Slumdog is ok, Delhi 6 not?' Bachchan criticises film critics

Comparing fim reviewers reactions to Slumdog Millionaire with those to Delhi 6, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has taken on critics, pointing out what he sees as double standards of some of them.

"I am grateful for some of the reactions that have come in for D6 (Delhi 6) ... Both positive and negative. We must never be too obsessed with the positive nor too depressed with the negative," he wrote in his blog from Hyderabad Saturday night.

"I can understand personal opinions that respondents make, but what baffles me are the reviews of critics. These individuals are the masters of the game. They are trained and knowledged (sic) in the job. Their opinion counts and forms the basis of analysis in attracting the customer to the theatre. So how feasible is their report when their observations differ to such an extreme and large extent."

Bachchan noted that one critic exulted Delhi 6, starring his son Abhishek Bachchan, as "the greatest piece of cinema seen in a long time", while another review screamed "the film is a waste of time... or words to that effect".

"One states 'this is Abhishek's best and most mature performance'. And the other contradictorily says just the opposite. One lauds the sensitivity of the premise, the other laments the absence of it... So which opinion does one go by - if going by their opinion is what viewers seek."

Bachchan wrote that media reports coming out within a day of the film release become yardsticks of judgement and urged fans: "It is best to see it yourself and make your own assessment. Like it or hate it, at least you have the satisfaction of not having been misled."

Lamenting "bias and deliberate intent, where personal equations come into play in complete disregard of the code of journalistic conduct", he criticised the media for its "common principle. Be first, rather than be correct".

He also recalled the reaction of a section of media to his previous comments on Slumdog Millionaire.

"Just the other day, the same learned critics had derided those that had expressed negative opinion on Slumdog Millionaire, vociferously defending the contents of the film, by arguing, that those that opposed it did so because they were reluctant to accept someone who was showing them a mirror!"

"So then, metaphorically speaking, or should it rather be, philosophically speaking, what are we saying - Slumdog is ok and Delhi 6 not?"