Slumdog Millionaire And Nollywood

Slumdog Millionaire and Nollywood By Reuben Abati TOYIN Subair, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of HiTV, the Nigerian-owned cable television network, sat across the table at the Sheraton. He couldn't contain his excitement about Slumdog Millionaire. "That is what our actors and actresses in Nollywood should be aiming for", he exclaimed. "A single rags to riches story by Indian actors. It was the star film at this year's Oscars. If the Indians can do it, Nigerians can do it too. If we want to rebrand Nigeria, that is what we should be doing. Slumdog Millionaire is a great branding opportunity for India." He is absolutely right. But a Nigerian film winning the Oscars will require a lot more than wishful thinking. Everyone is talking about Slumdog Millionaire. It won at this year's Oscars, on Sunday, February 22, eight Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapte...Read the full article.

[Akpu-Nku]

Slumdog is not a Bollywood film. It is a British film made by a British director, Film4 and Chanel 4 with British born leading actor about the slums in Mumbai and generally in the whole India subcontinent. It is a low budget film made for television more as a docu-drama mainly for British and foriegn consummers in mind. The only involvement by Indian professionals were for artistic direction, dialogue, logistics, locations, physical involvement. It was by chance that it gradually became a hit because of it's exortic contents. It was never made with Oscar and film premieres in mind.

[akuluouno]

@Akpu Nku,

Zigactly my sentiments. It was an Indian film made in UK using mostly UK actors of Indian origin. Why Nigeria has not been able to harness the potentiials of her citizens in the UK is probably documented in the Bibilical book of Jasher.
Secondly I do not agree that government should ahve anything to do with Nollywood or else it will be dead on arrival. Look at sports. We ended up making billionaires of crooks like Amos Adamu.
On the proliferation of the variious Woods including Ohanezewood and Afeniferewood, it is the usual mischievious Nigerian factor which has held the country down for so long but can easily be overcome by a government determined to carry out some national socialisation of the people

[OweEse]

Nigeria has some fantastic literature and folktales that can be turned into blockbusters.

[Augusteen]

Good one.I did not notice any reference to employment generation. A document I read years back informed that the performing arts sell next to Aeroplanes. I suspect that would not have changed much.We can craft a job creation strategy through film.A lot depends on the Media in terms of giving recognition to whom it is due.It was Francis Fukuyama who opined that recognition drives History

[Jucihart]

Slumdog Millionnaire made a blockbuster - fact. I give credit to all those who did fantastic job to give quality and entertainment, whether Indians or British.

Nollywood is doing quite well but more needs to be done. Specialization is actually a key to success - Nollywood should know that.

Being united in purpose could take them to places so i do not support the yoruwood, ohanezewood syndrome - that is crap.

Govt being involved? Do we have one? Really I am trust important issue to our govt. They have disappointed us enough.

Marketing/mass production - hummm! That one be like i ga eligwe guta oku, geting fire from heaven, Next to impossible yet doable. If only we could be less selfish, then we are on our road to SUCCESS. We will win the OSCARS

[finklestein]

Slumdog is NOT BOLLYWOOD Mr Abati. It is a British movie.

[Auspicious]

+

Oh too bad I kin't crack my joke.

I'll save it for anara day.

Auspicious.

[liloldlady]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

+

Oh too bad I kin't crack my joke.

I'll save it for anara day.

Auspicious.

Would you believe, I had a pavlovian response to that your statement. I laughed because your jokes never fail to induce mirth.

I am getting predictable. Time to scatter the place small.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by liloldlady

..mirth..

Ah, Oyibo Nla!

Na wa for Big Grammer!

I ein' talking Lady, no ah ein't talkin!

Away with thee and thy temptation!

Auspicious.

[liloldlady]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

Ah, Oyibo Nla!

Na wa for Big Grammer!

I ein' talking Lady, no ah ein't talkin!

Away with thee and thy temptation!

Auspicious.

As you well know I am quite slow on the uptake (blame my maker, failed to throw in the manual for free, my mama too cheap to pay for it)

Now what have I done right...Oya wetin?

[Danmeka]

We can learn from this, the Slumdog Milliionaire director,Danny Boyle is one smart and gifted director. Nollywood whatever we call our dear film industry(I hate that word) can learn from this, instead of coming with mass produced films with manufactured and funny and degrading titles, we need to look inward and produced films based on our culture.Books I read as a kid such Eze goes to school, Abmibolu, The Drummer Boy, Passport of Mallam Ilia,Chike and the River and many more should have been produced and Nigerian films would get noticed. You noticed that a Bollywood Dance Company did the opening during the Oscars promoting their culture and guess what Hollywood would be looking to see if they can spent less in India while producing any Indian folktale stories.Please our actors and actresses should be real and get rid of the funny Americanigerise accent.They can borrow a leaf from Forrest Whitaker who spent six months learning how Idi Amin behaves no wonder he won the Oscar for Last King of Scotland.
Also we should create a condusive atmosphere to invite top Holloywood directors to direct and produce films in Nigeria,the last time such a top film was produced in Nigeria by a top Hollywood Director Bruce Beresford.Mister Johnson is a motion picture from 1990 based on the 1939 novel by Joyce Cary.The film's cast featured Maynard Eziashi, Pierce Brosnan, Edward Woodward, Sola Adeyemi, Beatie Edney, Femi Fatoba, Denis Quilley and Late Hubert Ogunde. The film was shot in Toro, Nigeria.Bruce Beresford is an Academy Award-nominated Australian film director, writer, and producer of such films as Breaker Morant, Tender Mercies and Driving Miss Daisy

[MrsChocT]

I so loved this movie, but at the same time, I am saddened by the exploitation of Indians by Hollywood. They didn't pay the actors well, it wasn't until a newspaper documented that the children lived in slums that they decided to buy them houses.


