“The unexpected words form Resul Pookutty eclipsed all announcements at the 81st Oscar."
Rahman, Resul Jai Ho’, ‘Jai Ho Rehman, Resul’, ‘Resul, Rehman, Jai Ho’, ‘Jai Ho Resul, Rehman’… that’s how the Slumdog Millionaire excitement looked in the headlines of dailies on Tuesday morning.
When Resul Pookutty became the fifth Indian and the first Malayali to win an Oscar, Vilakkupara, a village off Kollam, joined predictable datelines of Los Angeles, Mumbai and Chennai. Pookutty’s family celebrated the moment at their ancestral house.
Even though Pookutty didn’t quote Hindi dialogues or Tamil adages to the glitterati at Kodak Theatre, his Om speech became a hit. BJP daily
Janmabhumi was so excited by the acknowledgement that it carried an additional edit on page 1 titled
Omkara in Oscar.
“The unexpected words form Resul Pookutty eclipsed all announcements at the 81st Oscar. None of those who represented India at Oscar or other international fora has made such a declaration. Pookutty, who dedicated the award to the country, said he comes from a land which contributed a great sound to the world. When he said Om was that sound, the Keralite was referring to the secular Indian heritage.”
Limelight on Vilakkupara (Madhyamam), A moment of prayer for this village (Chandrika), Vilakkupara to Oscar light (Janmabhumi) — Pookutty’s village hogged space on front pages. Malayala Manorama went to town with the second lead, Kerala at the Oscars. Editorials and comments galore.
Rehman, too, was a homegrown boy. His father RK Sekhar had composed a number of songs for Malayalam movies, where he worked with legends like G Devarajan.
Though Gulzar, who wrote the academy award-winning song
Jai Ho, gave all credit to Rehman, dailies gave him due acknowledgement. Manorama and Mathrubhumi had Gulzar on the front page.
In the blinding limelight, everything else was eclipsed. chief minister VS Achuthanandan’s land distribution in Munnar went to inside pages. Finance minister TM Thomas Isaac saw post-budget discussions coming to an abrupt end. CPI(M) secretary Pinarayi Vijayan’s and Congress state chief Ramesh Chennithala’s road shows were relegated to the backdrop. After all, Oscars don’t come everyday.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}