The grandson thought about it for a moment and then asked his grand father -

‘Which wolf wins ?’

The old Cherokee simply replied -

‘The one you feed !’

A short overnight visit to Mumbai, home, family and then back to the grind. Which I might add is fast nearing completion. Another 2 days of fungusitus, if ever such a word existed and we are through for ‘Johhny Mastana’.

Fungus over. Prosthetics take over ! They come in in the morrow and shall work on me when the other work is complete. Its like going from one bakery to the other and not a slice of bread in reward. My perils continue. But they are the essence of my work, a work that keeps me in touch with the EF, in touch with myself and sometimes with my soul.

Meanwhile picking words from my blog and distorting them mischievously to bring me up in bad light continues to plague the media. Methinks they seem unsettled with my thoughts. Perhaps their dominance over a medium they entirely controlled begins to leak. Albeit in very minute strains.

They take my comment of ‘Slumdog is ok and Delhi 6 not’ in isolation and do not give reference to the context, so that they can invite negative and abusive reactions towards me . With SM’s stupendous victory who is this idiot called Amitabh Bachchan to compare it with a D6 ! But of course they fail to give the entire story. Let me do that for you.

Some respondents on my blog express anguish over SM’s content; its attempt to show India’s ugly underbelly. I say in response, a dirty underbelly exists even in developed countries. I put out all the comments fairly on the blog and invite debate. Media, wrongly, or now, deliberately, takes that as my personal comment and makes a dashing headline - Amitabh slams SM !! I have done no such thing. But because media has put it out, this very honorable and incorruptible medium must be believed. The comment attracts huge negativity and abuse towards me. One of the sharp and slicing being, people who criticize the contents of SM are sour graped and blinkered imbeciles and behave in such a fashion because SM and Danny Boyle have shown a mirror of the actual Mumbai and that is real and uncomfortable for them. Fine. Arguments and comments continue.

Now..

Delhi 6 releases to critical comment and the main refrain from same source, is that Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra, the director of the film, has gone too philosophical and tried to show a mirror to the audience, which is his and the film’s undoing. we do not wish to spend so much money to go to a multiplex to be shown a mirror of our society and city.

And here is where I come in ..

And I say… you laud and praise SM because it has shown the viewer a mirror to real Mumbai, yet when ROM shows a mirror in D6 to his viewers it is wrong and undesired.

So.. I concluded..

Showing mirror in SM is ok.. and in D6 is not ! Bas..! End of conversation.

But because the media is beyond correction, beyond its pristine purity, it does not like to be told or to be pointed out as having erred. So… attack the person that has dared or has the temerity to challenge the fourth estate !!

Seeing the accolades that SM is collecting, deservedly for our Indian talent, the media brings my comment out in a light that seems to disagree with the distinction that SM is getting. This gives rise to a huge amount of enraged reaction to Mr Bachchan, letters to the editor flow in, or who knows, get manufactured in their own offices, printed then in the letters to the editor column, merely to justify and endorse the stand taken by that particular news paper. Pretty simple mathematics here. You do not need an enlightened brain to decipher that, do you.

After the euphoria of the win at Oscars is in progress, media, because it needs sale-able celebrity voices on its pages starts putting out questions to them and seeking reactions to the victory. Obviously it is a great moment for Indian talent. We do express that in our response. But hidden inside the questionnaire is another smart one.

They ask us, do you think this hoopla for the Oscars is justified ?!!??!!! Ha.. ha .. ha..COL for PS !!

This is the side winder.

They themselves are involved in the hoopla !! They are the ones writing and headlining and filling page after page of Oscaramia. And to satisfy, or should I say cover up their own conscience, will put out this question to us to demonstrate what a truly fair, unbiased and democratic principle the media house follows. When we give our response they shall pick out words again and put it up to show what a balanced attitude that the media takes !!

Really…

They will catch Jaya outside Parliament and direct her response to further add to their front page story of how the Bachchan family is against the Oscars, because she has stated that the SM is not an Indian film so what is the big deal.

All the material spoken in favor of the event. All the material spoken in lauding Indian talent. All side lined and hidden. It is the alarming and controversial comment put up in bold headlines, in order to put us in bad light.

I am putting for your benefit some of the press articles that came out in this and other regard. They are all written by very senior and respected journalists and written in the editorial column. Read them carefully and in depth and assuage yourselves whether what has been expressed by us is in any way worthy of being termed negative or disrespectful either to the event or to the winners.

My interview to DNA, the way I gave it. Compare it to the way it has been presented.

Shubha,
Herewith the responses
Amitabh

On 2/21/09 2:10 PM, “Shubha Saha” <shubhasaha@gmail.com> wrote:

Sir,
Here are the questions we would like to ask you….

1. Do you think too much hoopla is being made about the Oscars…are we giving too much importance to what seems like just an award ceremony in the US? or do you think its big enough to deserve the kind of attention it does?
   

ANS//
This is a typical media exercise. Ha..! Start something, then look for celebrity endorsement for or against it, highlight comments made, headline them, initiate controversy and thereby guarantee several good copy. By the end of it, the perpetrator of this ‘crime’ is lost and forgotten and some vulnerable celebrity has his neck dangling on the anvil.
Who is the ‘we’ that you talk of in the question. Surely you will not hesitate in agreeing that the media through its powerful medium is the creator of this hoopla. Your argument in defence shall be, we are merely reflecting the voice or the conscience of the people and inviting comment through the principles of fair journalisim. All very well and clear. Its what follows afterwards that brings in the discomfort.
The Oscars is a film award ceremony conducted in the US. Through the years it has built itself into a powerful brand that now unabashedly conveys that it is the very best in the world. It is a matter of personal belief and choice whether one believes in that or not. Or whether it deserves the kind of attention that it does. Live with this, I would suggest. Why the unnecessary verbal jargon on it. We respect the respect of the Oscars as we would any institution that honours excellence and rewards it. Big enough small enough, important not important is not up for debate.

