I am rooting for Slumdog Millionaire to win as many awards as possible in tomorrow’s Oscars. Certainly the Oscar for “Best Picture” as well. Does that mean I think it’s an amazing picture? Do I really think it’s better than some of the good movies churned up by Indian cinema?
Not really. Off the top of my head, I can think of quite a few Hindi movies that were as good, or better – Swades, or Chak de India, or even Lagaan. Even if we were to look at movies made just about kids in Mumbai slums, I’d say Salaam Bombay was far more touching, and it never won any Oscars. Plus, these movies all competed in the “Foreign Film” category, which is obviously a big handicap. Nor did they have the marketing muscle that Slumdog has.
But even if it’s not the bet picture we’ve seen in Indian cinema, it’s still quite good. I found it quite disquieting, and yet I liked it. So why do Indians hate Slumdog Millionaire?
We went with another couple to watch the movie. We were all disposed to like the movie, even though we knew the reviews were hostile in India. But after the movie, my friend, a Mumbaikar, was upset over the depictions of Mumbai.
“Why do they only show the poverty?”, she wondered. “Why don’t they show all of Mumbai instead of focusing just on Dharavi?”
I was silent. The movie is disquieting, but I realized a large part of my disquiet stems from the fact that it’s a possible tale. I can believe most of what the movie shows. The police brutality, the wretched life in the slums, the religion-based riots, the kidnapping of kids to work as beggars, I can believe all this. There are a few twists of plot that are hard to believe, but I cannot question the essential portrayal.
It’s true the movie focuses on the slums, but that’s what its story is about. It’s also true that Danny Boyle manages to show every symbol of India that the West focuses on – the slums, the call centers and the Taj Mahal. He somehow missed out on the snake charmers and the Great Indian rope trick, but he got everything else in. But then I am not surprised – it’s easier for someone new to India to stick to clichés rather than try to comprehend all of the complexity that India is.
But is that why people dislike the movie? Because it is full of clichés ? Shouldn’t we expect that? Aren’t Bollywood movies full of stereotypes too – the chain-smoking, hard-drinking villain, the honest hero, the innocent, beautiful, heroine and so on?
I wonder if our main objection to the movie is because it depicts a part of India we’d rather not focus on. We’d like to celebrate our economic growth and our resurgent middle class. We’d like to point to our new malls and glass-fronted buildings. The movie does not show much of the prosperity of middle class India. It shows the other India that not many of us know very well, or would like to think about – the poor India that has remained poor despite all the recent economic growth.
Not many of us ever venture inside Dharavi. It’s still a symbol of what we’ve not yet accomplished, despite pious statements like “Garibi Hatao” all those years ago.
None of the things shown in the movie is news to us, but we don’t like being reminded in an in-your-face manner about them. It is much more comforting to hope that with continued economic growth, eventually, the poor will also get a better quality of life.
So is this a class issue then? Does the middle class feel ignored and sidelined in the movie’s depiction ? Or is it just that we’d like the West, and the rest of the world, to focus on the positive story about India’s economic growth? Does the movie remind us a little too harshly about the stark realities of poverty that co-exist with our own comfortable existence? Is that why so many are flinching?
Will Nunez
Emilie
debajyoti
Liz
I have to say, what I’m reading here is a shame. Not the blog (which I agree with in whole) but the responses.
This was a beautiful movie. It is very unique in being an R rated “Feel good” movie. I think that Indians hate it, because from what I have witnessed (from a third perspective) is that the their people feel somewhat embarrass that the country suffers from poverty, and prefer to ignore it.
There is nothing shameful about being poor.
“the their people feel somewhat embarrass that the country suffers from poverty, and prefer to ignore it.
There is nothing shameful about being poor.”
There is nothing shameful about being poor. It is shameful & harmful not to accept it.
you are so retarded! I waS born in india and i have not seen much slums. before the british attacked us, we were the richest country on the whole earth. india is much better than that crappy movie. you should be ashamed
I agree. Its a beautiful movie.
And as much as a patriot that I am, I’ll have to say this…our country is disgusting…there’s nothing to be proud of it. 1/3rd of the world’s poverty-striken people come from india. Its not surprising why anybody can form this perception of our country.
And to top it all, the world’s richest also come for our country.
Lets not ignore this problem and think India is great. Lets do something about the way countries perceive us by changing the demography accordingly.
I vehemently disagree with d. We Indians do NOT hate the movie because we feel embarrassed or emotionally insecure when it comes to poverty. We hate it because we are sick and tired of narrow minded people perceiving our country as backward and lacking maturity and how people who perceive our country like that are rewarded with the highest accolades. Though I do agree that many Indians did not like the problem of poverty being shoved in their face like that. I can clearly understand the gravity of the poverty crisis in India and I am thinking of ways to solve it. My opinions concerning the movie are:
I liked the movie because of the following reasons:
1. It depicted some reality
2. It reminded me of Satyajit Ray (film was nowhere close though…underline and italicize nowhere)
3. It made millions of Indians face a part of the problem that they were not willing to face and I think recognizing the problem is one step towards solving it
I do not like the fact that it was given Oscars and the hype because of the following reasons:
1. Now the majority of the world will perceive India as a country engulfed in the atmosphere that was portrayed in the movie and that is utter nonsense
2. Though the movie depicted a figment of reality in the city of Mumbai, it completely ignored most of the Indian life which takes place in the villages.
3. Like some others said, it was just a typical bollywood masala movie that happened to have some connection with the west. The storyline was not notable at all.
Jai Hind
1. Now the majority of the world will perceive India as a country engulfed in the atmosphere that was portrayed in the movie ..
It did so before the movie was made. Because it’s true.
2. Though the movie depicted a figment of reality in the city of Mumbai, it completely ignored most of the Indian life which takes place in the villages.
Dear Child, should Titanic have not won the oscars because it did not give include how the ship was constructed?
3. Like some others said, it was just a typical bollywood masala movie that happened to have some connection with the west.
It was a masala movie, that’s true, but MUCH better than bollywood ones and incomparable when it comes to technical aspects.
Jai Hind
Shouting this millions of times won’t change the fact that India is poor.
