by Ruchi Vikas,
Statesman
March 9, 2009
"Slumdog Millionaire" recently won eight
Oscars and four Golden Globes. In the months since it has
come out, I have not met one person who didn't like the
movie.
Despite its acclaim here, however, the film has garnered
much protest in India. Understandably, people are protesting
the use of the word "dog" in the title, considering the fact
that there are many people left in the slums who do not
consider themselves dogs. (The term "dog" is very derogatory
in India.)
There are those who call the film "poverty porn," showing
the slums of India in colors and Oscar-winning
cinematography. They also say the movie isn't realistic, and
that living in the slums doesn't make you intelligent enough
to succeed on a game show. Lastly, some Indians also say
that it wasn't the place of a British director to make a
film about the slums of India to begin with.
I have grown up as an American, but I have roots in India.
Therefore, when I saw this movie, I tried to see it both
from the perspective of an American and from that of an
Indian. For me, the main character was not a genius. At
least, he was not portrayed as one. He did not use his
intelligence on the game show; he used his experience. It is
true that the chances of the questions on a game show
coinciding exactly with ones' life experiences in reality
are slim to none. Movies, however, are usually a stretch of
reality -- an exaggeration meant to make a larger point.
What I took away from the film was a feeling of the strength
and courage of people living in the slums, and moreover, the
strength and courage of the Indian people. Those who live in
the slums now have to face experiences similar to Jamal's
every day of their life. Although there is no miraculous
game show at the end of it for most of them, this film does
what it can to try to honor them and to show the world
hardships that they face.
There was a similar controversy when Sir Richard
Attenborough began the production of Gandhi. Indians
questioned the right of a British director to make a film
about Gandhi, who belonged to India. Supposedly, Sir Richard
Attenborough replied by saying "You had more than enough
time to make this film. Besides, Gandhi belongs to the
world."
Poverty is and should be a worldwide problem. Therefore, the
slums do not belong solely to India but rather to the world.
India is now a growing power, perhaps with less poverty in
it than in the past. Yet there are still those who live in
the slums, and who make their living by stealing scraps of
metal and cardboard for 12 hours a day. There are those who
have had their eyes gouged out for being caught stealing
these things. If a movie can bring attention to this, then
why shouldn't it?
People are not naive. Most will not believe that the slums
of Mumbai are glamorous and the children living in them will
grow up and use their experiences and poverty to make it
big. But hopefully they will take home the fact that
children are suffering in the slums even now. However, this
does not necessarily forsake them to a lifetime of poverty.
After all, the child stars in the movie were taken from the
slums. They too "just got lucky."
As for the complaint that the movie is derogatory due to the
use of the word "dog," I agree that research was probably
not put into the decision. The director may not have known
how offensive calling someone a dog really is. However, I
say again that the movie is not about people from the slums
being dogs. The term dog was never in the film used in the
context of a person being a dog, but rather as a person down
on his luck.
The film "Slumdog Millionaire" is, to me, about the bravery
and resourcefulness of the Indian people. The slums were not
portrayed as colorful and charming because they are so, but
rather because the children living in them were able to look
on the bright side and see life as such. Maybe that outlook
is what gave the main character the opportunity that he
ultimately got. If we could all take home similar messages,
perhaps the controversy over the movie could ultimately be
used to make the slums a better place to live, rather than
squabbling over semantics.
Statesman
http://media.www.sbstatesman.com/media/storage/paper955/news/
2009/03/09/News/Slumdog.Millionaire-3664717.shtml
Official Slumdog Millionaire Website
http://www.slumdogmillionairemovie.co.uk/
CNN Review
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/22/oscar.night/index.html
Complete List of Oscar Nominees and Winners
http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/22/
oscar.nominees.full.list/index.html
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