The Slumdog Fiasco

I saw Slumdog Millionaire, many days before the hype started to engulf it. Maybe that’s the reason why I loved this film. It’s a story about love, about spirit. about determination and also a story about India. And I was happy that it won a few Oscars and happier when ARR and Resul got the recognition on the international stage they have deserved.

But I hear a lot of dissent growing against the movie. I read articles like this and this. I hear some of my friends and colleagues telling me it is bad advertising for India. Maybe it is. But are we all really blind? Or experts at putting things under the carpet. I guess every single one of us understands that these things still happen in India. It is not falsifying facts, it is just showing the negative part of the truth. Yes even I am proud and overwhelmed by the strides India has made in technology, space exploration, IT, pharmaceuticals, spirituality, business.. But doesn’t all that gloss simply hide the patches of rust underneath?

For me Slumdog is a movie that also acts as a reminder. A constructive criticism on how we manage to ignore some bare facts about our country. Take pride in glory, but don’t ignore the dirt.

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Posted by Anoop Sankar
  • Anu

    I also saw the movie around the same time VK!

    First impression was “Wow…they have shown the slums so perfectly…the kids look so sweet…” and the likes.

    Slowly it started changing to “Does all this really happen in India?Or is it an exaggerated version of much smaller immoralities?…Will it project India in a negative light to the rest of the world?” Many articles by critics also enhanced these thoughts.

    Now I think, it is a great movie after all.Of course, the situations shown in the movie are not specific to India alone.It happens in many of the developing and underdeveloped countries but in various magnitudes,amongst different genres of people,in different kinds of places…

    But at the end it showcases two hours full of hope,faith that Jamal will find Latika…
    It potrays the observation and sharpness of a kid who has grown up in a slum…
    It shows the innocence and determination of a kid who finally meets Amitabh Bachchan and gets his autograph…
    It shows the goodwill of a slumkid who has to go through a lot to make a day’s ends meet…the courage with which he decided to sit on hot seat to find the love of his life!

    With eight Oscars, it goes without saying that the movie is worth watching!!!

  • Convoluted Insanity

    Very true there mate…
    PPl are being opinionated abt this movie and how it has portrayed our nation … hmmm nation?
    does anyone who has such opinions feel a 2 hr movie abt 6-8 characters and a focus on the grim hoardes of the society as a portrayal of our country ? haha…
    it is a fact ; the director has shown the sickened society.. a perspective of inhumane and callous behavious that dwells so very well in our country…
    lol .. if that aspect of the movie throws light on a serious cause … isint that good?
    we humans dont change for ourselves mostly… we change for others… yes… the so called adjustment to society… if this movie enstrues a thought in our corrupted politicians that it shud change… whoo.. well and good … or is it elsewise? who knows..

    point being frank is .. the opinions on the goodness or badness of the movie is bloated out of proportion …
    good and bad… and when this happens ; there is more of a pressing ones opinion on others.. isint it soo obvious … ppl who write all these reviews are doing it for the sake of “being opinionated away from the majority” and for the sake of having some time to waste upon the further bunch of “nothing else to do” ppl who comment on it and try to push their point thru it.. heh… alas we are “warmblooded”

    i love psychology… makes me feel so much better , if not i cant change my mental makeup based on it.

    nice post dude… keep em coming… im bookmarking this site…

  • G

    I know.. I don’t know what ppl r cribbing so much about.. don see these guys cribbing when karan johar/yash chopra makes movies where everyone is rich and the max problem they have is a triangle love story! Guess that projects everything correct!

  • Convoluted Insanity

    haha.. nice comment G..
    ppl need something to intervene and to criticise..

    triangle love story … hahaha… or Rajnikanth movies.. and now a of late .. Urban Movies.. that is catering to the “metro” crowds … if it isint enough to fend for oneself in his own life …lol… bah! now i am being a critic… the point is to go see a movie without any pres-ass-umptions or a mindset… go see like a kid who is tasting candy for first time!!! *yum* / *slurp* / *ok-ok* / *yawn* /*ZzzzZ* thats it!

    another thing is .. what i read somewhere… that there are movies similar to SDM .
    Salaam bombay by Mira Nair and so on… i havent seen any of those… wat abt u K-naps u seen those?

    @K-naps : “outlook ctrl+E” + “frieda pinto” + “Vanity Fair magazine” ::: DaaAAAAIIiiiMMMMNNNNnnn!!!

  • http://christian.linkablez.info/?p=58930 Topics about Christian life and Bible readings » Archive » Anoop Sankar: The Slumdog Fiasco

    [...] Tropins Blog placed an observative post today on Anoop Sankar: The Slumdog FiascoHere’s a quick excerpt#038;lt;p#038;gt;I saw #038;lt;em#038;gt;Slumdog Millionaire#038;lt;/em#038;gt;, many days before the hype started to engulf it. [...]

  • jIyA

    To me, Slumdog is a movie about destiny and hope in the midst of despair…. The emotions they show, are no different from what each and every one of us feel… Problems start when we unnecessarily try to dissect the maker and the maked, the intent and message.

    People often forget that attacking the person than the idea is of no use at all! Criticising the westerners for projecting India negatively is easy. Rewind a bit, we see the source, Q&A by Vikas Swarup, being an Indian. Is the book being criticised??

    Dragging in petty politics into this moment of joy and revelation, as you rightly pointed out, dampens the spirits… A movie about India and 2 extremely talented Indians have achieved the highest recognition in Movie Industry. Let’s be happy about it.

    As several films, books and documentaries have pointed out earlier as well, our country is home to the largest slum in the world. Let’s face it; And DO something about it.

  • http://rusty.in Anoop

    good to know that you ppl agree! :)

  • http://be-shyam.blogspot.com Shyam

    I saw the movie after all the hype and stuff only. To be honest i think the movie has the soul in the right place. But, i didnt like the movie. It promised many things. But turned out to be a very average one. I have seen many better movies. The story and screenplay is good. Well, thanks to the author of the book Q & A. The most painful part in the movie for me is that, the inherent non-linearity of story is not being used totally. Many scenes dont gel together. Perhaps, if the non-linearity was used in a better manner, i would have liked the movie. I felt pretty much disinterested during the climax. I really didnt care whether he wins the money or not. Never had any sentiment or emotional attachment for the characters.

    On the Oscar side, ARR and Resul do deserve all they got. Maybe, the movie won Oscar coz no other movie tackles such a thing. Perhaps, this is what Americans wanted to see.

    As far as showing India in bad light is concerned, nobody complained when City of God was shown. We all raved when Mohanlal said that famous dialogue about Dharavi in the movie Aaram Thampuran. If all that can be taken, why not a bit of harsh truth?