A phony poseur that has been made only to mock India for the viewing pleasure of the First World!!
The emperor’s new clothes! That’s “Slumdog Millionaire” for you… Five minutes into this celebrated patchwork of illogical clichés and you are struck by the jarring dialogues. The cumbersome delivery in a language which doesn’t come naturally to most of the actors sounds like someone scratching on walls with one’s finger nails; it ruins the possibility of a connection… Had this film been made by an Indian director, it would’ve been trashed as a rotting old hat, which literally stands out only because of its stench, but since the man making it happens to be from the West, we’re all left celebrating the emperor’s new clothes. The film borrows an undoubtedly interesting narrative style – from films like “City of God” – but then uses it to weave in a collection of clichés from the Third World’s underbelly for the viewing pleasure of a First World audience. The real slumdog in the movie is not the main protagonist but India as a whole… The makers and those celebrating this movie’s hard-to-spot brilliance are actually serving up India as the accidental millionaire, which in fact happens to be a slumdog… and like shameless fools we are gloating over its success without realising that it makes a caricature out of India.
The film does not have the sincerity and honesty of a “Salaam Bombay” or a “City of Joy” and nor does this slime covered fairy tale have the integrity or the rootedness of the above mentioned scripts, or even a “Shantaram” for that matter; the soundtrack and the performance of the child actors are the only bits in the film which live up to the hype. The real slumdogs who’ve hit the jackpot after wallowing in acres of human waste are the makers of this film who are now raking in millions while those court jesters who’ve critiqued the film and showered tributes and awards need to ask themselves why, scores of years after our independence, they still feel the need to suck up to the gora sahibs. It’s not a question of xenophobia… it’s definitely a well cinematographed film… but the film has no soul, especially after little Jamal has jumped off the train and become a teenager… The rest of the film is just a modern version of the West’s view of India where slums, slumdogs and Bollywoodian clichés have replaced the elephants and snake charmers. It’s a well made caricature of a country and a caricature can never be a Mona Lisa, for a masterpiece can’t be one dimensional juxtaposition of sadistic extremes… and that’s my grouse with the celebrations…
And I say all this not because I don’t know what is India. I know its poverty and the real statistics around it a little better than most others – especially the Indian film critics who have given “Slumdog…” an average of 4 to 4.5 stars! But the fact is that the film’s entire narration seems like the germination of a terribly sadistic and complex mind with the sole aim of satisfying the western idea of India – and its new found growth instincts at their cost - and it is done through a combination of illogical happenings in order to show everything in a disgustingly negative vein. Not that it doesn’t exist, but it surely doesn’t exist in this fictitious manner. While “Salaam Bombay” had realism, “Slumdog…” is just every scrap of dirt picked up from every corner and piled up together to try and hit back at the growing might of India. And the awards almost seem like a sadistic effort to show the world – look we knew that this was India, and these are the slumdogs we are outsourcing our jobs to. It stinks of racial arrogance and it’s such a shame now on second thought to see the Indian faces – including that of the undoubted master, AR Rahman - celebrating its success. There is nothing positive about the film and it seems that a deranged sadist has painted his insecure negative self in each and every character of the movie. It illogically shows every negative thing about India happening in the protagonist’s life... slums, open-air lavatories, riots, underworld, prostitution, brothels, child labour, begging, blinding and maiming of kids to make them into ‘better beggars’, petty peddlers, traffic jams, irresponsible call centre executives… everything apart from western pedophiles roaming around in Indian streets!! And its winning of so many awards and nominations only goes on to prove strongly that the paradigm of cinema and recognition of films are in the hands of a few retarded imperialistic minds. It’s a crying shame that our media hasn’t seen through this ruse and is touting “Slumdog’s” nominations to claim that India is shining at the Oscars, while in fact it is lauding a film that mocks and ridicules the idea of ‘India’, pigeonholing its identity into the straitjacket of depraved poverty for a global audience.
