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From: atul@ut-ngp.UUCP (Atul Arya)
Newsgroups: net.movies,net.flame,net.nlang.india
Subject: Re: A Passage to India (worst movie), FLAME
Message-ID: <1610@ut-ngp.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 14-Apr-85 12:45:18 EST
Article-I.D.: ut-ngp.1610
Posted: Sun Apr 14 12:45:18 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Apr-85 00:27:08 EST
Organization: U.Texas Computation Center, Austin, Texas
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Xref: watmath net.movies:6086 net.flame:9273 net.nlang.india:322


 Mr. M.Friedman @ Bell Comm. Res., Piscataway, NJ writes (with reference 
  to "A Passage to India"):
>I was really sickened by this portrayal of yesterdays India.  To this day
>I still can't figure out how this atrocity recieved so many Academy Awards.
>The film lasted for a period not exceeding 3 hours.  Ten minutes into the
>film we were ready to leave, but after paying $4.00 a piece we refused to 
>leave the theater, without a full refund...
>Granted the director got together 100's of the lowlife's from India to 
>shoot the film, just like Ghandi... Big f*uckin deal!
>My advise is to stay away from Assage to India......

    I am deeply offended and angered by Mr. Friedman's comments
 about "A Passage to India". His comments are irresponsible and
 racist to say the least. As an Indian living in this country 
 for many years I am honestly surprised and shocked by his remarks 
 about Indian people.   
     Now, Mr. Friedman what was it that offended you so much about
 the movie? Do you know that David Lean has also made some of the
 finest movies in last thirty years including "Doctor Zivago", 
 "A Bridge Over River Kwai" and "Lawerence of Arabia". Do you have
 or have cared to acquire some knowledge about India before 1947 
 (she became free from British rule on Aug. 15,1947)? What was so "atrocious"
 about the movie? And by the way the movie received only two Academy
 Awards. That probably is too many for your taste. What made you judge	
 the movie in only first ten minutes? 
      I do not deny the fact that there are problems with the movie.
 But there are so many good things that the drawbacks are only small
 and not very conspicuous. Anyone who has read the masterpiece by 	
 Forester will be disappointed to some extent. But I can safely
 assume that Mr. Friedman has never heard of the book or of E.M.Forester.
 Perhaps one of the best things about the movie is outstanding 
 performances by the entire cast. I hope Mr. Friedman realized that
 "one of the lowlife's from India" played the central role of Dr. Aziz.
 Victor Banerjee (Dr. Aziz in the movie) is one of the finest Indian 
 actors today and he definitely proved his caliber in the movie. 
 (His fans will have another chance to see him in the forthcoming
 Satyajit Ray movie "Home and World"). And I am yet to come	
 across a single person who did not like Dame Peggy Ashcroft's
 portrayl of Mrs. Moore. 
     I gather from Mr. Friedman's remarks that he did not like
 the movie "Gandhi" either. (By the way it is "Gandhi" and not
 "Ghandi"[ugh]). Maybe it will be beneficial for him to stay away from
 movies concerning India (considering his "special" feelings
 towards Indians). 
     In conclusion I can only hope that Mr. Friedman's comments
 will not dissuade anyone from seeing "A Passage to India". I also
 hope that in future members of this network community will refrain
 from posting irresponsible comments on net.movies.
     And as my grandmother used to say: "For a frog in a well, the
 well is the whole world", and that seems to be the case with some
 people.
 
                                                  Atul Arya
                                         Dept. of Petroleum Engineering
                                            Univ. of Texas at Austin