Hey,
Thanks for the comments. I was hoping someone would make some interesting points and you did (lol on the chodu comment too. I am wondering the same thing). lol and yeah, I am going to be annoying and every one of my responses with Jai Hind
Ans 1. It did so before the movie was made. Because its true.
I beg to differ. I do not think all of India is not engulfed in such atmosphere. I mean, you should know right. Yes there are many poor people who live life miserably but not every little girl is sold off to a brothel is what I meant and not every little boy is swimming in fecal matter and “true India” is not all grim and grimy. Jai Hind.
Ans 2. Dear Child, should Titanic have not won the Oscars because it did not give include how the ship was constructed?
Ship being constructed is a technicality. I am not asking anyone to show how my country was constructed, if that’s what you meant. If the movie Titanic was interpreted in a way to suggest that every ship met the same fate as itself, people who build ships would be upset and it would not be worth the Oscar. Jai Hind.
Ans 3. It was a masala movie, thats true, but MUCH better than bollywood ones and incomparable when it comes to technical aspects.
I agree the technical aspect (especially cinematography) was far beyond anything bollywood will achieve. But, what I meant was it was a typical cheesy movie. My bad. Jai Hind.
Comment 1. Shouting this millions of times wont change the fact that India is poor.
No just shouting Jai Hind wont. But I like saying it. Jai Hind.
And once more, say it with me, lmao
Jai Hind.
Correction:
Instead of:
lol and yeah, I am going to be annoying and every one of my responses with Jai Hind
Read:
lol and yeah, I am going to be annoying and end every one of my responses to your responses with Jai Hind
Thanks again for replying…had this discussion with many of my friends who think like you too…helped me a lot!
good job
i dont know to which country do you belong, but i am sure your country must have faced the same problems which we are facing right now when your nation was young
i more important thing never disrespect any nation ever
I was born in and grew up in new zealand and faced heaps of racism as a child. Oh, India is full of slums and beggars, you all burn brides, you have a caste system, you only live to 40 years, you worship cows. This kind of negative stereotyping of India is nothing new and is reprehensible. A villian and hero cliche is not a CULTURAL stereotype. White people mock us for having a caste system but those who teased me for this hates ALL indians regardless of caste so how hypocritical to say we have a caste system? In the bible itself tehre are pharisees, levites etc all different birth-given social roles, which was all caste was, an attempt to order society by roles.
Australia always bangs on about the caste system. It was outlawed in the 1950s but the Australian White Only policy vontinues to the 70s. Hypocrites.
I can’t stand such movies and books and I can’t stand white people going to India and trying to save it, the same white people who spat on me when I was little for being Indian. India has 1 billion people, we have enough people to save the sick and poor. Stay and look afgter your own country.
good luck living there in New Zealand hope it gets better
Stay and look afgter your own country.
They do. Therefore they prosper.
If Indians looked after their country as well as the westerners, none of this debate would be taking place.
I agree. I don’t think white people should ever go to India.
Over all I would say it was a good movie. Like I know what you guys means of that they just showed the poor parts of India and not the good parts, but would we really complain about it that much if an indian made it. I know that their are people who are rasist to indians, I was born and raised in America. There are racist people, but I have heard from my cousin that its a lot worse in Australlia. I may have been born and raised in America, but I still love visiting India and go there like every year. So I can understand why you guys and my parents, and many other people might feel offended. But I don’t think race matters I can kind of see both sides of the story. The Americans have a right to make a movie about what they want and of course they’re going to award oscars to movies most people in America have heard of. Sorry if this comment offends anyone i’m just giving you my opinion.
Hi, I do respect your opinions and I don’t think race matters either. The following are just some thoughts I had after reading your post. I take objection to the part about the race of the person who made the movie. I am referring you, of course, to Satyajit Ray. He made movies about abject poverty also. He won an oscar for his movies too, if that adds something of value to his work (I don’t think so anymore). But he also managed to capture the “life” in Indians as a people and developed the characters with great panache. That is the reason we are not complaining, we agree with that depiction despite its negativity regardless the race of Ray (We like Steven Spielberg, Jackie Chan, Will Smith etc. too if that helps make the point more explicit). This movie (SM) on the other hand I think utterly ignores those kinds of deep issues to make India look like a place (I refer to the satire on “real India” by a small child in the movie) filled with dereliction, corruption, pillage and nothing much else in a cliched movie. I believe that when such a severely biased and skewed depiction of any country is given the (supposedly) highest accolades in the field, that leads the populace of the country in question to respond by asking the innocent question: Why? and I think that’s what people like me and your parents are asking in our minds. Great acting, strange movie. We are all just apprehensive of the social implications of the awards around the world.
Sorry if this comment offends anyone im just giving you my opinion.
Not at all. This is only the third SANE comment I’ve come across.
I live in America, and I have to say that I was deeply moved by the depictions of the poor parts of India. India is growing so fast in so many ways, but like any prosperous nation, they face the same challenges. Some will be left behind by progress. On one hand, it would seem as though we could say, “Only the strong survive”, but it is more proper to reach out to help those less fortunate. To help those who cannot help themselves (not the thieves, but those who truly are too weak to rise above their circumstances).
If anything, Slumdog is a great story, but that is it. It is a story. Yet, it has made many Americans think about how much need their is in other nations. Perhaps the people in USA and India can work together to make these problems better.
I absolutely agree that poverty should be fought both globally as well as locally. I just had one question though: What did you mean by “it has made many Americans think about how much need their is in other nations”. Is the word “their” a typo for ‘there’ or did you mean ‘their need’? I am sorry but clarifying that helps me understand your comment better. Thank you very much!
I appreciate your sentiments, but no thanks. A country which can not prosper on its own doesn’t deserve to reach the top. Your help will only make this country dependent on your country.
Well I still think it was a typo…
particle, you are the most idiotic ape I have ever met
Indians have to be the biggest hypocrites in the world. “Why don’t they show all of Mumbai?” Do Indian movies show the impoverished parts when they are focusing on rich people? No, in fact there very little Indian movies that show poverty at all. I know that india is developing, but don’t kid yourselves, because most indian’s live in poverty (the number is 700,000,000). So idk why your so shocked to see poor people because i know you see them every day… You guys are just mad, because the true india was depicted. Hindu extremists and all. Yeah it must be shocking not to see the Muslims as the extremists right? Awesome movie!
