Get it right
aparna SAYS,
So refreshing to see one of the blithely accepted, rarely discussed and often ignored aspects of Indian society portrayed with such clarity. Gone are the rose-colored glasses. What we have here is an honest, unapologetic view that sets the stage for Jamal & Lathika’s love story.
One of the most telling moments in the film for me occurred when Salim shot Maman. Lathika, the first to shake off the shock, hurries to gather the money on the floor. Like I said – honest and unapologetic.
The rise of the ‘new India’ is also shown and how remarkable to see the adaptability and resilience of the Indian masses.
Why are we so incensed that a Brit has dared to make a comment on Indian society? Don’t you think all this post-colonial angst is a little old?
If the goal is to always portray India in the best light possible, then are we to look only to Karan Johar-esque films where the ideal is an NRI with an estate?
Or is it the current global socio-economic climate that has us itching for a more flattering close-up? If so, then by all means, let us continue to drag women out of pubs by their hair and beat them in the middle of the street. That should make India look exceptionally photogenic.
Chandni Bar won two National Awards and the story, while brilliant, was lacking in hope. It left you bereft and with a feeling of utter helplessness, as was intended. From the success and accolades that film garnered, one can venture to guess that Slumdog’s portrayal of Mumbai’s slums isn’t the issue that has ruffled so many Indian feathers. Get over it and go see an exceptional cinematic ode to India.
I won’t speak to the technical aspects of the film, but the human element makes a powerful contribution to the movie’s appeal. And as proven by the 8 Oscars Slumdog earned (yes, earned), this appeal is universal. Everyone loves an underdog, even if he comes from the slums of Mumbai.
Slumdog Millionnaire – Jai Ho!
rohit SAYS,
For all you hypocrites who think Slumdog was given so many awards just to patronise or as a channel for Hollywood to enter India’s massive movie market, you’ve got it wrong boys… and even if that were to be true, let it be. Its a good thing for the Indian film fraternity to have better production values, movies with high end technicality and the chance Indian makers and actors have been waiting for, to prove themselves in the global domain.
Get one thing straight, Slumdog had won awards because it is an English movie made in India in a very Indian way. That is something totally new to an international audience though it is common for us here. Danny Boyle had the brains to come to India, understand the Indian film making style and give a wonderful movie to the world.
It is only because of Slumdog’s sucess that Hindi, Tamil and a Malayalam accent were spoken on the Oscar stage, Rahman’s currently flooded with offers and also half a million of his previous records are sold in the U.S within a week’s time.
This is Indian cinema’s big break people…India had arrived on the global movie stage.
daskino.wordpress.com 
hello aparna… what u said is what a big section is talking about. i support ur thoughts to a certain extent. but dont u think certain issues were magnified to a much greater extent or rather wrongly narrated. for instance, in the riot scene….it seems as if only hindus attacked the muslims….and moreover what was a child portraying lord rama doing there??? check the history books, u wont find any such instance!!! i agree that to emphasise on certain points artistic liberty is used to heighten the effect of a scenario, but when that liberty spoils the truth or misleads a viewer, it cant be endorsed!!!
Slumdog portrays dark India, but somewhere it darkens India too much….the dilemma is, no Indian can actually deny that what is been shown never occured, but no American or Briitish can prove it either, that it always occurs!!! do u get ma point??
cheers..
soaham
hello rohit, i do not care what the world is saying, but it is true that slumdog’s success is phenomenal. but i do not see India getting much out of this… danny boyle and his technicians are rightfully credited the most…
dev patel or freida pinto have done well, but nothing out of the world that they become regular hollywood stars….
one person who has benefited is AR Rehman….who with a piece of work much inferior to his normal creatons has made his way to hollywood…..
but i m stil not sure if he will b chosen for films which need to portray a location different than India…rehman was chosen just becoz the film was to be made in India…..i m still unsure if DANNY makes some movie called “THE AMERICAN TORNADO” he will employ rehman!!
but ar rehman can join the album scene there and bring out his albums there and rule pop charts…
plz comment..
cheers..
soaham
Slumdog is worth a discussion like Mani’s Iruvar ….. or even Bombay ….when it comes to facts ….