When the West wanted Indians to embrace them and their companies to come to India and capture the lucrative markets, suddenly we had all the Indian women, some very beautiful and some not necessarily so, winning all the Miss Universe and Miss Worlds. Today, they are in a crisis and India is looking unstoppable despite its slums and poverty, and they are losing their businesses to us. Isn’t it the best time to paint India as the Slumdog Millionaire?? All in all, the film is nothing but an endorsement of an erstwhile imperial mindset of the West and its blinkered vision of India. An English master has made an Indian slumdog. Don’t even waste your time watching this film in the theatres. It sucks and there is nothing great in it as a film too. Amitabh Bachchan was spot on when he said that Bollywood has made far better mainstream films. Take out a DVD of one of his old films instead…
The emperor’s new clothes! That’s “Slumdog Millionaire” for you… Five minutes into this celebrated patchwork of illogical clichés and you are struck by the jarring dialogues. The cumbersome delivery in a language which doesn’t come naturally to most of the actors sounds like someone scratching on walls with one’s finger nails; it ruins the possibility of a connection… Had this film been made by an Indian director, it would’ve been trashed as a rotting old hat, which literally stands out only because of its stench, but since the man making it happens to be from the West, we’re all left celebrating the emperor’s new clothes. The film borrows an undoubtedly interesting narrative style – from films like “City of God” – but then uses it to weave in a collection of clichés from the Third World’s underbelly for the viewing pleasure of a First World audience. The real slumdog in the movie is not the main protagonist but India as a whole… The makers and those celebrating this movie’s hard-to-spot brilliance are actually serving up India as the accidental millionaire, which in fact happens to be a slumdog… and like shameless fools we are gloating over its success without realising that it makes a caricature out of India.
The film does not have the sincerity and honesty of a “Salaam Bombay” or a “City of Joy” and nor does this slime covered fairy tale have the integrity or the rootedness of the above mentioned scripts, or even a “Shantaram” for that matter; the soundtrack and the performance of the child actors are the only bits in the film which live up to the hype. The real slumdogs who’ve hit the jackpot after wallowing in acres of human waste are the makers of this film who are now raking in millions while those court jesters who’ve critiqued the film and showered tributes and awards need to ask themselves why, scores of years after our independence, they still feel the need to suck up to the gora sahibs. It’s not a question of xenophobia… it’s definitely a well cinematographed film… but the film has no soul, especially after little Jamal has jumped off the train and become a teenager… The rest of the film is just a modern version of the West’s view of India where slums, slumdogs and Bollywoodian clichés have replaced the elephants and snake charmers. It’s a well made caricature of a country and a caricature can never be a Mona Lisa, for a masterpiece can’t be one dimensional juxtaposition of sadistic extremes… and that’s my grouse with the celebrations…
And I say all this not because I don’t know what is India. I know its poverty and the real statistics around it a little better than most others – especially the Indian film critics who have given “Slumdog…” an average of 4 to 4.5 stars! But the fact is that the film’s entire narration seems like the germination of a terribly sadistic and complex mind with the sole aim of satisfying the western idea of India – and its new found growth instincts at their cost - and it is done through a combination of illogical happenings in order to show everything in a disgustingly negative vein. Not that it doesn’t exist, but it surely doesn’t exist in this fictitious manner. While “Salaam Bombay” had realism, “Slumdog…” is just every scrap of dirt picked up from every corner and piled up together to try and hit back at the growing might of India. And the awards almost seem like a sadistic effort to show the world – look we knew that this was India, and these are the slumdogs we are outsourcing our jobs to. It stinks of racial arrogance and it’s such a shame now on second thought to see the Indian faces – including that of the undoubted master, AR Rahman - celebrating its success. There is nothing positive about the film and it seems that a deranged sadist has painted his insecure negative self in each and every character of the movie. It illogically shows every negative thing about India happening in the protagonist’s life... slums, open-air lavatories, riots, underworld, prostitution, brothels, child labour, begging, blinding and maiming of kids to make them into ‘better beggars’, petty peddlers, traffic jams, irresponsible call centre executives… everything apart from western pedophiles roaming around in Indian streets!! And its winning of so many awards and nominations only goes on to prove strongly that the paradigm of cinema and recognition of films are in the hands of a few retarded imperialistic minds. It’s a crying shame that our media hasn’t seen through this ruse and is touting “Slumdog’s” nominations to claim that India is shining at the Oscars, while in fact it is lauding a film that mocks and ridicules the idea of ‘India’, pigeonholing its identity into the straitjacket of depraved poverty for a global audience.
