July 30, 2010  Print Email | Say Jai Ho to Pinki and the hybrid Slumdogs
Updated The Oscars 2009. Some winners, some losers and some controversy about the word dog
Posted by Barkha Baruah at 05:41 AM GMT on Feb 23, 2009 | UPDATED: Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars, while Kate Winslet won Best Actress. Sean Penn won Best Actor for his part as a gay activist
So how does one feel about the word ‘Underdog’? Danny Boyle, the director of the Slumdog... in an interview with Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek, said that the title is a hybrid of the word 'underdog' - an underdog from the slums. Simon Beaufoy, the screenwriter, claims that he coined the word without meaning to offend and he has said in interviews that he merely ‘liked the word’.
However, he did not anticipate the emotions that the word ‘dog’ might stir in India. For the biggest democracy, India where everyone is entitled to express their opinion, it definitely accentuated the usual gripe that Western filmmakers have a clichéd opinion about India.
 Translate the word ‘dog’ into Hindi – kutte, and the image that stirs up in many Indians would be that of – Dharmendra, (Yesteryear's he-man of Indian film industry) with his flaring nostrils saying – ‘Kutte, Kamine – Main tera Khoon Pee Jaaonga’ – translates as ‘bloody dog, I’ll suck your blood’. Indian film industry has played an important role to give the term ‘dog’ its derogatory status. So, it comes as no surprise that for a country that loves its movies of all the 3 words (2 in fact) – Slum, dog, Millionaire – the one that will leave a more lasting impression is the word 'dog'.
Today, Slumdog Millionaire has won 8 Oscars Awards so far. Music maestro AR Rahman has made it big again, with O Saya and Jai Ho - the Oscar nominated songs from Slumdog... The film also won Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Film Editing, Original Score, Original Song and Direction categories at the Oscars '09.
Off lately, there’s a complaint against the Western filmmakers doing the rounds-for selling India’s misery to the world. But the same formula seems to be working. Smile Pinki - a short documentary by American director Megan Mylan - tells the story of 8-year-old, cleft-lipped, poor Indian village girl Pinki's journey from being a social outcast to an acceptance. It wins the Best Documentary Short Subject at the Oscars 2009.
Here’s a list of 2009 Oscars winners so far:
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Best Sound Editing: Richard King for The Dark Knight
Best Visual Effects: Eric Barba for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Documentary Feature Film: James Marsh for Man on Wire
Best Live action short film: Jochen Alexander for Spielzeugland Toyland
Best Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Make-up: Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Best Costume Design: Michael O’Connor for The Duchess
Best Animated Short Film: Kunio Kato for La Maison En Petits Cubes
Best Animated Feature: Andrew Stanton for Wall-E
Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.
Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk
Reference: www.oscars.com
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