Oscars

[Infernal Lubber]

I'm hearing that Slumdog Millionaire is the favourite for 'Best Picture' at the Academy Awards tomorrow. I haven't seen it, nor have I seen any of the competition. So why am I writing this? Just for something to do, I guess.

Although I was disappointed in the book, I did like aspects of it, and it would please me, I think, if a story set in Mumbai were to win the Oscar. Here's hoping it will fuel viewers' (and producers'!) appetite for more films set in Mumbai!

[Andy]

Thanks for the reminder Joe, I had meant to take a look at what was up but before I knew it, I found out that Slumdog won 8 Oscars?

Wow. I bet you any money that if Shantaram went into production then no doubt a few oscars flying around for that one too.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090114/jsp/frontpage/story_10388042.jsp

But Freida, who was just another model till a year back, is not the only one going places because of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog.

The other big beneficiary has been Mira Nair’s stalled project Shantaram.

Produced by and starring Johnny Depp, the film had got stuck — just 10 days before shooting was to begin — because of the writers’ strike.

With a film featuring Indian actors adapted from a book set in India winning four Globes, getting the cellu- loid adaptation of the Gregory David Roberts book back on track has become a priority.

Shantaram, too, is set in Mumbai and has Amitabh Bachchan in one of the major roles.

A Los Angeles-based film technician involved with the project said: “Even though Depp’s diary is full till 2011 and even Mira Nair’s moved on to her next project about Amelia Earhart (first woman to fly solo across the Atlan- tic Ocean), they will now accommodate the Shantaram shoot. After all, the entire pre- production work has been done.”

Will Slumdog Millionaire also spell millions for A.R. Rahman and Anil Kapoor in the West? We will find out soon.

[Infernal Lubber]

Shantaram is the superior story, no question. But whether it would turn out to be a hit, or for that matter impress the Academy voters, is an entirely separate matter. As has been discussed, there would be huge challenges in turning such an epic into a suitable screenplay, and you never know what you're going to get.

But I am happy to hear the success of Slumdog might shake Shantaram loose.

[Andy]

Maybe you're right, Joe. It could turn out both ways.

I suppose I base my conjecture on the overwhelmingly good response many people have to finishing Shantaram. Most people who criticize it do not finish it, so they blame the prose or the fact that it is 1000+ pages.

The film could dissapoint us as fans of the book, but from the other perspective of 'first-contact' inside a cinema, I would like to believe the rendition would turn out as 'very good flick' in the minds of those people. Some of those may then go on to read the book, and have even more praise for it. The basis of the story is strong enough for it to be a success, I think.

Well, I guess we'll see -eventually- what the outcome will be