When the West wanted Indians to embrace them and their companies to come to India and capture the lucrative markets, suddenly we had all the Indian women, some very beautiful and some not necessarily so, winning all the Miss Universe and Miss Worlds. Today, they are in a crisis and India is looking unstoppable despite its slums and poverty, and they are losing their businesses to us. Isn’t it the best time to paint India as the Slumdog Millionaire?? All in all, the film is nothing but an endorsement of an erstwhile imperial mindset of the West and its blinkered vision of India. An English master has made an Indian slumdog. Don’t even waste your time watching this film in the theatres. It sucks and there is nothing great in it as a film too. Amitabh Bachchan was spot on when he said that Bollywood has made far better mainstream films. Take out a DVD of one of his old films instead…
Comments
To be a realist is good, there is alot of Parity between the rich and poor in India and we will have to come to terms with it, you shouldnt be driving a Bentley if u are gonna make such a Hu Ha about the issue and besides India has 1.5 Billion + people in it, so well the review was ur point of view but the fact of the matter is that it didnt change a thing,
The hard fact is thanks to that movie 1 Indian won the Golden globe award and has the possibility of winning an Oscar, and well good morning HE's not You...
So to be a realist is to accept the fact that there is good and bad in everything around you, To You - Bad Movie , To Me - Golden Globe Award and a Possible Oscar.
I see a little Optimism in My Realism.
Do Visit my blog and feel free to leave comments there ( its a photography based blog) http://www.vinegarsugar.blogspot.com/
And we guys are enjoying it also...shame shame shame!!!
Arindam i must say that you really care about the feelings and honour of India which truely depicts in your article...
Thank you for taking the Initiative. Lets us hope we Indians get waken up by this....
But I don't like the title you have given your post at all because you are asking people not to watch the movie when they should watch it on their own and gather an opinion from it.
As for the fact that they have shown open-air lavatories, prostitutes, etc etc, so what? It does exist in the country, we need to accept it and so does the rest of the world.
And about Danny Boyle making such a film? What about directors like Madhur Bhandarkar? Traffic Signal? The point is, the film is realistic. Are you criticising it because a westerner made it? Because in that case I don't believe that you, or anyone else can call the movie racial.
And Danny Boyle is going to support all the slum children who were a part of the movie.
I don't think even the directors thought the film would be such a big hit. I agree, it is a little hyped up but its not in the filmmaker's hands that the movie was such a big hit anyway.
You said you liked the cinematography of the movie. So why not look at the movie from an artistic point of view?
Also, how many women are there in this country? How many of them make it as Ms. World or Ms. Universe? A whole lot lesser than the ones who end up in a slum, that's for sure!
Either way, I enjoyed reading YOUR review..
You can visit http://www.picturingperception.blogspot.com .. Its a blog of creative works which belongs to a friend and me!
Anjana
The real problem is : we get intimidated when a foreigner makes a movie with real facts and shows the whole world the real face of India.
Now we as Indians have two ways to react : 1) Get enraged over it and blamed the director for making a "poverty porn" film about India.
2) Feel ashamed about it and set ourselves to challenge the director and producers to make another such film after 10 years.
We will not do the later, because it it difficult. But its easy to blame someone else (esp. when he is foreigner). So we resort to make a huge fuss about it.
Did anyone of us realize the gross truth the movie has conveyed. Is there any bit of lie in what he has shown in the movie.
The commercial capitol of India has such slum dwellers. What have we done about it? Nothing! And we will not do anything about it in the years to come. Why? because its difficult. Because I am not concerned about it till a foreigner points out that we really are so.
At last, its a well written article. But instead of acknowledging the fact that the movie is a portrayal of the maligning truth, You have chosen to take the simpler stand to it - Denial.
I hope to see another optimistic article soon it soon to at least tell all the blog readers to change things around them to create a better tomorrow for India.
i raed ur article through a newspaper and it made me to think abt wat u have written.
I am an Indian too and i do raise my eyebrows when some one sys anything abt my country which is not true......
