A most ridiculous incident happened while I was travelling to work yesterday.

High on the Oscar wins, Slumdog Millionaire seemed to be the only topic everyone in the famed Virar locals of Mumbai could discuss. From Marwari businessmen to Gujarati share brokers to Bhayander’s Bengalis, everybody was talking about Danny Boyle’s movie with fervoured excitement. (I just came from a trip to Rajasthan and understand a little Marwari, I am half Gujarati, half Bengali, so I know what these little groups were talking about.) Halfway through the journey, a couple of MNC lads got in and caught the infection.

Now, they had very different things to say about the film. They did NOT like the movie and explained to each other why it was so. And there, the democratic right of free speech gave way to outrage. The Gujarati fellow began first. “You didn’t like the movie. It won Oscars, if you don’t like it, you are either too highbrow or you are simply unpatriotic.” Before the guys could react, another member said, “You guys look like BPO workers. Just because you take your cheque from a foreign company doesn’t mean you don’t respect Indian films.” The second bloke nervously hid his PSP in his laptop bag. By this time, everybody understood what had happened and began discussing the movie and the unpatriotic guys in great detail.

I sympathize with the two guys. I have kept my comments on the topic reserved because as a journalist, you are never supposed to take sides. But this is a blog, so let it be known, I found the hype exceeding the content of the movie. And 8 Oscars was more than I could digest. A friend of mine put it perfectly when she sniggeringly told me, “This is just an outbreak of sympathy for Mumbai because of the terror attacks. Otherwise 8 Oscars for dirt, dust, grime, poverty and maimed beggars just doesn’t make sense.” Befuddled as I was while watching the award ceremony, I too felt she may be a tad bit right. Americans chose a Afro-African President who was sworn in just about a month ago, so an underdog story seems to be the perfect way to compliment the choice of Americans, the Oscar committee must’ve felt.

I am just glad I wasn’t having this conversation with my friend on the local train, else I may too have been called unpatriotic. Such intolerant are the times in which we live.

Image Credit: Ishane

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Will Smith comes on stage to present the award for the best action movies. The Academy awards for best action movie goes to Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Eric Barba, Steve Preeg accepted the award. This one is the third one for The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. I need to watch this movie now.

The award for Sound Editing goes to The Dark Night and the award is accepted by Richard King.

The award for best Sound Mixing goes to Resul Pookutty for Slumdog Millionaire. Resul says history is being handed to him. How true. We are proud of you, Resul Pookutty. India Special salutes you!

Another one..

The award for best Film Editing goes to Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire. What a night this is turning out to be for India. This is the 6^th award for India.

Slumdog Millionaire has definitely put India on the map. I hope the Indian public wakes up and gives the crew a rousing welcome like they did for the cricketers and Olympians.

Three cheers for Slumdog….Hip Hip Hurray! (3 times)

Am I too excited…I hope there is more!

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The Oscar fever has caught on and for the first time, I am blogging live watching the Oscars, from the comforts of my home. Nothing can beat this experience. Seeing it live, munching my favourite triscuit, watching my two kids screaming louder than the Oscar host and blogging as Slumdog Millionaire is about to win Oscars – At this point, I don’t know how many, though!

The expectations are high among Indians that music maestro AR Rahman, who has bagged three nominations for “Slumdog Millionaire”, will bring home the coveted trophy. What a moment that will be!

Other two Indian films vying for the glory are “Smile Pinki” and “The Final Inch”.

The time is 8.30 PM EST.

Ok, the Oscar Awards has begun and so is this live blogging.

The time is 8:33 PM

Singer, Dancer, Actor Hugh Jackman enters the show with startling display of his talent. He starts of with the song on Slumdog Millionaire, moves onto Benjamin Button – what a startling display, picks up Anne Hathaway for an impromptu dance. Jackman performs about the other movies – The Reader, The Wrestler and Nixon. What a Live Performance that was!

The time is 8:40 PM

Hugh Jackman introduces all the nominees including Mickey Rourke, the couple – Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie, the guy who played Nixon, Demi Moore.

The time is 8:45 PM

5 yesteryear Oscar actress winners including Whoopi Goldberg introduces Penelope Cruz, Marisa Tomei, Demi Moore et al.

Penelope Cruz wins Oscar for the best actress. She goes to the stage and thinks she would faint…but doesn’t. She gave an emotional speech saying it is art which unites the universe. You are too good and beautiful. Penelope – Congratulations !

The time is 8:54 PM

Some type pad clicks. Few sentences and sounds of a typewriter. I don’t know what is happening.

Enter Steve Martin and Tina Fei. They starts joking around, as usual and soon picks up the mike for announcing the best screenplay. Now I understand why there were those type sounds.

The best screenplay award goes to Dustin Lance Black for Milk. Dustin, on the stage, emotionally talks of “Hope” for Gays and Lesbians across America.

