Bollywood.

INDIA they say is coming of age and is breaking old barriers and coming to terms with the international standards in all fields right from films to education to infrastructure to economy, you name it and you shall get proofs of India raising its standards on all aspects.

The country's entertainment industry has been faring all too well in the past half a decade. With Lagaan as the last Oscar nominated film and Slumdog Millionaire to be the latest one, we can safely say the Indian Film Industry(read Bollywood.) is doing quite well keeping and breaking international standards. It has also become a employment firm giving jobs to dejected and forgotten actors of other film industries, of late.

"Slumdog..." did quite well at the grammies this year and won 5 awards in major categories. It is being looked about as a matter of pride by the industry as well as the country. The question to be asked here is:---Must it be???

The accredition and appreciation metted out all over the world to any movie which manages to even get nominated at the Oscars. or for that matter any foreign award ceremony, is enormous.But Indian film getting nominated is not a matter of pride. The Oscars are won by movies which fare extremely well in the technical department.But Indian films barely have a technical department working on a any given film. The reason being, the motive of Bollywood is not to make Technically correct films,or to get nominated for a Oscar,its major aim is to entertain the "largest audience to cinema and art in the world" which btw is the Indian Audience. If the aim never was to have Oscar nomination the result never shall be a one. But he industry's fetish towards foreign award and appreciation is all too well known.

Instead of making efforts on making films which the west likes and appreciates,the west is starting to appreciate the films made by Bollywood, for its own audience. Lagaan was a example of that, where the film not only got nominated for an oscar but also did well in the numerous national award ceremonies. Gandhi, made by a foreign filmmaker, managed to grab a oscar but the movie did not fare too well commercially with the Indian audience. Slumdog millionaire is also on the same lines with the plot and most of the crew and cast having a Indian connection. The movie made by a foreign director, encompasses and captures the true spirit of the country, the poverty being shown in the movie being just a backdrop.The movie is a complete Bollywood package with a young love story, a bad guy and dance and song numbers included within.

Perhaps, why so much is being made of the Oscars, is also a fault of the Indian Film Industry. Come year end, and you can find a award ceremony "LIVE" on prime time television every weekend for a pretty much the first quarter of the year. Most of the honours given are either sold out or given to please a actor. The Industry as well as the audience has lost faith in these award ceremonies and look on to the other side, which in this case are the Oscars, Grammy's and Golden globes. to award honours on the basis of merit and only merit. Some time back themost prestigious film awards in the country, The National Awards, came into light of being guilty of judging perfomances on basis other than the perfomances itselves.

But say what may Indian Film Industry is getting noticed in award functions all over the world. This time not because it is doing what the world wants to see it do, but because the Entertaintment industry worldwide likes what it does.The Golden globe were at the feet of Bollywood a week back and come february Bollywood hopes it shall have the most prestigious and unbiased award ceremony, THE OSCARS, at its feet too.


AS THE INCOMING AMERICAN PRESIDENT VERY FAMOUSLY ANNOUNCED..."CHANGE HAS COME TO AMERICA".
ADIOS.