You are the kind of people I am most afraid of for the sake of my country. You think what was depicted in the movie was reality itself (It is not. The movie was a work of fiction). I know you are upset by Hindu fanatics and trust me, so am I. I also agree the stereotyping of our Muslim brothers and sisters as extremists in many movies is grossly unfair since I have many Muslim friends in family myself (growing up in places like Hyderabad and Mumbai). But, I am deeply upset you used the phrase “true India” of which you seem to have no idea yourself. By the way, I think the movie Mr. and Mrs. Iyer does more justice to Hindu fanatics (depicts them as the monsters that they are!), I recommend it. Once again, I am happy you enjoyed the movie because it was a good work of fiction but I am sad you think that is all there is to reality in India. I do not think it was intended to be a documentary. With all due respect: We, Indians, are not so shocked by the movie so much as we are shocked by people like you making ignorant statements about an entire country of 1.2bn people. Please, there is enough bitterness involved without you introducing the age old fight between the monotheistic and polytheistic religious fanatics.
“You are the kind of people I am most afraid of for the sake of my country.”
You are the kind of people because of whom I stopped bothering about the fate of my country.
My country has no future unless my people accept that my country stinks and start to clean the dirt.
I agree with you. I only said that because I was afraid people would start thinking that the “true India” is what is portrayed in the movie and that is all there is to our country. I think you should not stop bothering about the fate of our country just because I said something disagreeable to you. And how do you propose we clean the mess? I was thinking maybe go into the civil services….tough exam though…
Slumdog was a cheap piece of westernized cheesy trash, and I say this as a westerner.
True. But don’t tell it to Indians; they eat, sleep & drink Bollywood which is worse than Hollywood C-graders.
Should I add that I say this as an Indian?
i love the movie
i am indian and it explains the real india
not the bollyood portrayal of india but the raw, disturbing factors of the country.
it is an eye opener and i think good has com of the movie. more people have tried to help slow the poverty by sponsoring.
The movie was also BRILLIANT!!
only the “indians” who want to see india become worse in the next few days think its offensive.
I agree with you completely. The movie was totally awesome. But it was not meant to be a documentary. People should stop thinking it is. (The cast and director seem to think so…. http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/slumdog-millionaire-not-a-documentary-danny-boyle_100144970.html is the closest I could get to their actual views). I must also add that in the same article, Khan makes complete sense.
I agree
This Particle guy is just a wimp who goes out of his way to malign India, just like the movie does. I donot say anything that is portrayed is false, but it’s not the entire truth either. Self-Loathing Indians like you who just sit and clog cyberspace with your idiotic comments and gloat everytime the country is insulted are the real reason this country isn’t progressing. If you feel so strongly about these issues, why the hell don’t you do something about it? But isn’t your job, is it? It is for “Us Indians” to change things, right?
Hypocrite. Well if you don’t care to actually do make a change, then please stop your useless bla-bla. Pontificating about Poverty and “Indian Filth” while sitting on your cushy chair acquiring adipose on your butt only makes YOU look stupid. As does using a 3-hr long film to portray 1 billion people as -what do you say-stinkers?
So, spare us your mudslinging, will you? Not that it affects anybody, but it sure is a heck of a task cleaning up.
And wow. there is a Paki here as well . 70% Indians BPL, you say?
Now THAT’S funny. A Pakistani lecturing on poverty,communalism,extremism! ROTFL
I would love to know what the arm-chair expert Particle has to say here.
99% Indians BPL, right?We’re all half-naked imbeciles swimming in faeces, that is why I’m able to use a computer, right?
Ya I am being rude, I know. I may even be banned. But heck I care.
I donot say anything that is portrayed is false, but its not the entire truth either.
The movie is a work of fiction, it’s not about India. Try to understand that first and then start bothering about insanely difficult issues like India’s progress.
–
I go out of my way not to malign India but to shut the mouths of those who blame outsiders for their misery rather than accepting that they themselves are not good enough. And that’s the real reason behind all your anger: I’ve told people like you they are not good enough.
“I go out of my way not to malign India but to shut the mouths of those who blame outsiders for their misery rather than accepting that they themselves are not good enough.”
Particle, you are not making any sense. No one is blaming anyone about India’s poverty problem! (Correct me if I am wrong Bored Indian) Everyone understands it is a Hollywood movie (fiction). We are only saying: stop giving the movie a “documentary” or a “true story” status. And what’s the problem in that when you, yourself say that it is a work of fiction? Treat it like one. In Churchill’s view Gandhi was a half-naked fakir, in almost all Indians’ view, he is no less than the father of their nation. In reality he was both a great leader and half naked. We are only asking people to be a little more receptive to the positives instead of blindly glorifying everyone(thing) who(that) portrays your skewed “real India” (or whatever you call it) to the world. I call it the highly impoverished part of India that needs us instead of using your baseless terms of sweeping generalization like “real India”, “true India” etc. And mind you, because the movie has now gained international repute, this is not just a matter of euphemisms or semantics anymore. People around the world will watch our reaction and if we, Indians, say that’s how all of India is, they’ll believe us. That, to me, is a big problem because that’s clearly not true as Bored Indian (rather strongly) suggested. Some parts in the movie are no more or less real than any other parts of India. I don’t think I need to tell you that there are certain things in India that you or any other sensible person might find positive (If you cannot find anything positive in the country, you are one depressed person my friend). And yes, it is one heck of a job cleaning the mess people implant in the heads of others who have never been to India and causes those outsiders to quickly generalize 1.2bn people! Trust me! I know!
By the way, nothing I said here was personal so far. But the following might just be. I just want you to know that I intend no offense. You said that because of people like me (who happen to have a little hope for India and think that there are things there that need to be cherished), you stopped caring about the fate of our country. With all due respect, I think you just gave yourself an answer to the contrary. You stopped caring about our country because you think India’s progress is an “insanely difficult” issue in the first place. Looks like you just need someone to blame for your inaction. So, you blame people like me.
On a lighter note, I think that India’s progress is not only achievable, it is inevitable. Please have a little hope and faith in your people. See Nandan Nilekani’s talk on TED: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/nandan_nilekani_s_ideas_for_india_s_future.html
He also explains why India cannot be as “insignificant” as you seem to understand.