But in the case of the movie "Slumdog Millioniare"... i dont agree with u. in your article u have said about the some gorasahibs who hav deportray the scenarios in India.... but unfortunately all these are the realitiies.....
first of all this whole idea behind that portrait was not of Mr. Danny Boyle, it was Mr. Vikas Swaroop's (in his novel Q and A, i think u must know this),who is not only a writer but has been served as a democrate in other countries... so before questioning danny boyle, u must question Vikas Swaroop.. coz may he had portray India to the other countries in the same way he did in his novel....
well the question is not who must be blamed or must not be......
the question is of realising the reality...
well u hav eraised the questions of showing some negative thing about India... like slums, open air lavatories, riots underworld, prostitution, brothels, child labours etc... I mean what kind of the world you are living in... cant you see all these around yourself.... slums n poverty... real world according to our Mr. Rahul Gandhi... who had spent a day or night ther with one of the "GORA SAHIB", so wat u'll hav to say on this, next1 is riots... just look at the history... u can see many cases of riots on daily basis... and all others points are also we can see in our daily lives....
so rather than just making a comment on any movie, we need to try at our level best to take out a solution for this coz it is very easy to write something in an AC room but difficult to make it happen....
n yes we can do something....we Indians are really very passionate.... i mean "when a boy can jump into a SHIT POT of the open air lavatory just to get autograph of Amitabh Bachchan", what's there we can't do.....
so ALL THE BEST
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Never more have I felt more humiliated as an Indian
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dude, why dont u change ur nationality?
Try appreciating the real sense and sensibility of the movie without having any regional or national chauvinism,,may be you can learn a lesson or two about how to make a good movie from SLUM DoG..
The movie tried to play with our country pride and all the peoples admiring it just one thing for them...How would u felt if it would have been baised on your home showcasing it publicily...
Feel your country to be you home and fight for its pride...
Please please don't watch the movie its a crap thing ever made.
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..share and tell the world that i am with them and we will not tolerate any nonsense like the SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE movie..Feel your country to be you home and fight for its pride...
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How do we fight for its pride my lady? but shouting at anyone who tries to venture near our slums and ensuring that it is hidden away from the world??
By getting mad every time a movie is made about India and in the movie India is not shown as this chocolatey place with all the girls looking models and all the guys driving around in imported Sedans?
Where only the poshness and upwardly life is shown? is that how u intend to fight for the pride of ur country?
..shame on you.
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Indians who are praising this movie are nothing but coolies.
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and what are you, dude?
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Holy s**t! Can’t believe we Indians are so gullible, so gluttonous for fame and so desperate for the Oscar attention.
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dude, people who liked this movie dont care two shit for the oscars..they liked this movie because it was good. they liked this movie because they are not biased. period.
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Slumdog:- As the name suggests its itself an abuse to the country for which it is made....
And we guys are enjoying it also...shame shame shame!!!
Arindam i must say that you really care about the feelings and honour of India which truely depicts in your article...
Thank you for taking the Initiative. Lets us hope we Indians get waken up by this..
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:)) * ROTFL* :))
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Its food for thought for those who shamelessly celebrating their own undressing in public by a english man
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geez! how much of a perv are u, u sicko! u got ultra-hyper-maniacal-low-esteem-self-derogatory-inferiority-complex!
see a doc at once!!!
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Very true we should all show the outrage to the international community by boycotting the film. & other forms of anger.
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"..and other forms of anger?" :)) seriously dude!!! * dies laughing *
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Amazing blog post Arindam...
The courage and truth you have shown is marvelous by writing such an article and publishing it...
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courage??? courage to write such an article AND THEN publish it as well!!
what so courageous about it dude?? LOLOL
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"one should not watch (atleast we Indians) to tell the world we will not tolerate if anybody tries to play with our emotions..."
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Dude! Im so sorry someone played with ur emotions! I mean, what if we are a country littered with slums and an excellent movie was about about the ever fighting human spirit by showing a kid who grew up in the slums but still remained a good person..what if such a movie was made, right? They showed slums!! they were not supposed to! because they played with our emotions by showing it! so what if slums exist? they are not supposed to show it!!
dude... :p
first thing , i feel that it is becoming a fashion to critize India and its quite astonishing that these attempts has been appriciated by a very majority of people ;be it Indians or some one else.
I have nothing against others but I want to ask Indians that wud they like their neighbours to point out the dirt in theirbedroom (even if it is there) ?I wud say no.
I wud dare anybdy to make such a movie based in China..and let me tell you that there are more problems there then in India but those people take pride in their country and do not allow anybdy to make fun of their country or their people (no matter if they are slumdogs). As a result u view those guys as very proud and progressed people...its all about perception.