Next comes the award for the best adopted screenplay…and the award goes to Simon Beaufoy, the writer for Slumdog Millionaire.

Oscar # 1 for Slumdog Millionaire. Wondering why Vikas Swarup for Original Screenplay. But yes, he thanked Vikas Swarup and the other two musketeers and his love for India.

I am so excited now. My friend, Madhavan, who wrote Will Slumdog Millionaire Win the Oscar Awards, pings me on Gmail. We exchange congratulations for the first in the kitty and many to go.

The time is 9:03.

Enters Kungfu Panda and his star friends…I am talking of Jack Black and Jennifer Aniston. He is hilarious.

The best animated feature film goes to Wall-E. Oscar is taken by Andrew Stanton. He thanks everyone..nothing extraordinary of a speech. The show goes on

The best animated short film goes to La Maison En Petites. Kunio Kato collects the award and “Sanks” everyone!…Sankooo..meaning Thank You.

Time for a break!

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Pooja is a good friend of mine who lives in Mumbai. Having worked for me for over a year at an American Bank, she choose to be on her own and has been reasonably successful at that, with her fledgling entrepreneurial venture, her staffing consultancy.

Pooja was on chat with me the other day and said that her neighbor got married. I don’t know who her neighbor was, but wondered what was wrong with her! She went on and said, got married to a lady! I knew for a fact that Pooja had lost it! Wondering whether it was the effect of some weekend partying or the stress of being on her new venture that was getting to her, I kept getting on with work shaking my head in disbelief wondering if Pooja was mad before I hurriedly typed in a few notes to her before running off for a meeting.

I returned after a couple of hours and Pooja had left a series of messages for me. I read through and realized that her neighbor was actually a SHE and she had gotten married to another SHE! Her neighbor was also the HE in the marriage!

Being a very gracious person, she obviously went on to greet her neighbor and also had a chance to see pictures of the wedding. I don’t know if she got invited to the wedding or not, but what she had to say of the pictures she was very reminiscent of any other Indian women. Shaking her head in utter disbelief and wondering what the world was going to, she is a today a worried lady.

Chatting on, I asked her what was so “scary” about the whole thing. She said her little daughter; all of 3 odd years old was that neighbor’s favorite kid in the apartment complex. That put it in perspective for me. To make matters worse for her, her daughter happens to be in that stage of life where kids are all over us with questions! Questions that sometimes put us in a spot as we don’t know what to say when we get asked those questions! The little kid obviously heard that the aunty next door got married and was looking all over her house for the uncle!! No one told the poor kid that the aunty was actually the uncle in the wedding!

The news obviously spreads! In a society that is still waking up to the realities of homosexuality amid law makers around the world who are confused on whether to let this pass or otherwise, Pooja’s maid is one of those who is yet to recover from this shock. Coming from probably the lowest social strata of Mumbai, the maid apparently spent 3 hours in Pooja’s house holding her head in disbelief and wondering whether she needs to continue working for the neighbor, that she’s worked for nearly 3 years now. An educated Pooja and the worried mom that she is, is equally baffled and doesn’t know how to react.

I’m not out to pass a judgment on what is right or wrong! I just spare a thought for a good friend who’s been hit by a reality, a reality that you would typically hear / read of happening in California or somewhere else in Europe, but this time literally at her next door.

I once happened to stray off into the SOHO area of London on my last trip there, a short walk from the Oxford Street shopping area. It was one of those days when I just went wandering aimlessly, (certainly not looking for anything) when I quickly realized that I was on a street very popular for the gay men on London. Young boys were howling and screaming, expressing their love for each other on the streets. Waking alone, I felt my heart palpitating and the fear of being at risk, the risk of being physically assaulted maybe! Something that I’d never ever dreamt off ever. The ensuing 5 minutes were probably the scariest 5 minutes of my life.

More recently, we had an overseas visitor whom we were hosting. As a courtesy, my boss had to take him to dinner one of the days. My boss called me and asked me to join in. It was kind of last minute for me and I asked him why me? He explained that he was gay and my being along made him feel more comfortable! It was a hurried affair and both of us used the first available option to get back home early.

Being able to relate with what Pooja is going through as a result of my 5 minute trauma, I wonder how we are going to start accepting this new world reality. A recent Hindi movie, Dostana had my wife and me in splits. Being a very silent person, I’ve never ever seen my wife laugh so much ever! While the fun part of the movie has us in splits, we need to quickly understand that the changing preferences are probably a new world order. With laws likely to come in around this, we need to understand that people are people at the end of it and we need to respect individual choices. It’s probably a lot like someone smoking or drinking!

Incidentally, Pooja ensures that her doors are firmly bolted at all times and talks about this to all her friends. Amused at what we hear and enjoying a good laugh, we rag her saying “Pooja’s neighbor is gay!”. The trouble however is that the changing world can throw up one such neighbor for you anytime!

Image Credit: TNT Blonde

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