Now and Then.

Who the...?

Harendra Kapur.
Kyra Mathews.
Tejas Menon.



Okay, I’ll admit, I ditched most of the show when it was broadcast to see Delhi-6 a second time (good movie), which left me to see only about 25 to 30 minutes of the show, but that was enough. I did check the list of ‘winners’ and by god…you think I’m gonna say I was shocked, but I wasn’t. Infact I sat there knowing exactly what was going to happen, and the expression on my face was ‘…Newman’.

Let’s get to the crux shall we?
The Filmfare awards are the Indian Film Industry’s most prestigious awards function, that brings together all of who’s who of India’s movie circuit minus Aamir Khan(He never shows up). The problem I have with these awards is actually quite simple, however its venomous clutch threatens to erode the quality of Indian cinema. To demonstrate lets take the example of the ‘Best Actor’ category. The Best Actor is a pretty heavy title if you think about it. That means that in a whole year of movies the actor has given arguably the greatest performance out of all the other actors that were in contention for the award.

Another issue that should be addressed is obviously the standard of movies that have been released and sent in for selection. Last year Kareena Kapoor won the best actress award not only for a decent performance in ‘Jab we met’ but also because of the lack of performances to nominate. Thus her receiving the award was almost a given, and get she did.

The Best Actor category (which should be renamed ‘Most Popular’ actor category) this year was once again dominated by the Khans, Hrithik Roshan and the one man I was rooting for so bad: Naseerudin Shah.

A Wednesday was probably the only politically relevant, AWESOME movie of last year, with excellent performances to match. From Anumpam Kher to Jimmy Shergill (in that one brilliant, gun-cocking moment of genius) and especially Naseerudin Shah, who played the regular everyman to such emotional perfection, the category was almost a no-brainer.

Hrithik Roshan won the award. He won for an average performance in a tediously long, below-average film. Jodhaa Akbar won the awards for best director and film as well.

So here’s what I dislike. The ‘jury’ nominates these sub-standard performances, and then they win because they’re big names, and not because they’re especially good. The hype builds and builds and everyone is finally satisfied that these movies ‘set the standard’ of quality movie making in India. THEY DO NOT. And then it starts all over again. The really awesome Indie films (I’ll blog about this later) get ignored and year after year run of the mill performances from Shah Rukh and the like are commended. I have nothing against Shah Rukh Khan and the other actors, and I guess it’s not really their fault that it happens, but they sure as shit do nothing about it and neither do the filmfare ‘jury’. Then in their guilt they give out ‘Special Jury Awards’ to deserving actors and movies, which unfortunately feel very forced. A Wednesday won almost nothing, with the saving grace of ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan’ winning a handful of critics’ awards. But, all in all, a pretty bad 25 to 30 minutes.

Things that were annoying:
1. Akshay Kumar got a nomination for his ‘work’ in 'Singh is Kinng
2. When I googled the winners list for the show, Filmfare didn’t even show up in the first page, I had to get it from a website called something.rinkiss.com, which then promptly forwarded me to AdultFriendFinder. No thanks; I’m not looking for SEX IN BOMBAY TONIGHT.

Things I appreciated:
1. Shah Rukh and the Slumdog gang.
2. The precious times when Filmfare actually got it right.
3. Priyanka Chopra was smokin’ hot.

4 responses to "The FilmUnfair?"

  1. hey
    great post. not as scathing as the show probably deserved but a bit of diplomacy never hurt anyone. I think the sad part of it all is that even in terms of the 'entertainment' during the show, other than wearing formals, nobody maintains the kind of serious appreciation of art that the Oscars and Brits maintain.
    The jokes are poor, the hosts are gimmicky and high school like, the sets are tacky and for some reason the cameraman cannot help but tilt the camera and use every effect available in his version of movie maker.
    To be fair though, it is apt for the standard of films on offer during the year.
    also I wonder if any of the winners get the awards politically, i mean like rigging for the sake of marketting or whatever. god knows. great post man. You the...

    Harry

  2. Even though everything you said is more or less true, I kinda feel bad trashing our own ceremonies, after all they are our own!
    Totally agree with the hosts and cameraman bit. But I feel its unfair to compare it to the Oscars man, we have a whole different regime back here. Infact I'll admit to enjoying some of the numerous performances dished out after every single category. Sure most of them can't dance, but its fun to see them go wild on stage. After all thats us. :D
    I dunno about politically, but I'm sure about the awards going to the most popular and not overall best nominees.
    Thanks!

    Tejas

  3. good post.

    what i always fail to understand about these award ceremonies of bolywood is the presence of certain stars. like in this year's filmfare, i have no clue what uday chopra was doing( apart from the fact that the awards were held at the yashraj studios), i didnt think there was a reason to invite him and then give him so much of footage.

    @harry
    since you are talking about the movie makerish editting, you should look at the way slow down effects are added to the dance sequences. it doesnt go with the real dance track and makes the whole thing look damn funny.

    looking forward to more such posts...keep blogging.

    Isha

  4. I think National film awards exists by the government of India to appreciate the real art in indian film industry in various languages. It is not just given importance as it has no big stars or high budget performances and shows or even publicity. But i know it does exist. People who r really interested in award ceremonies for the art appreciation look at that rather than the tens of commercial award shows!!

    Romit

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