It’s Jamal versus Benjamin!

Mumbai slum kids are pitted against Brad Pitt at the Oscar race

This week’s nominations for the 81st annual Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards, popularly known as Oscars, brought a staggering 13 nominations for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, while “Slumdog Millionaire” got 10, with both films shortlisted for best director, best picture and best adapted screenplay. The nominations manifest a momentous achievement for the two films that faced great odds – while “Benjamin Button” took almost two decades to complete, “Slumdog Millionaire” was all but dumped by its original American distributor. “Benjamin Button”, for which Brad Pitt got a nod as the best actor for playing a man who was born old and dies as a child, loosely based on a 1920s short story by F Scott Fitzgerald, remained just one nomination short of “All About Eve” (1950) and “Titanic” (1997), who jointly share the record of 14 nominations. On the other hand, “Slumdog Millionaire”, the tale of a teenage slum dweller’s implausible triumph at India's version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”, got 10 nominations, including three for AR Rahman. Other nominations in this category include holocaust drama “The Reader”, the presidential contest tale “Frost/Nixon” and “Milk”, the memoir of revolutionary gay policy-maker Harvey Milk. Talking to TSI, noted film critique Peter Travers said, "Slumdog Millionaire" has hit a chord with people. I am yet to meet someone who says he did not like the movie. The only thing that might go against it is that none of its casts have been nominated.”

On the best actor front, nominations were on the expected lines. However, Brad Pitt is on for a tight race with veteran Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke, nominated for their respective portrayals of a gay-rights activist in “Milk” and an ageing professional fighter in “The Wrestler”. The best female actor nominations bring nod for Kate Winslet. However, she got it for “ The Reader” and not for “Revolutionary Road” that saw a remarkable performance by her. It again signified the Academy’s age-old fixation with holocaust related dramas. Eyebrows were raised in the past when Adrien Brody (The Pianist) was chosen over Daniel Day Lewis’ splendid acting in “Gangs of New York”.

Actor Heath Ledger was posthumously nominated for his supporting role as the villainous Joker in “The Dark Knight”, which bagged eight nominations. If he wins, he will be the only actor (apart from Peter Finch, honoured posthumously for 1976's hit “Network”) to be conferred with the Oscar posthumously. The winner will be announced on February 22 at the Oscar ceremony at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.....Continue

Hail Obama - But can he really deliver?

Elizabeth M.Kein
Past President, American Society for Quality

I think it’s too early to say what Barack Obama would do for the world or for that matter, how he would shape his relationship with Asian nations. I strongly feel that we need to sit and watch at this point of time what this flambuoyant man can do. But we need to think about his hard, and Americans must not think that Obama will solve all problems of the US at one go. It’s not easy for him either to solve the economic and social problems that the US is facing right now. It is indeed challenging.

We all know about the conditions of India and China and their booming economies, and to talk about how Obama will treat these two countries needs attention. I think from the global economic perspective, he should maintain a very strong relationship with both of these countries of Asia. And fortunately, he will have a comparatively good time in Asia, as the latter people have more patience than Americans, and they understand that it will take time to bring in the changes needed. Improving quality of lifestyle in Asia and improving the standards of bilateral relationships are both challenging and time consuming.

Challenging in the sense that lots of past efforts have been wasted, and now it would be difficult for Obama to convince the political authorities in Asian countries. And then there’s the perception of the US being a country hit by depression. To overcome such challenges will take time. So, if you look at the bigger picture – and if Obama can overcome such challenges – Asia will have a very strong and perhaps symbiotic relationship with the US, and this would be beneficial for the stability of the global economy. Current problems like global malnutrition, we all know, is mostly a logistical problem, and Asia can be a solution to such problems. ....Continue

When Sonam Cried...

The prankster in Abhishek Bachchan couldn’t resist a prank on his "Delhi 6" co-star, Sonam Kapoor.With stunt director Allan Amin as his accomplice, he actually made Sonam cry! Apparently, Allan asked Sonam to perform a stunt without the safety harness, to which she was reluctant, but Abhishek forced her to follow Allan’s orders. When she refused, Abhishek pretended to have lost his temper and stormed out which made Sonam burst into tears thinking that she had offended him. When told about the prank, Sonam couldn’t stop laughing and was all praises for AB Jr. All's well that ends well!....Continue