they are just a step away. What has happened is that we have 1 billion viewers, we have such a large audience but Indian filmmakers haven't really aspired to reach out to audience beyond the domestic audience. All that is changing now. Rahman is a genius and international recognition would come his way. But Resul Pookutty getting it is very important because it opens the doors for the technicians and world gets to know that the technician is the winners here. As for Gulzar saab, I have been trying to get him, but I don't know where he is hiding.
CNN-IBN: Ehsaan what is it about Rahman that makes him so special?
Ehsaan: Well, nobody is more deserving than Rahman to get this awards. He is complete musician. Music, song writing every aspect of music is covered by Rahman. More than anything he is a lovely human being and I do believe that good human beings make the best music and he has got his accolades. You can't get a higher award for film music than the Oscars. I am sure he will be nominated for the Grammy’s and something will happen at the Grammy’s too.
CNN-IBN: But many would say that Jai Ho is not the greatest music made by Rahman. Is it just that Indian music has arrived on world stage?
Ehsaan: Well the thing is that when you are working for a director and in this case he is working for Danny Boyle... he will respond to certain kind of music and Danny Boyle liked that. So it is pretty fair. You cannot say it is a bad tune or not his best but it has good music and now the western market is aware that Indian can write good music.
CNN-IBN: Shabana can we use the music in the larger film context? The world is opening up to Indian sounds. As Rahman said this is not even an iota of talent that the current Indian music has. Can we use that example for the larger film industry?
Shabana Azmi: Of course there is a lot of talent that we have but we make films that are completely different from the rest of the world and especially for western audiences. If we aspire for our films to reach out to western and other audiences then there are certainly some changes that we will have bring in. I think that the crossover film will come from the alternative cinema. To my mind the mainstream cinema will take some time before it becomes totally palatable although in every aspect we have the ability to reach out. But I do want to say about Rahman that he is a genius and is informed by his spirituality and that is what makes him special.
CNN-IBN: What makes Rahman so special?
Kamala Haasan: What makes Rahman special is he is truly international. He listens to international music. He has only necessary amount of audacity not arrogance. He's audacious enough to go and do something different, he challenges himself and tries to raise the bar and not in a self-serving manner. He's very careful. He listens to people, he wants it to win. At the same time he maintains quality. It is a very difficult balancing act and he has been doing it very successfully so far.
CNN-IBN: Ehsaan would you share that? Now as a result other music directors including you would look out to reach world cinema. It is no longer about Bollywood or composing songs for Indian cinema but doing perhaps the kind of music that is truly international.
Ehsaan: Yeah for sure. But we also have the advantage of having a film from Hollywood that has come Rahman’s way to do. I think it is very important that many of our films get nominated and go to the Oscars where we can do music and get international recognition in the same way.
CNN-IBN: Shabana, some say it is a celebration of poverty. The controversy is that Slumdog Millionaire somewhere sells poverty. It provides a sense of India that fits with the western stereotypes. Respond to that.
Shabana Azmi: Yes this criticism has been coming the way of the films, let us remember, from Pather Panchali onwards when Satyajit Ray first started making his realistic cinema. Although I can understand certain degree of anguish but I find it comical because the world doesn’t need Slumdog Millionaire to know that 65-70 per cent of the city lives in the slums. To me what is heartening is that you show a side of Mumbai which is very real, which is shorn of all the sentimentalities. It doesn’t say that all the poor of the world have a heart of gold automatically. They show them as really pulsating people. But what comes across is resilience and the ability to fight back and the ability to dream and achieve a dream. It is a huge inspiration. I love Mumbai. It is my most favourite city in the world.
CNN-IBN: The Oscars don’t reward popularity but they rewards good cinema. Had the same film be made by an Indian director on poverty, do you see it winning the Oscars?
Shabana Azmi: Well it depends. In know this is a debate that is coming up. I think what is happening is that when a westerner comes in or an outsider whether from Japan, China… they look at something that we see everyday and get numbed. And then they come in with another eye that sees things that bypass us, to which we have stopped reacting to and I think that is an additional advantage. In the same way that Shekhar Kapoor making Elizabeth brought in an eye that an English director could not have. An outsider has that advantage.
CNN-IBN: Do you see a movie by an Indian director/producer winning an Oscar some day?
Kamala Haasan: Yeah. Can. When it comes of sound and direction, costumes & lifetime achievement. Why not? It is just another few attempts later, we might be there too.
CNN-IBN: Ehsaan, we spoke to Gulzar saab earlier in the day and he said ek Hindi geetkar ke liye global stage per Oscar stage per aana bilkul namumkin hai (It is impossible for a Hindi song lyricist to be on the global stage, to be at the Oscars). At least that’s been laid to rest now. Hindi film musicians are now on the global stage.
Ehsaan: Well that is true because we have done some work for people abroad. Now this is really the big one. With Rahman winning the doors are wide open and people are looking in here. There are song writers in this country who can write for the international market.
CNN-IBN: 26/11 happened in Mumbai and it was traumatised and divided. What does a film like this do to the city? Does it change the psyche and the face that Allah Rakha Rahman won the award? There will be a symbolism associated to that and also Resul won. What does it mean? Does it like cricket crosses the boundary? Does cinema has that ability to heal Mumbai?
Shabana Azmi: I would hope so because the question that you are saying implicit in it is the answer. That is something that people are already talking about. So I hope that it will be healing touch that is required in our wonderful city. I would want to say one more thing. Why do we celebrate something only if it wins the Oscars? Oscars are the biggest awards going. It is like saying why should we enter the Olympics. We are good on our own. So I think that argument is a fallacious argument and we have to recognise that winning the Oscars is very big achievement.
CNN-IBN: So is Shabana Azmi now going to gun the Oscars? It is the one thing missing from your CV.
Shabana Azmi: Jessica Tandy won the Oscar at 80. I am a few years way from 80.
CNN-IBN: Shabana Azmi, Ehsaan and Kamala Hassan we appreciate you all joining us on a very special day for Indian cinema.
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