2. Do you think we should be looking at Oscars as the ultimate parameter to judge a film, considering that the films of other countries, especially Asian countries, have entirely different cultural flavours and perhaps the finer naunces could escape the judges there?

ANS//
For me the ultimate parameter to judge a film has been the audience. Their reward is the biggest and the best and the most lasting. But this is my personal choice. As I said earlier, we respect the Oscars. They are an American Award ceremony, conducted to honour films made in English and in the US. They also honour films from other countries under a special section and we acknowledge that. I would presume that they have set themselves conditions and parameters within which they would assess the merits of films that come up for consideration. Who are we to comment on the veracity of their judging system ? Do you ever question why Filmfare, or Screen, Zee, Stardust and our National Awards not consider Hollywood films or films from other nations for reward ? Do you question the judging system of these institutions ? Barring of course the National Awards, because they are Government Awards and under democratic and constitutional norms subject to question and answerability.

3. Do you think our films deserve much more attention than what we have recieved from the Oscars till date? Is it time that we are more proud of our movies than we are?

ANS//
I find this question funny. As a child I can ask my parents to consider me as deserving of more attention. As a citizen of India I can ask my Government to give me more attention. I can ask my wife to give me more attention and be deserving of it. But the Oscars are not my parents or my Government or my wife. Who am I then to question whether our films are deserving of more attention by them. They are an independent and a foreign institution, we honour and respect them.
We are very proud of our film Industry and our movies. What is ‘more proud’ ? One can either be proud or not proud, but ‘more proud’ I am unable to understand. And just being ‘more proud’ is not going to get you ‘more’ deserving attention from the Oscars Academy.

4. A lot of films from India, which seemed excellent, have not been able to make it to the Oscars….Do you think they deserved better?

ANS//
Again here the assumption from your question is that the Oscars are the ultimate and final recognition and destination for every film made in the world. You would have to convince me first that they indeed are. Each independent institution has their own yardstick to measure excellence. As things stand they have not found any of our films worthy. Fine. We do not crave for it. If it comes we shall humbly accept and honour it. But then again this is not a generalised statement. It is independent and individual.

5. A few technicians from India (for example Rasool Kutty ) have managed to get the attention of the Oscars, while the actors from India are still to make a mark…What do you attribute this to?

ANS//
Yes true. The reason that Rasool has received attention is because he has worked in a foreign ( English ) film that has received Oscar nomination. When their system of judging feels actors from India deserve an Award we shall respectfully acknowledge it. There have been very few instances when an actor not speaking English in a non English film has been recognised for his acting capabilities. We make films in Indian languages and speak Indian languages.

6. Do you think Indian films need to be marketed better worldwide and its not the quality of the films but lack of exposure that has led to us not getting enough world wide recognition?

ANS//
Yes marketing does play an important part in the furtherance of our products world wide and I believe that very concerted efforts are already in place to enhance our presence beyond Indian shores. English being a more universal language we do feel handicapped there, but I believe cinema is a universal medium and does not need dependence on language for it to be understood. We have come a long way from 60-70 years ago when cinema in India was considered a medium that was infra dig. We have continuously moved ahead and moved forward. We are already attracting a huge amount of attention and its getting better by the day and the hour.


Warm regards,

Shubha Shetty-Saha
Senior Editor,
DNA
239888888
ext. 532

Regards,
Amitabh Bachchan

Now my dear EF.. see how they presented it in their paper -

The beg to differ column was on front page among all the hysterical and large headlined accolades for the Oscars. In that circumstance this headline conveys negativity. The Q@A column is not on the front page .. it is somewhere on the 13th or 14th page.. so that by the time you get there you have already made up a wrong impression of the subject. Then notice how even the interview is distorted and not given in full. And when you will question the lady that took it she will conveniently say the editorial cut it up, it is not in our hands. heh.. heh..

But lady.. everything was in your hands when you repeatedly sms’d me for urgent reactions, for having deadlines to meet and time restrictions to keep, etc.. Would you want me to post your smses also, that you sent to me ? I do store them on my computer just for such occasions !

Shubha Saha, from DNA, you will definitely not get the co operation that has been willingly and diligently given to you by me, in the future. Trust and faith begets trust and faith.

Dear EF, I now put up very interesting, letters to the editor, in same paper to further fortify the points that I have been making -

See … what I mean !!

Now for some very interesting articles as I said from serious editorial pages -

In closing… the cutest sms that came to me in the middle of all tis was from Siddharth Basu, the producer of Kaun Banega Crorepati, who managed and set up everything. He said -

“As it snaps up the Oscars like a juggernaut - to think, if there was no KBC, there would be no book, no movie, no moment like this.. it could not have happened without you..”

On replying to him and saying it was all his doing, his team and his management, he replied back -

“Thanks. We were happy to play our part, but you stand alone, sir. That special magic, the mania that even a slumdog could connect with was something you wrought..”

It has been a long night and one that has been full of a lot of reading and assessing. And i do expect many among you to castigate me and tell me and ask me why I need to get into all this and that I should be above all this..

But dearest EF, you must bear with me and know where I come from. If I do not correct it it shall go down in the annals of media history as fact. A fact that shall keep raising its head from time to time. Despite my denial on the SM matter. Despite my having personally cleared it up by calling Danny and Anil, the accusations and contempt continue. It shall be my bounden duty to counter it every time it is brought up. Your support and courage shall always be valued and respected. Thank you.

With love and more…

Amitabh Bachchan