Hey particle, u so full of s*** ! why dont you shut the F*** up and be a hypocrite somewhere else. India is a great country and u dont deserve to talk about it. so please shut it up.
Listen Particle Dude, I may not be good enough, but I’m not entirely worthless either. When you write nonsense like “My country has no future”, it only shows your frustration because you’re inert. And you’re blaming us for your inertia. People like you demoralize the rest of the country with your pathetic diatribes. You’re hoping India doesn’t make any progress because then it’ll be a disaster for you because you’ll have nothing to bitch about. The things portrayed in SDM exist all around the world. Maybe it’s more widespread in India, but it would only highlight your intellectual poverty if you say it exists only in India. What I didn’t like is the irresponsibility and the hubris of the filmmaker there and the idiocy of people like you. When did I ever “blame” anyone for my misery?? You’re simply imagining things in your negativity and closedness. You’re frustrated because India and Indians are not as worthless as you thought they were.
Like I said earlier, you’re content writing in an obscure area of cyberspace sitting comfortably on your ever adipose gaining ass. If you really bothered, you’d be in our trenches doing something. Fine, vegetate. Sling more mud. But it’s really loser to prevent others from doing something about the country and its issues. And that is exactly what you’re trying to do. I really can’t comprehend why. You want everyone else in India to wallow in your anger about India’s negative areas and ignore its positive aspects.With you.
Anyway, let this not-so-good person guarantee you that he will do his best to clean-up the filth in this country. Reply. I’m sure you’re going to say “The filth cannot be cleaned up”.
Man I really pity such a tortured soul. Really.
I have nothing against India but I have everything against people like you. People like you don’t want to accept that India stinks simply because it will hurt your pride. You want to claim superiority for yourself by claiming the same for your country. That’s why you get pissed off when someone shows dark aspects of your country to the world. Don’t tell me you are doing great patriotic work when all you are trying to do is save your face from the world that’s now laughing at you. And how are you doing it? Not by cleaning the filth but by trying to deny it as much as possible.
See Bored Indian, I don’t respond to the arguments as much to the mindsets behind them. You are just another of those fakes who don’t really want to do anything for India but want to pretend that they do. (That’s the difference between you and me: I at least don’t pretend.) I know people who actually love India and actually spare some of their time to do something for India and who actually make me feel guilty even though I’m openly opposed to ideas like patriotism. You are not one of them. You just say you will try to clean as much filth as you can, but all that you do is find people like me whom you can blame and make such claims to.
I do not blame people like you for my inertia, I blame them for their denial of India’s problems. You see, once you accept that you stink, you automatically go to the shower. But no, you don’t want to accept that you stink, you want to believe that others are throwing dirt on you. You don’t want to see Dharavi and you want to hide it from the world too. Unfortunately once in a while someone notices and instead of accepting that the filth is constantly with us and it is going to spoil India’s image as long as it’s there, you vilify the ones who noticed it. Wow!
I’m not frustrated because I’m inert; I’m frustrated because my countrymen don’t even have the courage to accept their flaws. I don’t demoralize the country I just refuse to live in a fantasy land. And I hope that India doesn’t make any progress because it doesn’t have what it takes to be a developed country. And no, I don’t really bother; I will start bothering when my countrymen will first accept that they stink. Also, I’m not preventing anyone from working for India’s progress, I just don’t want to take that bullshit from those who merely pretend to.
And yes, I want people to wallow in anger over India’s negative areas because that’s the only way to progress I know of. As for the so-called positive aspects of India… man it only shows how negative India’s negative areas are that Indians celebrate a boom in economy thanks to slave work of outsourcing.
Tell you what, I have far more respect for residents of Dharavi than for people like you. People there at least accept that they are poor and fight to be prosperous. People like you just want to pretend they are not poor and in so doing are actually stalling India’s progress.
You’re again putting words in my mouth .
When I said “Positive aspects”, I didn’t mean “outsourcing”. I know how pathetic it is. We’re actually nothing but glorified phone-operators. Unfortunately the the media hypes things too much . Look I know “we stink” to a great extent, in many ways. But regardless of what you think, I’m actually going to “go to the shower” and make others go too. I never said I didn’t “want” people to “see” Dharavi. Anyway my talking is not going to change the lives of the people there. I’ve already started Civil Services Prep, I intend to appear once I graduate. Now you’ll doubtless say “I’m bluffing”. You’re simply imagining things and expect us all to do the same.
Majorly, I liked the movie as such but it wasn’t too different from the typical Bollywood crap. But I love Bollywood. It’s crap but atleast it takes your mind off the crap of day-to-day life. Yes I didn’t like the way the movie tried to generalize, and in a way I found it a bit offensive. My previous comments hardly said anything about the movie per se, they were all replies to your condescending trash. Yes I did say the moviemakers-maybe unknowingly- protrayed a skewed picture of India, which I didn’t like.(But I somehow detected a bit of sinisterness, but maybe I was just being paranoid.) Just like I didn’t like it when our media started branding Australia “Racist” (I guess you’re aware), I didn’t like it when this White fellow starts making a movie showing all of us the way he did.
The cause of all my anger is not “because you told me I’m good enough”, or your saying “I’m pretending not to be poor”(Well, fortunately I’m not), it’s because you started insulting people like me and “Srinivasa” who desire to bring about a change instead of whining alongwith you. You’re not bothered, fine. I am. And I wish to change it. Save your breath, Particle. Your idiotic comments about my “pretentiousness” is not going to affect anyone, and not me in the slightest.
Ya the positive aspects: Natural beauty. Unassuming people. Vibrant youth. The FOOD. (I’m not going to say “Culture” because I hate it when we brag about our supposedly great “culture”. It’s mocking the other nations and hiding our own feeling of inadequacy at not being as prosperous as them. I must say, I have to agree with you here. I’ve seen it around me and I cringe everytime it happens.) But I have a very simple principle. Don’t bitch about things you can’t change (or in your case, don’t want to change.) It was you who veered the whole discussion to “India’s issues” and the “real India”. And felt it necessary to open my mouth when I see such drivel, as what is spewn by you.