How about giving them education trust funds and paying them in dollars instead of Rupees? Oyinbo na barawo bansa

[MrsChocT]

Originally Posted by akuluouno

@Akpu Nku,

Zigactly my sentiments. It was an Indian film made in UK using mostly UK actors of Indian origin. Why Nigeria has not been able to harness the potentiials of her citizens in the UK is probably documented in the Bibilical book of Jasher.
Secondly I do not agree that government should ahve anything to do with Nollywood or else it will be dead on arrival. Look at sports. We ended up making billionaires of crooks like Amos Adamu.
On the proliferation of the variious Woods including Ohanezewood and Afeniferewood, it is the usual mischievious Nigerian factor which has held the country down for so long but can easily be overcome by a government determined to carry out some national socialisation of the people

I beg to differ, the only notable UK actor was the Slumdog millionaire himself Jamal(character) Dev Patel. Freida Pinto (Latikha) is 100% Indian born, bred, buttered and cheesed...so is the rest of the crew
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freida_Pinto

Check the cast listing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slumdog_Millionaire
Only one of them in Jandon Born...............the rest a professional Indian actors, Bollywood is no joke............and it makes more money that Hollywood

It's a British film quite alright but with 99.9% Indian actors.

[MrsChocT]

In order for the Nigerian film industry to be recognized, they need to do an overhaul. Directors shouldn't just cast folks because big boobs and yansh. Some of these folks can't act and it stinks across the screen.
A South African won the best film category a few years ago, Naija can learn from them.

If the actors hone their craft and learn from greats like Joke and Olu Jacobs who were professionally trained, they'll be ok. I also cannot stand when Nigerian movie actors fake a British or American accent. It is very annoying, this is one of the reasons I don't buy English Naija movies, coupled with the fact that they never have original story lines.

I'd take the Yoruba ones over them any day, at least, I won't hear rubbish accents,.....when it comes to Yoruba movies too, I only like the traditional ones with the real dialect being spoken...........I know not to watch some movies if I see some actors on the cover.........cos they just can't speak the ijinle Yoruba and it irks me when they try so hard.

I'm an avid supporter of our culture, so I don't enjoy movies that tend to want to westernize everything. It's bad enough that Oyinbos are taking over but must we let them make our culture a thing of the past.

Bollywood didn't conform to Oyinbo culture and they have stood their grounds and doing well without the help of Hollywood. We can do the same but our greed to keep releasing productions below par won't let us.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by liloldlady

As you well know I am quite slow on the uptake (blame my maker, failed to throw in the manual for free, my mama too cheap to pay for it)

Now what have I done right...Oya wetin?

You didn't do nothing wrong, Lady.

And you know you didn't too - cuz I know you're a confident one.

I just saw a brand-new word I ain't familiar with and doffed me hat.

That's all - that is, besides me resisting the temptation to crack a joke.

Auspicious.

[Ranter]

So I should guess we are required no longer to ask about the land allocation because Abati is a friend of NVS?

[OweEse]

Bollywood didn't conform to Oyinbo culture and they have stood their grounds and doing well without the help of Hollywood. We can do the same but our greed to keep releasing productions below par won't let us.

Actually there was some talk about some local people in Mumbai being upset because the film focused too much of the slums and did not focus on the nicer parts of of the city. Indian people are generally down to earth though because when I visited Mumbai last year people were asking me to visit the slums like they were proud of their city no matter what. Quite the contrary in Nigeria where people would rather you ignore the poor parts of the city like they didn't exist. I digress.

I can only imagine the uproar and outrage that would ensue on these boards and other Nigerian ones if a British or American director went into Ajegunle, selected some locals kids and made that area of Lagos the setting of a movie that would later go on to become an Oscar winning blockbuster. Nigerians would be asking why the Director did not go to Lekki or VI even Abuja sef...lol and oh why oh why did the Director have to focus on the pit latrines, molues, okadas and rubbish pits that lined every other street when there was beautiful scenes, nice big houses, people driving the latest big cars and clean tree lined streets in other parts of Nigeria.

I think when a Nigerian Director is ready to show the 'real' Nigeria, the Nigeria that the majority of Nigerians live and die in every day and not the pretentious few who happen to live the life of riley in the country, then maybe we will start seeing movies that are Oscar worthy.

Think 'City of God' type movie. Now that movie was RAW!! If you haven't seen it then check it out as it really does bring the Favelas in Brazil to life. 'City of God' trumps 'Slumdog..' in my opinion and I am surprised that it didn't win an Oscar although I think it was nominated.

[Olamide]

Nigerian movies will start getting noticed and win international awards only when all the inadequacies mentioned by various contributors have been taken cae of (fake accents, poor acting or over-acting, over-Westernization)
One of the things that irks me as a person about Nigerian movies is the usual story lines of a Dibia, babalawo, Alfa or Pastor helping to solve each problem presented in the film. No one is going to ever take us serious if all our story lines are predictable and films have titles like captions on Molues and bolekajas. The advertisements for the Nigerian films are something else. They make you want to slap someone. And it is always the same voice you hear for every advertisement telling you to go to No ???? Edidi Lane, Ebimpejo, Lagos. Govenment involvement in the film industry in Nigeria will be a disaster. Remember the adage about he who pays the piper dictating the tune? Nowadays and in Nigeria, they not only dictate the tune, but also the dance steps! I don't want to see films titled '60 years of Peace' or the 'Umbrella of prosperity' sponsored by PDP.

Can we do better?

[Ogor]

who says slumdog millionaire is a british movie?have u read the article titled from slumdog to slapdog?????