Slumdog Millionaire elicits mixed feelings among Indians

March 17, 2009 • written by Shruti Shrivastav

Slumdog Millionaire has become the new American favorite movie. Although it only ran in ten theaters when if first came out, it has now won eight academy awards and international acclaim. Though most people love the movie, some Indians have mixed feelings about it.
Including me.

Slumdog Millionaire is a modern rags to riches fairy-tale about a poor boy who gets a chance to be on India’s version of ?Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” Protagonist Jamal finds himself answering every question correctly, and tells his story of growing up in the slums of Mumbai in a society built around survival of the fittest, and through the flashbacks of his life, he rediscovers his childhood love.

Director Danny Boyle has created a beautiful love story adorned with the harsh realities of life in the impoverished areas of Mumbai, a city of 14 million people. Although the movie is cinematically brilliant, it creates a few conspicuous mistakes. Often times, movies like Slumdog Millionaire create images and stereotypes of faraway places like India. When someone who does not know a lot about India asks me if Slumdog Millionaire’s portrayal of it is accurate, I really do not know how to answer.

I might say that there are something’s that are I love, but others that I can’t stand.

I personally have been to slums in India, have talked to the people, and shopped in their markets, rode in their taxis, and walked on their streets. It is a different world. What one has to understand about these areas is their people’s state of mind. The slums are not places where kids ravage trash for food, it’s where they work and help their parents put food on the table for their entire family.

Their communities are so tight knit and united that outsiders like myself envy their sometimes 50 people families. So it’s not that these places are not poor and dirty, but what is important is that they are filled with colorful people who support one another and have unbreakable faith.

It is this one sided representation that saddens many Indians. It’s not that there aren’t slums in India, its that there is much more. I remember watching it at Century 25 when an elderly couple walked out in the middle of the movie presumably because they were offended. It’s not that there are bad situations in India, it’s that there is a good side to those situations.

Aside from the portrayal of the slums, most Indians are proud of the film, after all it’s not everyday we get to see Indian faces at award shows. It’s a big deal that this movie has made it so far. Eight Oscars, four Golden Globes, seven BAFTAS, and several other awards are already on the mantle for this movie. The stars of Slumdog, Frieda Pinto and Dev Patel have both signed with the CAA (Creative Artists Agency) and are booked for forthcoming Hollywood cinema. It’s exciting and inspiring to see Indians winning acclaim not just for themselves but also for their whole country.

The movie is not about any one person, and if you watched the Oscars you might understand what I mean. Every Indian that won an award mentioned their creed, their language, or their country because in our hearts country comes before self. This is why many Indians were insulted by Slumdog Millionaire. Like children, we love our motherland and we take every critique and remark personally. We also sometimes fail to see its faults. As her children we want to show off her beauty and are ashamed of her shortcomings, but just because we wish this does not make it true. Every child knows her parents faults, but is often hesitant to admit them. So while this film is a little touchy, it is one I am going to remember all my life because I can see my summers in India when I watch it, and I am blown away every time.

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