(This is about the book "Slumdog Millionaire" is based on. So if you want to watch that movie with a clear mind, you might not want to read the following. However if you're planning to read the book, read this to save yourself a few hours. Also, I haven't watched the movie yet, but will do so soon, with an open mind. So if you do comment here, don't tell me anything about the movie.)
You know that scene in the Tamil movie "Kadhala Kadhala" where Prabhu Deva paints a beautiful woman and the art students, Rambha and Soundarya, poo-pooh it, and later when Kamal Hasan throws some soda on it and smears it all over the painting they go "Wow, this is art!"? Here's my question, why do writers these days feel like they need to take a nice story and ruin it with dirt?
I just finished reading "Q&A". On my Goa trip, my friend was reading it and after I finished the book I had with me, I borrowed his. It was probably the worst book I read since "Kite Runner". Why do writers these days feel like a book is incomplete without references to child molestation, rape, prostitution, homosexuality and general wretchedness? Oh and flashbacks and references to future events in the story. It's like they're doing a "connect the dots" to complete a book. And I'm not exactly mad that the writer is focusing on all these negatives about living in India, although yeah it does bug me. It just bothers me that this trend of doing a collage of misery will only increase after the success of this book/movie. I'm not asking for the negatives about society (Indian society in particular) to be swept under the carpet, but you're a lesser person in my opinion if you think this is what it takes to make a great book.
As for the rest of the book, boy it felt so contrived! In a way, I suppose that the set of weird coincidences is the point of the book but it's so unsatisfactory. It's like a story of a bunch of paint cans being thrown off from a building and forming the Mona Lisa when they finally hit the ground. Gee really? What next, a story of a poor girl who gets married to a prince after dancing with him for a day? A girl who falls asleep till woken up by a charming prince? This is what storytelling has come down to these day?
Don't even get me started on "Kite Runner".
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2 comments:
I have two comments. Firstly, look who else is slamming the story
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1226740
Secondly, how long before you slam The God Of Small Things and Monsoon Wedding ?
(Slamming my head on the desk.)
That's the reason why I am restricting my comments to the book, and not the movie, I haven't seen it yet.
As for GoST, the only defense is that it did it first. And also I actually like the book because it reads like a poem.
Similarly Monsoon Wedding had just that one part, which I'll admit, felt a little contrived. But to me MW is about Nasiruddin Shah's character and his love and concern for his entire family, so that passes too.
Q&A, like I said, just collects all these "Bingo" scenarios and calls it a book. Pathetic.
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