About a month back, I was keenly watching the Star Screen Awards on TV. Everything seemed to be going fine - the awards were fair (until that turning point in the show which has inspired me to express my film views openly to the whole world), Sajid Khan,the anchor, was as usual doing a great job. Then came the Award for Best Screenplay. I was frustrated when this particular movie was even nominated, and I assumed it was only because of the lack of any other better one to fill up the five slots of the nominees (now to always have a fixed number of nominees can be an entirely separate topic itself). But when it won, I was furious! I started pulling my hair, banging the dining table, shouting and what not. I infact, stopped seeing the awards ceremony after that point. The movie in question was Life In A Metro. This movie is a complete rip-off of one of the most popular and acclaimed movies of all-time, The Apartment. There are many storylines in Metro, but the fact is the essence and the real charm (if I can use this word) of the movie was the love triangle between Sharmaan, Kangana and Kay Kay (all other stories were based on this storyline), which is blatantly derived from the extremely wonderful, and a 'perfect' movie,which has mulitiple Oscars to it's credit.
Now, shouldn't the jury have known that? I always thought the jury would be well-versed with the classics, movies which every person who loves movies should have seen before they can have the odacity to go judge the works of others. That decision was probably, one of the most terrible decisions I have ever seen, and I'm not talking of just film award decisions. Giving awards for acting or music is fine when the movie is a remake, but writers, producers and directors should never be encouraged. And of all the awards the film won, it had to win for screenplay!
And the director Anurag Basu, who became famous with a superhit which was also a remake of a Hollywood movie (Murder -> Unfaithful), has the nerves to say this after winning, "Thank you for the award. It only means I have to write a better screenplay next time".
Now what does he mean by that? Is he thinking of remaking Casablanca next? And he's judging young film-makers in Gateway To Hollywood. God bless Hollywood now!
Well, Anurag Basu has definitely shown that he may be wonderful in copying others' painfully thought of, extremely well-written, straight-from-the-heart scripts, but he has also shown that he is a man with no shame and respect. This man (if I can call him that) is one hack and deserves no recognition from anybody. He just does not have any conscience at all!
Mr. Rajeev Masand (shouldn't he know of the existence of this AFI Top 100 movie?) praises Metro even on a New Year's Special on TV, and you know it's time to change the way you choose film critics and jury members!
Now, shouldn't the jury have known that? I always thought the jury would be well-versed with the classics, movies which every person who loves movies should have seen before they can have the odacity to go judge the works of others. That decision was probably, one of the most terrible decisions I have ever seen, and I'm not talking of just film award decisions. Giving awards for acting or music is fine when the movie is a remake, but writers, producers and directors should never be encouraged. And of all the awards the film won, it had to win for screenplay!
And the director Anurag Basu, who became famous with a superhit which was also a remake of a Hollywood movie (Murder -> Unfaithful), has the nerves to say this after winning, "Thank you for the award. It only means I have to write a better screenplay next time".
Now what does he mean by that? Is he thinking of remaking Casablanca next? And he's judging young film-makers in Gateway To Hollywood. God bless Hollywood now!
Well, Anurag Basu has definitely shown that he may be wonderful in copying others' painfully thought of, extremely well-written, straight-from-the-heart scripts, but he has also shown that he is a man with no shame and respect. This man (if I can call him that) is one hack and deserves no recognition from anybody. He just does not have any conscience at all!
Mr. Rajeev Masand (shouldn't he know of the existence of this AFI Top 100 movie?) praises Metro even on a New Year's Special on TV, and you know it's time to change the way you choose film critics and jury members!
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