My sorry Pakistanis

On Monday morning, millions of Pakistanis felt so proud when for the first time Pakistani film maker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy won the 'Oscar for best documentary' for her film "Saving Face". My facebook and twitter feeds were full of people praising Sharmeen and how she made all of us so much proud; for some it was a dream come true. 

To be very honest, my first question was "Who is Sharmeen Obaid and why did she win the Oscar?". So I asked couple of my online friends who recently updated their status about her and how proud they felt. Funny story, 90-92% of them had no idea about Sharmeen and the only reason they felt so proud was due to the fact a Pakistani filmmaker won the Oscar. 

My next question to all the readers is that how many of you had seen 'Saving Face' before the movie won the Oscar? And what if Sharmeen had won just Lux Style Award for this movie and nothing else? 

Honestly, I feel terrible and extremely sorry for Pakistanis; how complex nation are we? To feel proud or to appreciate any Pakistani's good work - we need an American label to it. Nobody would have been bothered about Sharmeen or Acid Attacks had Oscar jury ignored the Pakistani film maker. 

Not a single person is proud on her talent; but people are going bizarre on her achievements. Criticize American aid, criticize American policies, criticize American attacks, criticize all the favors our government is taking to kill our own people; but love, respect and appreciate OSCAR. Is this the reality of an average Pakistani person?

I don't have any issue with Oscars - I know its a great thing. And my best wishes for Sharmeen and other filmmakers to win more such awards and continue more good work. They are changing the image of Pakistan and there can be no better work than this. But I don't think its something that I am really proud of; I mean how can I be proud of something I haven't seen or I didn't even know it existed in the first place?

I would have been more happy to see this film being released on national televisions, critically acclaimed by Pakistani entertainment industry and creating and leaving an impact in the hearts of millions of Paki viewers before winning the OSCAR.
When Lagaan (Indian movie) was nominated for Oscars; it was a super-duper hit in the home country.

I would hope to see Pakistanis realize how complex are they and try to change themselves. We need to own, love and respect our belongings - and we must not seek for a foreign endorsement to appreciate it.

P.S. I have never considered anyone more Pakistani than myself; so if I say Pakistanis it definitely includes myself. This blog did not intent to hurt anyone's feelings and I hope it will be taken in the right spirit.

Thank you for reading!