Source - http://www.expressindia.com/story_print.php?storyId=427239
With Slumdog Millionaire sweeping the Academy Awards and Smile Pinki adding another, Indians have arrived on the world stage. Here is what celebrities had to say about the win Adoor gopalkrishnan, director (On Saturday while in the city) The movie portrays Indians as hustlers, and petty and is built on falsehood. Moreover it shows that Indians are under developed and live mostly in slums. They have a fixed notion about India. That's not what India is all about. There is more to India and the movie is not a true measure of we Indians. Personally I am glad that the Indian audience was wise enough to reject the movie. It might have done well in the western theatres but the audience of India was smart to reject it. Jabbar Patel, director I think AR Rahman's soundtrack for the movie and Resul Pookutty's sound mixing along with the brilliant and highly imaginative camera work of the team of Slumdog Millionaire were the reasons for its massive success at the Oscars. As far as the documentary Smile Pinki goes, even though the director of the same wasn't an Indian but the way the documentary portrayed a very realistic issue was commendable. I am glad that it made its way to the top honours at the Academy Awards. As far as Indian cinema is concerned the awards will definitely make the West sit up and take notice of the talent that we have here. Sonali Kulkarni, actor I am immensely happy for AR Rahman and Resul Pookutty. More so for Rahman because I have been associated with him since 1994 when he first composed the music for a Tamil film that I was starring in. Even though it took him a bit long to reach here this is his moment and he really deserves it. Speaking about the western audiences starting to take notice of our talent it is about time that they do. Infact even for Indian actors, directors and technicians we need to start working, keeping the global audiences in mind. However as of now it's the time of Rahman, Resul and the full crew of Slumdog and Smile Pinki. I am really happy for them. Umesh Kulkarni, director I am glad for Rahman and also for Gulzarji for getting the award. Resul Pookutty was my senior at FTII and is a through professional and one of the best in the business. Their work is top notch, and even though the Oscars doesn't mean the end of the world it is one of the best platforms for getting noticed and making the West sit up and take notice of Indian cinema and technicians. Rahman's music in particular evoked a basic rhythm of India and blended perfectly with the settings of the movie. It's really a big thing for Indian artistes and technicians as far as world cinema goes. Makrand Anaspure, actor I guess this is one of the best things to happen to Indian artistes on the international arena. It has taken a long time for us to prove our mettle to the West but finally we are here. I am really happy for the cast and crew of both Slumdog Millionaire and Smile Pinki for having gotten this far and made the country proud. As far as the music score goes it is crisp and true to the script of the movie. (As told to Rohan Swamy)
