Note 1: 'Barfi!' has been copied in the title of this post.
Note 2: Note 1: 'Barfi!' has been copied in the title of this post.
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I had a truly amazing cinematic experience when I watched 'Barfi!' last week. My facebook feed was filled with updates hailing the movie of the sheer brilliance and the joy this movie is. News came, 'Barfi!' is now officially this year's entry to the Oscars from India. Within a few days, the tides turned. People were now sharing clips of movies from which 'Barfi!' has been copied. Like this, this and this. People seem saddened and disappointed. Something they connected to, felt proud of, brought them joy, only to later discover that it is a copy! Oh, the blasphemy!
I understand.
Let's talk movies now, let's talk Oscars, let's talk about the disappointment, let's talk about our country now. Let's talk some sense.
First, 'Barfi!' is India's official entry to the Oscars this year (The complete year-wise list is available here). It has NOT already been nominated to the Oscars (and chances are, it won't be). There is going to be a ballot, first round of shortlisting, the list ultimately cut down to 5 movies, which will compete against one another for the Oscar for the 'Best Foreign Language Film 2012'.
Let's talk Oscars now. The Oscars are NOT an international awards. They are NOT the United Nations of movies. They are an American awards institution. To understand which movies will/will not win at the Oscars, we need to try to understand it from an American social-cultural point-of-view. It is difficult for us to understand that, because we are not Americans. It is for this reason that we find it so difficult to understand why 'Slumdog Millionaire' won 8 Oscars. Of course, Hollywood ships amongst the best movies in the world, so Oscars definitely is a good indicator of the quality of movies that win them. There is truly great cinema out there in the world which do not find any mention at the awards. Does that make those movies bad? All dogs are animals, but all animals are not dogs.
Do we need a stamp of approval from a body that is NOT Indian to make us appreciate what good cinema is, and what is not? We lack a good governing body for cinema awards in India. Of course there are the lack-luster National Awards, which is a pretty good indicator of good cinema in our country. Filmfare Awards could have been the Oscars of our country, but that is a lost cause now. 'India's entry to the Oscars', irrespective of how the movie performs at the Oscars itself, is a good recognition for a movie, because it is picked by an Indian governing body.
Let's talk movies now, and the "originality" of the great movies. Directors refer to old classics all the time. They sometimes acknowledge it, they sometimes don't.
The iconic opening text crawl in 'Star Wars' (winning multiple Oscars across the 6 movies) was directly "inspired" from Flash Gordon TV Series.
The classic 'The Lion King' (1994) (4 Oscar nominations) "heavily borrows" from 'Kimba: The White Lion' as analysed here.
The iconic scene in which Sonny Corleone is killed in a car in the classic 'The Godfather' (1972) (nominated for 11 Oscars, won 3.) is directly "inspired" from the final scene of 'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967) (nominated for 10 Oscars, won 2.)
'The Shining' (1980) has an iconic scene which has Jack Nicholson breaking his way through a door. It has been "inspired" from this scene in 'The Phantom Carriage' (1921).
The steps scene from 'The Untouchables' (1987) (nominated for 4 Oscars, winning 1) was inspired by this scene from 'Battleship Potemkin' (1925).
Tarantino's 'Reservoir Dogs' was "ripped-off" from 'City on Fire'.
...and then there are remakes.
Kurosawa's 'Seven Samurai' (1954) nominated for 2 Oscars, remade as, 'The Magnificent Seven' (1960) nominated for 1 Oscar.
'Män som hatar kvinnor' (2009), remade as, 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' (2011), nominated for 5 Oscars, winning 1.
'La cage aux folles' (1978) nominated for 3 Oscars, remade as, 'The Birdcage' (1996), nominated for 1 Oscar.
'Infernal Affairs' (2002), remade by Martin Scorcese as 'The Departed' (2006), nominated for 5 Oscars, winning 4 Oscars.
'La bonne année' (1973), remade as, 'Happy New Year', nominated for 1 Oscar.
'Profumo di donna' (1974), nominated for 2 Oscars, remade starring Al Pacino as 'Scent of a woman' (1992), nominated for 4 Oscars, winning 1.
...and many, many more.
If movies weren't enough, let me also give you an example of actors being "inspired" for their characters. Heath Ledger's Joker is probably the most iconic super-villain ever played in a Batman movie. EVER. His brilliant performance in 'The Dark Knight' (2008) fetched him an Oscar. Check out this video of his fellow country-man Tom Waits from the 1970s:
I do not deny that 'Barfi!' has references to several great classics. Maybe even a scene-by-scene copy. But from classics! 'Singin' in the rain', 'City Lights', 'Life is beautiful' are AMAZING movies! Among the best I have ever watched! 'City Lights' is my most favorite movie in the romantic genre. That's the point! The director did not "copy" from the obscure movies, he did from the classics, which is why I am willing to give the film-makers the benefit of doubt. This would have been "caught". But does that make 'Barfi!' anything less than being good cinema? An emphatic NO. Few scenes are copied, yes, but the heart of the movie is true, original, and fresh.
I am a little disappointed, yes, but not to the extent of stupidity.
What is wrong with our country?! We went into the theater to watch good cinema. We experienced joy and happiness, we experienced good cinema. That feeling was real. Cherish it. The fact that we discovered a few scenes in a movie were "copied" from great cinema around the world, does that make anything we felt inside the theater any less real? Why is it suddenly a matter of national shame and disappointment? Cinema is a big deal for me. I like to talk about it. I love the experience it can offer. I speak to a lot of people around the world, and try to understand what their cinema is, and I tell them about the great cinema my country has to offer. 'Barfi!' is a movie about which I am going to tell people around the world. With pride, that my country produced this gem in film-making. I am going to share this with the world. And I know they would appreciate it. And so should you.