But y should somebody do that …. If it’s commercial film showing NRIs with estates it’s just an incident or just somebody’s life ….. Slumdog is Jamal’s journey … It happened to him and the standards of movie making are excellent – every department …. all the technical and if any philosophical ….. If how it helps Indian cinema is the question – it gives filmmaker’s here confidence that we have resources to pull off WONDERS – yes slumdog is one
first up, the scene which shows hindus attacking muslims is one particular instance where it just so happened that way and the kid that dressed as lord rama had just dressed up like tht to save himself, get ur scenes right buddy..
and the Rahman issue…u still don’t get it…he’s already been offered a ton of movies in Hollywood…there was an interview of Rahman’s agent if u wanna watch.
And Danny Boyle isn’t trying to make or prove a point about India…its a movie for god’s sake which they’ve made from a book which was written by an Indian about India
well i take all ur points….ur rite….
god,anil kapoor would never in 100 years dreamt that he would be a part of an oscar winning movie…now if he could just shave his mush off…:D
oh ..u guys can check the slumdog’s wiki page,danny boyle says he was inspired by RGV’s Satya and Company… we still love u RGV!!
lol…of course mate…that dude is the scorsese on Indian cinema
How To Flog A Dead Horse:
Soaham, thank you for posting your view. It’s definitely spotlighted the opposing outlook on the ‘burning issue’ that Slumdog Millionnaire has become.
Firstly, this film is not meant to be an accurate retelling of a historic event. So to endorse or not is entirely a matter of personal preference.
Secondly, there is absolutely no way that the film could have been made without offending some faction or the other (this you can find historic proof of).
What if the mob had been portrayed as Muslim and the victims Hindu? Would it have been less/more of an issue? I think the film should be applauded for not making this into a religious debate.
As for the rest, we can all argue the topic to death and never reach consensus. More importantly, its not necessary that we do. Regardless, the fact remains that the movie stayed true to the character of the book. And in doing so, it afforded us an objective view of the elements of India that were integral to the telling of this story.
Now, to those disputing the ‘facts’ that Slumdog showcases. I’m sorry, but we all know that one of the biggest underground industries in India, unfortunately, makes its money off children. We also know that these children are beaten, abused, maimed, prostituted and tortured in ways you and I can never even begin to imagine.
Similar debates came up when Deepa Mehta ATTEMPTED to film Water in India. What happened? There was a huge outcry over the fact that India (and Hinduism) was being portrayed in a bad light. That the truth was being distorted. That it was a conspiracy to bring about the downfall of the modern India. Blah de blah de blah….
This amazing film had to be shot outside the country – what a shame.
On a lighter note, some lawyer in the middle of no-where India, files an indecency case against actors who dared to kiss in a movie. Please! Someone get this man kissed (or laid) – he’s obviously been severely deprived.
The fanatical lynching of anything that goes against the views of the right-wing, uptight, stick-up-the-arse members of the Indian community is hardly entertaining. Nor does it excuse the fact that the largest democracy in the world has deep, dark secrets such as these.
That children are exploited in horrendous ways
OR that orthodox Hindu widows are forced to lead pathetic lives
OR that bigamy is all the rage in some Indian states
OR that a gender holocaust is snowballing in India.
Secrets such as these should be kept from the rest of the world at all costs don’t you think? We wouldn’t want India to look bad. My dear, you can only whitewash so much. Unless of course, we’re aiming to emulate China and adopt its policy on controlling media.
At the end of the day (and hopefully this debate), it is a film. One meant to entertain and inform and hopefully inspire people to action. I’m cynical enough to doubt that any major social change will come about as a result of Slumdog, but that speaks more to the attitude of the Indian public than the appeal of the film.
We don’t have a rug big enough to sweep this under. So instead of screaming about the unveiling of the mess, why don’t we try to clean it up?
THE longest comment, probably longer than one of my reviews on the blog so far and i don’t think anybody is gonna reply to that with anything other than
“ur right”
I absolutely love the comment especially the part about the lame a_s right wing…thts awesome