Yes, these aspects are strong enough to outweigh the negative points of the country, atleast for me . Yet I donot ignore the many negative points of the nation, and I want to change them. Period. Maybe you’re simply a sick person because you’ll again start about how “people like Bored Indian desire to possess a sense of superiority by making tall claims.”
What the heck,man. I want to change India. Maybe I may not succeed, maybe it’s not enough. But atleast I want to try. It’s my life and I can smoke pot or join IAS, can’t I? Why the f**k do you care, dawg?
Just curious about when you are graduating…because I am thinking about civil services too and I am clueless as to how to go about doing it. I took a look at the exam. It looks tough. Do you know of any good site etc?
I have a very simple principle: Don’t tie yourself with the fate of your country. Make yourself strong enough so that you can survive all the filth around you. Unfortunately I’m an ordinary man and there are limits to how strong I can make myself and how “inert” I can be to outside filth. And it’s when I see people like you denying the filth that I lose my calm and make a point of going out of my way to shut their traps.
And I didn’t insult people like you, you weren’t even there when I made my comments. You were the one who felt insulted and since my manner of comments were specifically directed against the fakes and idiots, I have no option but to conclude that you are one. I was wrong about “Srinivasa” but he brought it upon himself by his zealot-style Jai Hind.
I’ve been frank enough to say that I don’t even want India to make progress because it doesn’t have what it takes to make progress. If I were in your place I would have concentrated my energies on slamming this claim. But you are solely focused on attacking me personally. Because just like SDM & Danny Boyle, you are not really angry about Dharavi you are angry with people like me who force you to look at it.
Lastly, I am gonna take your advice to save my breath. Because I’m no psychotherapist to bring you out of your denial. You’ll have to come out of it yourself; then only you can effect the change that you claim to seek. You can blame me for not being the psychotherapist, but as I said I’m just an ordinary man, I can only point out to you that you are in denial.
–
@ Srinivasa: I have been meaning to respond to you but the trouble is that you are not one of those whose mouth I want to shut! So it will take me some time.
For quite some time I was trying to appreciate my own feelings about this movie SM. I did not like the movie to any worthwhile degree.
I accept Indian poverty the way it exists and dont hide behind any glass mirages. I accept that any literary piece would focus only on a strand of social issues and not every possible facet. I accept that a work of fiction is not an educational documentary that it should present a balanced view. A work of fiction is somebody’s perception. Fictional accounts often, to the benefit of mankind, are exaggerated dramatizations of solitary social phenomenon, individual frailties or qualities etc.
Having accepted these tenets I still do not like the movie. Let me attempt to articulate my own feelings now as I write this piece. I have heard someone labeling the movie as a poverty-porn. I should be able to explain my feelings in the light of my understanding of this label.
It would help to appreciate the difference between erotic literature (I use literature to refer to all presentation mediums) and pornographic literature.
Erotic literature does not force titillation into a story line, it merely captures where titillation exists by itself. Furthermore it captures titillation within the context of a self flowing energy stream.
Pornographic literature on the other hand is a disconnected stitching of various tittilatory vignettes. It forcefully induces a current through artificial means to heighten the titillation.
Now I suppose it is a matter of personal choice – what turns you on? Pornography was never my cup of tea.
SM deploys a technique that one could expect to find in crime thriller or pulp mystery kind of plots. So far so good but then it attempts to elevate it to the level of meaningful literature by introducing a ‘poor victim’ angle. That is when (when it starts to elevate and stitches disconnected episodes together to intensify titillation) the disconnect starts to develop in my mind and I loose my sensory stimulus.
The end result is – sorry SM we wont go to bed.
Congratulations! You have now (un)officially written the weirdest perspective on the movie! lmao!
Hello, yes, I am one of those people who reject Slumdog Millionaire [SM] completely. First of all India, as it is today, is a result of western colonialism in the recent past. Today’s people in India probably embrace western values like riches, so they might sell everything to make money. That’s ok with me. But what’s not ok with me is that children at the age of 4 allready sell other’s emotional belongings to profit themselves. At least, that is shown in SM. So SM suggest that even India’s infants are morally corrupted. Why, because in SM they see no other example than grown ups who abuse children.
In my opinion, this is a shameless projection on India of the western world’s own moral failure. Haven’t we all heard of mass child abusement in the catholic church? Of the Dutroux’s and Fritzl’s terror cellars? Of the mentality “those are not my children so why bother”?
SM suggest that India’s children are literaly willing to go through shit to get what they want. Well, it is us, western society, who does that, not literal because we have the power to stay “clean”.
Is the fun of seeing SM “watching monkeys” and afterwards going safely home in suburbia?
I don’t believe that inhibitants of India’s slums are child molestors. And if they are, they are no worst than we, after all, we created modern India. Or India has copied us, cuz they have no other option in world economics.
So when SM’s protagonist finally gets what he is after, is that worth 100 minutes of terror against children? No, and this is defenitely not what I call balance.
I know cruelty against children exists in this world. What I oppose to is that this problem is used in pop video clip style to be able to sell it to the unaware public. We recognize the fast images, digitally captured in blinding brilliant colors and livelyness. It’s our language telling a story that is thankfully not ours. WRONG, it is sadly our own story.
Underneath mister Danny Boyle’s fast cut piece of India lies colonialism and discrimination.
I surmise,while Srinivas,Bored Indian are upset on patriotic basis,Vicharak slams it at an artistic level.Particle appreciates the way it forces us to look within ourselves for the rot that’s there in any case.I relate to all perspectives about SM.
I live abroad and many Indians I know,including my spouse himself hate the movie for reasons like that of Srinivas & Bored Indian. Though giving away so many Oscars to a very mediocre film did seem sinister to me initially,the reactions of Indians really surprise me.As Particle says we are in self-denial to some extent.Forget the Oscar.Who cares,anyway?Does it award
the best work each year.Pretty contentious. For instance,A R Rahman’s music being awarded for this work seems a joke.That’s a man whose work has outdone the SM work several times over before. Does everyone here endorse Oscars as the best test for quality movie-making?
Can we consider the Oscars as less significant in our patriotic lifes and focus on our work on breaking a sweat for reducing the corruption,poverty,religious divide,state divide and casteism?While India still is a beautiful in my eyes,I will not wither at anyone’s portrayal of it,but that doesn’t mean I will sleep on that belief either.
