Slumdog Oscars

I have a good memory attached with this film......not for the film alone....but there were two more reasons....firstly it was my first date with my "would-be" :P ..........& secondly after a long time I was back to my Favorite theater of my college days...The old & nostalgic "New Empire" ....at the heart of Kolkata!! Although I was shocked by the condition of the theater...no maintenance at all...almost at its last stage standing like an outdated performer in front of those few remaining loyal fans.....making way for the "multiplex culture"!!

Apart from these two factors the film was good too as expected.......a film made from heart....and also with some good research work (not enough though) from a British director to make such a film on India. The music was great too!!

.....But I was speechless when I found it won 8 Oscars......I had a thin idea about how these awards work....still....8 Oscars for "Slumdog millionaire"? It’s too much!! Once again my old idea about ACADEMY AWARDS was cemented.......its miles away from being a judging standard for foreign culture films. How can the juries judge a film from a totally different culture from there own?? They heavily depends on the marketing of that film & the way they portray it in front of them......the content of the film comes much later in the queue!! I wonder how SLUMDOG was better than TAARE ZAMEEN PAR?? Maybe because the TZP subject was not based on “hungry Indians” or “Slums”. Watching the former I felt it was a superb story & could have been presented far better by some of the recent Indian directors than Danny himself. Not because they are better or worse than him.......but just because they are far more aware & attached to the subject.......doing some research on India is not enough to understand her essence…I really felt the essence was missing in the film.......it really looked like the India as watched by the eye of a western tourist!!

Sometimes I wonder how they judge the emotions represented in a different language?? I remember watching "Panther Panchali" with subtitles in English......felt like 50% of the taste or meaning is missing (or misinterpreted) when translated in English.....still they find it to be one of Ray's best work......indeed it is.....but what about his other works....how many of his other films are known to the outside world?? The reality is that they only accept to watch India as they love to watch.......the poor, dirty, “land of the snake charmers” kind of movies will sale like hot cakes….anything else & its not “Real India”!!

And the most unfortunate thing is that we Indians are still very much dependant on western recognition……unless & until someone is recognized by some European or American organization, they are not valued in his/her own country too!! Satyajit Ray was a “good” director in India before he got an Oscar……but after that he became an “Excellent” director ……the critics were the same…..just the First world recognition & an Oscar in his hand changed the “quality” of his movies overnight…..!!













Also you will find these Oscar films as some Brands…..attaching your name with it might bring an Oscar to you too……..performance or content doesn’t matter……only marketing & belonging to the right group matters. Films getting around 10 Oscars……will show you what I mean!! Rahman got 2 Oscars for Slumdog…….although he had given his best long ago……and this was only an average album for his caliber…….he got recognized only for riding the right train!! Thousands of classic performances in numerous low budgeted or low publicized films go unrecognized every time because they missed the train!! That’s why I don’t believe in such awards as the ultimate recognition of an artwork……..it only helps me to pick up some good movies & performances…….not in deciding the best!!

Indian Animation & Gaming Industry

......do u want to join the Indian animation & gaming industry as an artist?? You should....there's a BOOM in this sector......guys who failed in every aspect of their life gets a chance here.........a chance to earn some easy bucks!!





















I encountered few people who are normal & wants to join this industry......people who are mental patients, Physically incapable, socially dumped, intellectually shattered, kicked out of the academic rat race only ends up joining this industry in India. I agree....an artists life generally falls in that category but that doesn't means that the reverse is also true...... every one in that situation is not an artist. I remember the "monster India" add....u will find wrong people for wrong jobs in every sector in India, not only in animation or gaming.....what else can u expect in a country with almost 10 million unemployed citizens? They grab to an opportunity like a drowning man grabbing a hay stick.....sacrificing his own field of interest & jumping to a field which he (or his parents) thinks will give him security....(although....."security"....sounds like a joke these days)!!

.....This is a perfect situation for a relatively new & unfamiliar industry to emerge.........u will find lots of useless but cunning craps climbing up the ladder & holding up decisive positions....before even the useful ones get a hint of the prospects of that industry. Amazing is the number of talented artists in India.....who don't even know what animation or gaming is.........& even more amazing is the number u will find who portrays themselves as artists or gamers......who are miles away from "art" and hates playing games in real world......in fact they prefer studying share market, new means of making money or oiling their seniors more than sketching some doodles. Yet they wants us to match the outside world in efficiency & perfection......when in reality they give more value to "social skills" than "production skills".


The reason why art is neglected in India is the availability of cheap & talented artists in a plenty (demand & supply theory)......u will find art in every aspect of the Indian lifestyle.......its so common in our lives that we started neglecting its value. When a boy/girl wants to be an artist......be it fine arts, music, acting, martial art, dance....any form of art.......his parents generally oppose his decision.....in fact prefers him to be an engineer / doctor / MBA......which gives him a social status and security.......now u will think why should artists not get social status? That's because there's a myth in India......that artists are less intelligent than an engineer or doctor...that's why he become an artist after trying out all options... :D.......whereas the reality is that intelligence is not bound in logical calculations or your memory handling capability.....its broader than that.......IQ testing for a human brain will prove that......!! There's a big difference between the nature of intelligence of the "right brain" vs the "left brain" people.........none is inferior to the other....just their way of thinking is different. Its pity to find that "intelligence" is getting bounded in silly rules & outlooks.....just as "beauty" in a beauty contest!!


