Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’
‘Slumdog’ film success irks Indians
Published 23 January, 2009, 10:57
Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has been nominated for ten Oscars. But many Indians are unhappy with the portrayal of their country in the film, particularly the treatment of poverty.
The movie is a rags-to-riches tale, telling the story of an Indian boy from Mumbai's notorious slums.
While many Indians are proud of the Golden Globe awards it has won, and the possibility of Oscars, some argue that the film pushes a stereotyped Western image of India. They complain Boyle’s work does not reflect the modernity and wealth of present-day India.
“Any Indian movie which has poverty as its theme is liked by the Western world very much. They glamourise poverty. For us what is sad is a surprise for them and is well received by them. That is what has made ‘Slumdog’ a success,” film critic Punit Kumar said.
British director Danny Boyle, famous for films like ‘Trainspotting’, ‘The Beach’, ‘28 Days Later’ and ‘Sunshine’, worked on the movie with local co-director, Loveleen Tandan.
“Why is it that British and American filmmakers see only one part of India? If he wants to look, he will see that modern India has changed a lot. He can make a film with that view. So I feel that this depiction has been an exaggeration,” film critic Ram Kishore Parcha said.
Others feel India has many facets; that the slums are a reality and there can be no objection to their portrayal in a film.
“The slums in India exist, why shy away. In fact more such films need to be made in India; we have had enough of Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra kind of fantasy cinema. Our cinema has been reduced to an escapist medium; it’s time we showed some reality,” film critic Zia Ud Salam said.
Others argue the theme required the slum setting for the story to be believable.
“This is more about the human spirit, it could have been set in another milieu also, it could have been set in a rich milieu; but the story is such that it has to be set in a milieu like slums because it is a story of aspirations of going up in the ladder,” film critic Utpal Borpujari said.
While the debate rages on, many Indians are curious to see the movie, not only because of the awards it has bagged, but to make up their own minds on a controversial film.
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