I don’t hate Slumdog just the Western paternalistic do-gooder mindset. Indians should have some self-respect and not behave in a fawning manner everytime Whitey speaks high of us. That isn’t possible as long as English remains our national language. Unlike other Asian countries, India is still viewed as an ex-colony of Britain.
I think the movie was okay but very much over-hyped..because it didn’t deserve ALL the awards it got…like Jai Ho is not that good a song if you compare it to A.R. rehman’s previous music scores. Also the dance in the end was by far the crappiest I’ve seen *pukes*. Okay the little kids were cute while dancing but the rest looked like idiots..and the dances in other movies are soo much cooler
I think people should not believe all they see in movies coz’ remember, if we go by what films show about america..it wouldn’t exactly paint a pretty picture either..
when we compare the storyline in vikas swarups Q &A and boyles sdm
the first one is an indian perspective and the latter as western
in the former, the person taking the hero to the police is an american,
but boyle changed the storyline to suit his western audiences.
In the original the child is abused in a church, and his name contains all the religions.
Boyle just wanted to present a story in which the western couldnot shown in bad light
Agni, I have no idea which book you read but it sure was not Vikas Swaups ” Q&A” which is much much better than the movie. The child was abused in a church? He was abandoned in a church and was christened Thomas by the Jesuit Father. But then the local hindu and muslim leaders turn-up . The child is named “Ram Mohamed Thomas” and everyone is happy ! He was abused..indeed!! If you read the book, then you would have realized what could have been done and what was actually done. Boyle made a mess out of the novel. And all those incidents like swimming in feces to get a superstar’s picture was never there in the book. Danny Boyle has a fertile imagination but I wish that he would not exercise too much of imagination when he talks about my country.
Well most Indians hate the movie, cuz it Sucks. Not cuz of its depiction only. But its a story that has been overdone and the whole story lineup was a overkill of gargantuan proportions.
The story sucks. I have no problem with showing Slums.
Plus Dharavi is a wonder, its the only Slum that contributes 10% of a State’s income and is self sufficient, plus its growing.
Not pretty but strangely Intriguing, thats Dharavi
What Mr. Boyle showed in slumdogg millionaire was UTTER PIECE OF SHIT…..thts the problems wid brits…they think tht india is still a place where men roam around wearing turbans and curly slippers and kids roam around naked in the streets….first of all, lemme tell u …GDP of india is waaaayyyy more higher thabn tht of the UK in today’s date…..secondly, ppl like Mr. Ratan Tata and his team are the ones who own the “pride” or the “icon” of british technology…..mr. boyle didnt wanted to show tht…these brits still want the world to think tht india is a backward nation…..cuz tht makes them look superior as they were kicked out of here insultingly years back…….now i noe my comments may not be related tot he movie but honestly, when the movie finished, i flung the remote at my dvd player……i was that pissed….so mr. boyle, u may have win many oscars cuz of tht movie…….but for us indians, u are and will remain a complete “ARSE”…………..
Well honestly I agree that movie might be a little bit of hype but the fact is that India is a poor country and needs lots of development. Now let me explain my point of view which makes western countries great. You don’t have to be a smart ass or you dont have to be a stereotype to live a decent life. Pretty much every body with any kind of job may be a foodcourt job or Corporate office job can earn decent amount and is treated with respect. Bill Gates, worlds richest man eats the same kind of lays packet chips what the average american eats. But on the other hand in India rich people eat good quality rice and poor doesnt have food. So this difference between rich and poor is widening day by day and is not good.
I travelled a lot all over the world as a part of my job. I realized why asia or i would say more depth, indian subcontinent is poor or remain poor bcos at a certain age in persons life everybody gets married and have kids typically between 25 to 30 atleast in urban areas for men. Even if he does not want to get married or does not earn enough money for himself still gets married. I have nothing against getting married but have children with no money left in his pocket to feed them. So guess what the country goes in further poverty. So these stereotypes brings country in trouble. I am not blaming the indian culture its the society.
India has long history of war and invasion. So back in the days of war massive amount of people used to be killed, resulting effect on culture where people used to get married and have kids a lot, but in modern world that is turning out into a overpopulation.
For same reasons China came up up with a rule of one child, I dont know how far it is working. Bottomline is our society is bringing us in trouble. Overpopulation brings the resources problems and everything. Because of stereotypes we have doctors and engineers but no real research, fact is no body follows what there heart, every body is busy getting college degress and decent job .
Now what i am doing to improve this. I think india needs to focus on reducing its population or overburden. Abortion made be a bad thing according to some religions but i think its a good thing in india. So i donate money to hospitals and money for free condoms. Things need to be done are— Cleaniness as a part of everybodies job not just pay money and get it cleaned. Everybody should clean there front and backyard rather depending on the government to clean it. may be i will write more in my next comment. Your comments will be hghly appreciated. Once again try to accept your mistakes, only then you can improve.
We Indians are not even true to ourselves – we give excuses but the fact of the matter is
the reason most of us do not like Slumdog Millionaire is because it depicts accurately
true picture of poverty, crime and corruption in India. I lived in India and I go to India
regularly – the moment your aircraft arrives – the smell in bombay you want to throw up -
Go the Dharavi in Bombay or any slum which is usually 35 – 40% of any ciites residents live
or forced to live – go to any city be it Madras, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Lucknow or
Calcutta to name a few – do visit the chopad patti and then you’ll know how true is
Slumdog Millionarie
Rishab has it pat. Do the PIOs living out there know that Dharavi has been identified as a post-modern miracle in urban planning terms? It is an original, self-developed self-sustaining eco-social unit, and is now marked for wholesale re-development. That this exercise will take time and end up blowing potloads of money is another matter. Town planners across the world are agreed on this. Slumdog Millionaire was just another ordinary movie with a cliche-ridden Bollywood format, which shot to prominence just because it was packaged by a Westerner for Western audiences. The slums and poverty were not the issue in this movie.