....the Indian talent pool in graphics is not something to be ignored......if recognized & nurtured properly they will soon be one of the leaders in the international market. But alas.....the people chosen to recognize them are the one I mentioned earlier.......those politically correct , socially smart yet artistically bullshit people will judge these fresh talents.......will tell you who is a better artist.....whom to appoint....whom to appraise....whom to sack.......!! They will deliberately suppress those who are more talented than them......who are more capable than them!! Else they will get exposed!!! These craps are crawling all over the industry hiding there way out of exposure and faking hard works.....u will find them acting all time as if very busy & talking all time as if they know everything.......because they know the trick to survive in our industry....."Showing that ur working is much more valuable than actually working".....everybody fooling their senior in a hierarchical way thus making a bogus production pipeline which will never match a foreign studio.......whom we try to copy always!!


....The HR is not yet trained to handle artists......guess its not included in their course!! They treat a sales person, an engineer & an artist in the same manner & apply those same old rotten theories they are taught in MBA books to everybody they face, without discrimination. In a production house while tackling artists they still give behavioral skills, soft skills & social skills more value than actual production skills. I agree they are very important skills....and everybody should learn it......but I never understand how the hell those become PRIMARY SKILLS in a production house?? Those are always secondary & SUPPORTIVE skills when it comes to a small production unit like a game studio or an animation studio...those are more important in a marketing unit......not in a production studio....... Fancy talking, fluency in English, expressive gestures & confident voice will not change the truth in a production pipeline............its not marketing where "repeating a lie 100 times makes it a truth"......the truth here is the product u produce...the quality of that product & the time in which u deliver it...is the primary concern here......not the way how u talk or act or dress will matter!! Deadlines wont wait to see how smartly or how much u talked in a meeting room......it will depend on what u talked there....here the "matter" of the speech is important, not the "way" how its delivered......!! But alas.....who cares......"unbiased" thinking (synonymous to "modern" thinking) is yet a milestone to be achieved by the Indian studios.


....While comparing the foreign artists we find that they are treated based on their production skills alone.......fully crazy.....extremely introvert......completely unsocial.....tremendously indiscipline artists also gets value for their talent....because these are something which will more or less always be a part of an artist.......& that doesn't makes him unproductive or less intelligent. On the other hand those are not any confirmation mark of an artist either.......being crazy or dressing weirdly don't prove that you are a productive artist......those should not divert ones attention while judging artistic capability........The one and only factor of judgment should be his WORK....nothing else!! You don't have to be fluent in English to be a productive unit ( you only need that while selling that product internationally....which unfortunately we can't in most of the Indian studios :P) .......watch Japan & China.....the use of mother tongue is one of the most vital reason for there in depth understanding of any subject & converting that into a successful product!!

...and like our early Indian cricket teams.......in Indian studios too....once u achieve something.....u can harvest that for a long period.....without any further performance!! Whereas in foreign studios u will have to start afresh with every new project.......what u achieved earlier is history.....u have to prove again & again & again.....once failed & you will have to pay for that.........this is what professionalism means.........and that's why many studios outside India consider Indians having unprofessional attitude towards there work....because they are emotional in office too!!


.....Most big budget animated films (not all) in India are horrible......and are made by freshers.....can u imagine??.......the quality of such films will make u cry.......even more when you know that it's far far away from what Indian artists are capable of........they will make the trailer with full dedication & effort.....but later the final production will be a chaos!! Even films budgeted around Rs. 400 million asking for freshers to work & the experienced artists are not considered......just imagine!! Those idiots don't even have the basic sense that hiring one experienced artist is better than hiring 10 freshers......both in quality & cost.......shame on those cheap businessmen......who tries to apply factory production techniques in "Films" & yet advertise themselves as the mentors of Indian animation industry.........sucking those poor freshers blood and acting as if they are so generous towards them to give a job (even sells this as there "philosophy").....will make u sign bonds which can't be defined better than "exploitation"......something like 4 years bond for the freshers are also common here......that too by mortgaging their academic certificates!!! Why do you need a 4 year bond if you are confident about your "generous" philosophy?? They increase their employee count before applying for a big project to show a huge MANPOWER, hiring freshers like soldiers in WWII & after grabbing the project they sack most of them....what cheap mentality.....I hate those suckers who ware a mask of socially responsible citizens but actually weak in nature & knows nothing else than exploitation!! Better are those who don't use mask to hide there real intentions......however bad that might be!!

As if not enough....you will also find REGIONALISM in almost every studio in India.......shameless promotion of your own region is common....irrespective of what real talent you have!!



....the most pathetic condition about this article is that everybody knows it......yet everybody is too busy "buttering" their way up......& the Animation & games production pipeline in India remains the same....the management is aware of these problems too (actually they followed the same steps) yet expecting the studios to be productive......what a joke!!



So ready to join this Circus?? Let me give u some tips.....on "How to survive & prosper in this industry" (although I personally don't follow them)!!


1. Be fluent in English (better if in American accent).

2. learn HR skills first (technical or artistic skills are not much of importance here).

3. try to look weird.

4. Jumping from one company to another represents a strong resume in reality (although in theory they will deny it).

5. Always laugh loud at your senior's pajama jokes!!

6. Show that you r busy.......even if you are just surfing youtube or facebook!!

7. Show that you are expressive.......even if you have nothing to express....specially during meetings!!

8. Spending more time on researching & improving your technical skill will register you as a FOOL....in fact spending time improving your relation with all the employees (specially the BOSS & the seniors) will feast you more in future!!

9. Follow that old & tested rule here too......."BOSS IS ALWAYS RIGHT"!!





















&& last & the most important one

10. Keep updating your resume in the Job sites & keep updating your showreel.....as after following all those above rules too.....there's nothing called security in this Industry!!