I would like to request all the so called "open minded "lot please stop bashing India, its your home and even if it has problems..those are our porblems not something which can showcased in the name of "showing real India" .
I wud say that half of my "open mided frnds" have never visited any of the villages nor they have seen the real India.
And let me tell you one more thing, we Indians are indeed much more ahead then others..when u start bashing India you guys forgot that we have been independent for just 60 yrs and that too after 200 yrs and look where we have reached.
I have lived my life in 3 developed nations and China and I can confidently say that these guys have much worse problem there then we have and yet neither they nor we have thought of showing the "real" part of their country to them..
Wondefull , isnt it that everyone has only India to show off and we fools supports them whole heartdly.
Your views are very narrow and shortsighted for a person of your stature. Individuals like you need to think before expressing your views as they set a wrong example for your followers.
You need to acknowledge the fact that the storyline had to be filmed in such locales which according to you is depicting India in a poor light but which for your information is the reality and needs to be accepted. So grow up and start accepting the facts.
Pranesh
Just making your heart beat at normal pase by reverting people with funny lines so that you don't die by seeing the responses of the people...hating the film..;-)
stop this nonsence
in my country 1 big problem is big people think small and talk more and do nothing.
you and so called think tanks can't digest the grand success of slumdog millionare.
if a person comes from different world he saw some bad seens around us. if you cant see does
it means their is nothing. you big guys think only india lives at mumbai delhi banglore....etc...
their is a india beyond jagdalpur, beyond gwalior at j&k too, north east is also our part...
never dare to consider us fool. by the way what are you doing these days celebrating gajhini's
grand success or with SRK eating dinner for rab ne bana di jodi.
look at the stories in 1st GF is kiiled that hero kills the bad guys and our law and order is seems
as a fool. second rab ne.... teaches us how to ditch hubby.
slumdog....is a transform from slum to moolah. he does not forget his love. by the way this novel
is written by an indian IFS officer. look only you and 12 std pass masters are not social teachers.
that you can give only the opinion but this kind of opinion please stop this nonsence. you live in
big cities travels in planes. i know you may have faced problems but........"samasya ko janana
aur jeena do alag alag baten hai." one day any more boyle will come and make a film on india
corrupt administration and politics. and 26/11 failure of intelligence india on gun point.than you
will say this is not a truth.stop criticising and do some positive
pick ur atlas find where is POK where is kargil. see the arunachal pradesh. reply me soon my
self rahul mishra trainee at doordarshan HPT shahdol. plese accept it otherwise show your
talent....
Sure ARR will get some award from USA. America needs someone to boost their economy. India is the one who can do that right now. Starting from Nuc.Deal so may have been signed off. In return just to keep India happy (this is way much to keep an Indian happy), many awards will be rewarded.
BTW, You may read the director’s filming experience and his respect towards India.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99806648
This film is being touted by that bunch, as bringing oscars to India, but why is it so important to have oscars at any cost one has to wonder. And there are some trolls too, hounding everyone who posts in concurring with your views and abusing them as well, one has to wonder who pays those, and why they are not happy to have said their piece once, if it is really only about a film!
Anyhow, the article of yours is on the dot.
For those that are criticising you about not being realistic and forgetting what wrongs happen in India and Mumbai, I don't know if they saw or celebrated Traffic Signal or even Awara for that matter, or any other excellent films made in India in between or before. And someone informed me that the beautiful and subtle Last Lear was made by you, in which case your critics are seriously wrong.
Yes, there are negatives in every part of the world - when your critics bunch go to US I doubt they go hunting for the victims of racism such as Rodney King and ask if he hurts now; or even took a walk in Harlem (before it was gentrified that is) much less photograph it exclusively.
One hint - German tourists did that to the exclusion of other usual photography, as a means of a subtle retaliation at US tourists going around concentration camp sites. I doubt your critics would dare the latter either for that matter.
Have they heard of five year olds getting ready to perform in US for a bridal inspection, so they could be picked for marriage at eight; or under-teens being forced into marriage in communities where any outsider stepping across the town boundary would risk being shot dead by the sheriff? Or other - far worse - stuff that is routine?
