World still has a very myopic views of India. To most of them we are still an exotic land. Land of elephants, snake charmers, cows and all other cr@p associated with it.
If the same TZP would have been made on the life of a dyslexic slum kid. It would have probably been nominated for the Oscars. Since the protagonist is from upper middle class family the movie is apperently "not very real".
I am not very happy with the portrayal of slum children & poverty in Slumdog Millionaire either.
I beg to differ.
Taare Zameen Par was riddled with cliches. I mean, come on, just coz Aamir Khan showed some courage an adopted a different genre (whose script was completely predictable) doesnt make it the best foreign film.
And foreign film means certain parts, characters in the film, should depict tradition, culture, language of that country. (which although TZP is a different film, did not do so) Remeber Lagaan?
If you do have a look at rural India, (which, I'm sure you know, is the majority of Indian population) they do live in that typical manner, with elephants, camels, etc.
Slumdog was a satire on the true India, which is difficult to digest but does exist (which I'm sure you know about too). You might be happy with the poverty and slums depicted in the movie, but sadly, it is true.
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Booker Price winner) was also a satire of the caste system in India.
Most foreigners are intrigued by the fact that an India filled with culture and tradition, also has a cruel society where only the fittest survive. (as depicted in Slumdog and White Tiger) And face it, Slumdog is different from main-stream hollywood cinema.
I wouldnt say Slumdog is a great film (it's a decent effort IMO and worth a watch) but it's no use comparing that to TZP.
PS. Lagaan was a film based on rural India which lost out by a small margin at the Oscars
Oscar movies are not just ANY movies. They need to have POWER, and TZP lacks any.
I saw slumdog and now I know why its been billed as a propable oscar.
it simply blows the mind away.
tzp is just a minor children's feature film which lacks enough depth to impress.
+1
Though I do feel Slumdog was overplayed