Ohkay , so this whole argument is going nowhere
first as an indian , i would say whatever has been depcted it is true but this doesn’t mean foreigners start thinking this is the real india , there is another india , why do we people start thinking negatively , first to remove anything we need to think positively , if you can accept that india has poor people you also HAVE to accept india has rich people and it’s BOOMING . cmon look at other countries lets take USA , yes it is developed but look at the number of people it has killed in iraq and afghanistan , that is never depicted in any movie and also ignored , why is this TRUE usa, ignored? (no offence US people) . so many people around the world (US and europe) are racist towards asians but they never show this , its only a bunch of asian movies which show that and in other movies too only the prosperities of the US or other countries are shown . you dont have anything to say about that ? and yes the indians who are trying to be patriotic by saying india has poor people , yes i accept it but atleast dont keep on highlighting that and supporting foreigners when they are saying bad about this country , if indians insult other countries by telling the truth to the people of that country , even then they would stop you , they know the truth but cant hear bad about their country . and slumdog millionaire is a movie which was just another love story with a hollywood touch , but i guess it was fully concentrating on the poor side , cmon there is also a rich india and all the indians dont you have anything to do other than insulting your own motherland, even captain of north korean team cried when their anthem was being played at the fifa wc and the whole world knows about north korea . please i know the movie depicted the truth but doesnt mean you keep on insulting india . it will take time and one day it will be a great country and i know that . jai hind
Just stumbled on this excellent article, looking for information on the Arras Theme. You could substitute the words Detroit for India, and African Americans for Indians, and it would be equally valid, with the same arguments on both sides!
Love the blog and keep it up!
i like it because jamal andsalim are so cute
I say the movie was made to reflect a different prespective.A person living in the slums ends up in the hotseat of Indian version of Who wants to be a millionare.He chooses to play so that he can send a message to his loved one.
A struggle,a sweet love story and a dirty underworld.In the middle of that a noble soul and a love tries to surface.This movie was never about poor India but yes I do agree that the director could have done a better job if he had depicted India in a litte better way specially when the film was targetted towards a broader category of Indians.
But no matter what I can assure you that this movie alone cant change India’s image to the rest of the world.What is India?One of the world’s ancient civilizations which started back around 3400BCE and still continues to exist.A country that has just regained its freedom for the past 64 years.A country where 26 different languages ares spoken.A nuclear super power.Lots and lots more……..I dont want to sound like Akshay Kumar in Namastay London..But once again I assure you that India means much more that what depcied in the movie
Now lets go persecute some Christians !!
because this movie shows that the REAL India is like. Theyre ashamed of their own kind.
This is an old blog entry i know..but leaving my thoughts here on the movie..like Srinivas commented,it is not the movie that is wrong.It is a fact that slums exist in India.I’m glad the movie highlighted it as well since there are so many Indians who preach high things abt the country totally whitewashing any ills our country may have.But what I disliked was the Oscar being given to it,as clearly,in no way did it seem Oscar-worthy in it’s technical or storytelling depts. Rather,it just seemed like a pre-conceived plan to pat America on it’s own back for being slum-less given that,at the time, it’s economy and reputation was in ruins,and countries like India and China were/are growing quick and attracting a good deal of international fame.
Who hates Christianity and the West ?? Any guesses
)
Well I certainly do not hate it. But there are some problems in the script. If you read the book “Q amp; A” you will be able to judge for yourself. I am certainly not ashamed of my country’s poverty..that is true..Whatever Danny Boyle has portrayed is surely all true.
My only adverse suggestion is that Danny Boyle has gone to so absurd heights that one can’t help feeling that the poverty market is what Boyle is aiming at. For instance, was it really necessary to show the young protagonist swimming through human excreta to get the autograph of Bachhann. I agree that that it is possible but it is not probable. There are slight nuances like this all over the script..
But why do we debate about it so? Its a foreign movie made by a brit ..so it’s bound to be inaccurate. Lets try to be like China and perform instead of debating. The adage “Actions speak better then words” is actually true. And as a clarification, I’m not a NRI and I live in Kolkata.
I have many friends with gujarati, indian parents, but they themselves were born outside. These people are sooo over-confident, and they never believe that they are wrong, and never accept it when they are. When they fail, they blame others around them. They talk like they know everything and they have nothing to show for it. Another thing is that they are soooooooo lazy and procrastinate soooo much. They know this, but when you ask them to admit it, they refuse. Plus, when you get into an argument with them about whether or not they were wrong, they constantly steer the blame around them instead of just accepting it.
I am an American born Indian and I also feel like I can see both sides of the argument. I don’t think it matters that a British person made this movie at all. I think that Danny Boyle did a phenomenal job. I have lived in India extensively and I am quite comfortable and happy being in India despite the fact that I am a born and raised American. I think that if Danny Boyle had made a movie that covered the rest of India/the more rich side, people would have found faults with that and said that he avoided the poverty. Let’s keep in mind this movie is based off of a book. The book is about a person who grew up in the slums and somehow managed to find his way out. Why should the movie not focus on the poverty in India? It makes no sense, that’s what the story is about. The movie isn’t trying to say India is only full of impoverished people, it’s trying to say the story of this particular person is that of an impoverished life. A rags to riches story. The movie is a movie after all. It is both blatantly realistic and blatantly ridiculous.
I think it’s also wrong to say that if this movie was made by an Indian it would not have been famous. Look at Lagaan, that movie is both Indian in production and in content. It was nominated for an Oscar. It is one of my favorite films even including English films and it was made by Bollywood. I think that Bollywood is full of crap films and so it is rare to find the gem films that could be nominated for an Oscar. Also the fact that they are generally considerably longer doesn’t help. Hollywood films usually average about 2 hours, so I think people get drained watching Indian films even if they are great. And Hollywood too has it’s own slippery slopes. Why does a movie made by a British director or French director get nominated for a best Oscar? The Oscars are after all American, so what is the criteria for one movie becoming nominated for the Best Film when it is not made by an American or may not even focus on America? I think that that’s something that the Oscars have never actually written a criteria for you know? So it’s weird when a movies like Slumdog comes along which is not only not made by an American and has no American stars, but also is about a completely different country and still gets a Best Picture nomination instead of a foreign film nomination? Perhaps because the film is in English? It’s just weird. I guess it’s hard to categorize things.
