‘Slumdog’ bites a piece of Hollywood’s ass!

Last evening the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ shocked the highly insecure crowd of Hollywood at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony. It felt like an arranged marriage where everyone was uncomfortable! Nobody could pronounce A R Rehman properly and nobody came forward to correct it. Rehman himself was nervous which is understandable. He tried a joke; no one could understand his accent. The only person who appeared comfortable was Shahrukh Khan, but even he couldn’t get a laugh from the celebrity crowd. To me they all appeared shocked and embarrassed at their own ignorance. A low-budget film about India found popular support in the market!

Hollywood has been pretty good at displaying their liberal pretensions in full public view, but last evening they were completely taken by surprise and couldn’t hide their hypocrisy. The only other time such disappointment and a kind of anger was on display was when the film ‘Gandhi’ swept the ‘Oscar Awards’ in 1982. Steven Spielberg was openly contemptuous of the decision but the others hid their emotions and gave Sir Richard Attenborough a standing ovation. Spielberg’s ET was an obvious choice of the ‘Hollywood Biradari’ (community) and lots of people were visibly heart-broken. Something similar seems to have happened this time around!

The ‘Hollywood Biradari’ has also become pretty sophisticated in kissing the ‘black babies’ in Africa or wearing red ‘Buddhist Choga’ in the safe confines of Dharamsala, the Indian protectorate of Dalai Lama. But when it comes to genuine competition from a third-world country, the well-stuck Hollywood makeup falls apart and you can see envy, anger and frustration. Bollywood is not even in competition yet! As long as they have their David Dhawan and Abbas-Mustan making films or Salman Khan and Govinda acting in them, Hollywood is pretty safe.

Shame on you, Shabana Azmi…

Shabana Azmi, in my opinion, is the finest actress Indian film industry has ever produced. She has probably surpassed the legends like Nargis, Meena Kumari and Waheeda Rehman, because she has been the most versatile out of them. Yet, all of them happened to be Muslim. All four earned name and fame and of course money, unrepresented in any Muslim society. Forget about in the Islamic world, no Muslim performer has ever achieved so much in life, with the exception of Omar Sharif in Hollywood. Shabana has challenged the sensibilities of conservative Hindus in her films but no ‘Hindu Fatwas’ were issued. Overwhelming support from the people of India kept her going for more than 3 decades. At the end of the day, this is her acknowledgment to the love and support from the people of India.

“I wanted to buy a flat in Bombay and it wasn’t given to me because I was a Muslim and I read the same about Saif (Ali Khan). Now, I mean, if Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi cannot get a flat in Bombay because they are Muslims, then what are we talking about?” – 17 Aug 2008, 0037 hrs IST, TNN

Shabana, you should be ashamed of yourself for making such a bigoted statement. Are you planning to join Hurriyat Conference in Kashmir? Only traitors like them could make such an outlandish statement. Whom are you trying to sell this trash to? From Mahboob Khan and K Asif to Shahrukh Khan, you are the first Muslim celebrity in Bombay to have accused the city of such discrimination. A couple of years back, Shabana Azmi had a conversation with Charlie Rose (an American talk-show host) in which she counted the virtues of Indian democracy. You may watch the video below, half-way (at 35.20 minutes) onwards. What happened in the meantime that a virtuous democracy suddenly became a discriminatory society? Or, is it that Shabana is basically a hypocrite? You judge her for yourself.

Preity Zinta, co-owner, Kings XI Punjab, IPL Twenty20

Preity Zinta, a Bollywood star since 1998, acquired ownership rights of the Mohali-based Twenty20 cricket team of the Indian Premier League for $76 million. She acquired the franchise with Ness Wadia of Bombay Dyeing, Mohit Burman of Dabur and Karan Paul of Apeejay Surendera Group.

Preity is a Rajput from Himachal Pradesh. She was born on January 31, 1975 in Rohru in Shimla District. Her father was an army officer who died in a car accident. Preity Zinta was only 13 years old then. She is a graduate of Bede’s College, Shimla in English Language and masters in criminal psychology.

Preity Zinta made her debut in films with Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se opposite Shahrukh Khan in 1998. Since then she has given us Soldier in 1998, Sangharsh in 1991, Kya Kehna in 2000, Mission Kashmir in 2000, Dil Chahta Hai in 2001, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke in 2001, Dil Hai Tumhaara in 2002, The Hero in 2003, Koi…Mil Gaya in 2003, Kal Ho Naa Ho in 2003, Armaan in 2003, Lakshya in 2004, Veer Zaara in 2004, Khullam Khulla Pyaar Karen in 2005, Salaam Namaste in 2005, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna in 2006, Jaan-E-Mann in 2006, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom in 2007 and The Last Lear, again in 2007. Her forthcoming films in 2008 are Har Pall, Heaven on Earth and Heroes. She received her first Filmfare award in 2003 for Kal Ho Naa Ho.