Slumdog Millionaire

Recently saw the much-hyped and talked about movie Slumdog Millionaire (henceforth referred to as SM). I found nothing wrong in the way India was depicted though some people feel that it was wrong to depict India in such a pitiable state.

No one complains when a movie like Metro is made because majority of the Indian audience is able to connect with the movie. No one complains when Imraan Hashmi goes about kissing all his heroines in all his movies. No one complains when there is skin show in the movie much more than what is needed.

Now our Indians feel that India is much more than slums and goons and poverty. Very true. I agree with all of the persons who say that India is much more than these things. I agree India is about corporate houses and outsourcing culture, India is about fashion and glamour, India is about models and beauties, India is about tourism and beautiful places, India is about Taj Mahal and all the other places that could not make the list, India is about kings and palaces, India is about religion and secularism, India is about yogis and snake charmers, India is beautiful...

However, it is also true that INDIA is about slums too. India is about poverty too. India is about goons too. India is about corrupt leaders too. India is about bad politics too. India is about riots too. India is about sex workers too. India is about child labour too. India is about child abuse too. India is about breaking traffic rules too. India is about rash driving too. India is about killing christian missionaries too. India is about clashes between Hindus and Muslims too. India is about tension in Kashmir too. India is about tension in North-East too. India is about Kargil too. India is about cold war with Pakistan too. India is about bomb blasts too. India is about terrorism too. India is about disrupted law and order too. Still India is beautiful...

The way India is and its depiction in SM is not at all an atrocity on the Indian movie-lovers. The face of real India which is so aptly shown in SM is not against the corporate culture. SM is very true to its title though with some glitches here and there. I belive it is an English movie and was meant largely for International audience which is why 2 poor kids suddenly start speaking English when they land up in Agra after having escaped from the so-called Orphanage. How Anil Kapoor, the host of "Who wants to be a Millionaire" show insults Jamal is a slap on all the wealthy people who treat poors badly.

I particularly liked the scene in which the child who is trained to sing is blinded by the goons for begging (Arvind). Liking in the sense that it was so very well handled that even I felt a vomitting-sensation well up within me like the other young kid who was a witness to the happening (Salim). The way the events were linked was also very well directed.

All in all the movie has nothing to be not liked about. It is a hard reality which is indeed very hard to accept but still needs to be accepted.