Nevertheless, the reason that I love Hollywood films is because they focus on the characters, the in-depth emotions and thoughts of the characters which I am sorry to say until recently has been extremely lacking in Indian cinema. That’s not to say that it does not exist. These days, there are so many great Indian films coming out and films are becoming more about the art and craft rather than just making a film for entertainment. Movies like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara, The Dirty Picture, Kahaani, Dil Chahta Hai, Lagaan etc. These movies are Bollywood made but phenomenal, because they portray the real India or real Indian people and manage to do so while providing a bit of entertainment which is exactly what the best films in Hollywood strive to portray of America. I think that Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara’s cinematography could easily compare with that of Slumdog Millionaire and that Indian movies are beginning to be about more than the unfortunate love story.
I look forward to the future of Bollywood, I think that many actors are paving the way for Bollywood to become more like Hollywood in it’s efforts to portray realistic stories in an interesting manner. Don’t get me wrong I still love the over the top love stories like KKHH and K3G, just like I still love the bullshit American action films like Transformers. And Hollywood also has its own set of crap films that no one should ever see (Tons of Adam Sandler films, the unnecessary sequels to movies). However I think the thing that makes Hollywood films so great is that people look at action films and love films as movies that there are a time and a place for, but not the movies that really move them. If Bollywood adopts the same attitude, I’m sure there are more than enough talented people in India who can bring out some amazing films that portray all perspectives of India.
Overall, I think it’s great that Indian movies are beginning to be about more than just love. I think that even though to some extent Slumdog must have had a backlash and made some ignorant Americans believe that India is only slums, I think it has also given many culturally aware Americans a reason to travel to India and see for themselves. I do agree that yes Americans should not just walk into India and try and change everything, but at the same time, I think they should walk into India and see it for what it is, the magnificent, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Yes a movie made by Danny Boyle is much more likely to be Oscar nominated, but I think he has also helped people to see that India has stories worth telling and if Bollywood begins to make films about these stories, then in the future Indian movies might be as likely to be nominated as American ones.
And for that matter Danny Boyle is not from the U.S. either and yet he has been nominated many times for Oscars. He started small and got big and I think it’s the same for Bollywood in Hollywood. Indian movies are slowly starting to be given more recognition and maybe one day Indian films will be given as much value as American/British ones are given. I can see how opinions can offend both sides, but I think if you try to look at the film from a moderate perspective, you can see both the successes and the failures and for the most part I think that people will rule it a success. I certainly do. It’s a great movie even though it has some ridiculous stuff like that totally out of place dance at the end which probably did more to hurt the Bollywood industry than to help bring an interest.
That’s just my two cents, hope I didn’t offend anyone. And sorry for the randomness of this response, I was just watching Slumdog today in India and talking to my family about India’s views of the film. Just reminded me of the controversy over the film, thought I’d add in my perspective.
Dear Friends,
I wonder how many people who are commenting have read the original book by Vikas Swarup.
The film does not come up even to 10% of the originality and receptiveness of the book.
I am not a hypocrite and I am indian. What Boyle has shown is true but the perspective is faulty.
I am sure that if u read the book, you will agree with me.
Regards
And one thing that really pisses me off is NRI’s like Ria who make comments in matters like these. Ria, as you say u r American born, so please stay with America. You are not competent to be a mediator in this topic…and the audacity is that you volunteer itself.
At least, the original emigrants set up their country (making all the red indians live in plantations and they scream about the PLO. what a joke!). Anyway, your father or whoever went first got his subsidized education from India. Because of that subsidized education, your father became an US citizen and now you make comments about the poverty of India. We indians do not want help or good wishes from mongrels so just let us alone. Nothing is meant personally so please think carefully before replying.
now this comes from an American guy….i’m currently in Mumbai after staying 25 days in India(tourism)…..i’v traveled through many parts of Mumbai…..that includes Dharavi too….i must say it is exactly like its depicted in the movie….BUT…the rest of Mumbai(for the most part)…and the rest of India too(leaving the Central – North states)…is way different from the image we have of India….South India especially is nowhere near the “India” the world thinks of……and secondly…not counting the areas in Utar Pradesh(and dharavi ofcourse)..i didnt see any people swimming in fecal matter….etc…..i agree they might have been poor…but India as a whole isnt “dirty”..nor is it “grimy”, etc….North India(Kashmir and Simla)..are beautiful….Sikkim,Megalaya and the surrounding areas(states)…are clean and one cannot make out if the people are poor…Mumbai is way more developed than i thought, etc….so what i finally want to say is that…i agree with the Indians’ fear that this movie might just make the “India= dirt, dung , poverty , grime (fecal matter)” idea that many people in the world have, stronger..although that isnt really the case….
I dont know…why do the British hate it when Kate’s naked photos get published? Is it possible that countries have egos?
I agree that the movie brings to the forefront certain aspects of Indian reality but I do not agree with the depiction completely. I find the following things problematic:
1. The so called “Real India” is pitted against the “Real America”: brutality of the former is balanced by the humanitarian principles of the latter. In the scene where the young Jamal (Tanmay Hemant Chheda) takes the two Americans to show the “biggest dhobi-ghaat” and is treated brutally by the police/guard, he tells the Americans: “You wanted to see a bit of Real India. Here it is.” In response to that the American lady tells him while saving him from the police, “Well, here is a bit of real America, son.” What does the scene depict? I don’t think words are needed to explain it.
2. Apart from that, the way Indians are made to speak English seems alienating. Are we that slow-paced?
I don’t understand the hate on this amazing movie. This movie doesn’t just single out poverty in just India alone. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, poverty is a global issue in all countries including USA, but of course some countries more than others. This movie (like I’m sure there are others) teaches powerful lessons through struggle and reminds us that we should be thankful for what we have, even if we have very little. If I were Indian, I personally would have been proud that my country was part of an amazing movie. The story of this movie, the scenes, the people, all could be cut and placed in a different country and it would still fit, because once again poverty is a global issue. I’m so busy with exams, raising my daughter, etc, that sometimes it’s great to be stopped and reminded that many people in different countries, or next door to my house, live a different life with their own problems, own happiness, and unique story. I hope more movies like this can come out in theaters and not just the action, sci- fi, etc ( which I also enjoy). Be happy people, and help those in need when you are able to.