And if one wishes to make films about even topics covered on television shows in US about US one could make some very shocking ones, just by following one show. A popular and sympathetic mainstream one at that, and not one of the merely sensational ones. I shall withhold the name in case the bunch of trolls here jumps at them.
Anyhow, anyone with some realistic vision can see about the truth of what you have pointed out about the motivation for the awards and the sensation this film has received. Lagaan was not about false or rich, nor is for that matter the stupendously excellent recent historical, Jodhaa Akbar, less than deserving of recognition far higher than all accolades, but these films would certainly not get mentioned at the awards in a society that is smarting from the outsourcing of jobs perceived as intelligent work to a country which is perceived forever as begging bowl pretenders (there was no outcry about outsourcing of manufacturing to rest of Asia to the east and southeast of India, since that is not intelligence but merely cheap labour, so it is ok to outsource those) - and this film is as comforting as some of the shows on television channels supposed to be informative in some of those nations.
In one place in Europe we were asked about Indians "begging" in front of rats while other Indians hunt and kill them to eat. We had to explain that the first was due to the very living concept of seeing Divine in all that prevails in India, and it was praying to that Divine in an act recognising the Divine in that action, not begging; while the second we were unaware of but in a huge nation of over a billion and well over several times the size of that nation (where the conversation took place) a variety of things happen in various corners that are not ubiquitous much less universal responsibility.
Later we were shown an article about a group of musicians from that same country that came to India supposedly to play and to learn Indian traditional music, to interact with the traditional classical music players in India in an exchange program in all likelihood, and while they were given royal treatment in Kolkata, they subsequently went back to write (quite a bit more than slightly) disdainfully, about India and about the musicians they met in India (classical ones) and the whole music tradition, and their summing up of the whole experience was "something oily and dirty sticking to the soles of feet" repeated from what their literal experience was at the Kaalie Ghaat where they were shown around, being "guests" of the nation and European ones at that.
Few of your commentators have understood the reality of your post. The rest are happy at any notice taken of India at the awards celebrating excellence of cinema and not bothered about what goes into this particular one being chosen over all the other excellent films made in India, and it is pathetically akin to not knowing the difference between baring yourself (in relative privacy) for washing and cleansing or for a medical examination, vs doing so for giving a shot of "realistic" sort to the rich west so "they" over "there" are again reassured that you of India are just as disgusting as they always thought, and then some.
Some of these trolls here should have seen the furious debate on the internet when a Russian survey said India was third with respect to personal washing and bathing, and the comments that poured forth about how dirty it was and without clean water and without bathrooms so how could anyone wash, while they couldn't believe Europe was behind India in this respect. (US forgets reality of Europe, of cold and poverty and risks involved with baring oneself in winter and cost of bathing and so forth, historically; or that habits formed for millenia are difficult to overcome.)
The bunch of critics you have here have failed to notice, moreover, that the millionaire show in India was far tougher and difficult to get past the elementary questions to the higher levels, while that in the US is ridiculously easy as most shows there are; and this film shows a poor illiterate young person win by fluke, a reassuring picture for them of India doing well by fluke at IT or by magic rather than the tremendous wealth of intelligence of people, of India's aspiration for knowledge, of the huge tradition and respect for learning and the strong number of educated and scientists India does have.
No, if India - which is not even a proxy "white" nation, like some colonial remnant ones that are not even recognised as such - does well at IT or space or any other scientific achievement, or if Indian films have been overtaking others recently in world wide popularity in sheer number of countries and people who are viewers, it must be due to either fluke or low taste of the world.
That is the general perception in west. Different in Russia of course - they can sing Awara Hoon as a roaring crowd, which speaks of real popularity rather than a whipped sullen crowd forced to attend. Same about Nigeria and Albela of Bhagwan, or Japan and Rajanikant and HDDCS, and more.
As for the trolls and critics bunch - do try seeing reality before embracing others' views - no, ridicule and disdain - of India as pride of India. As for Rehman or any other excellent artist they could in a more fair world win awards for their better works, too.
And for a reality check, stop calling it Indian film, it is about India. By others.
That is one glaring example. I have not researched into this and perhaps there are many more.
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Molten ...it feel that you seems to be the producer of the film giving clarifications for every comment....
Just making your heart beat at normal pase by reverting people with funny lines so that you don't die by seeing the responses of the people...hating the film..;-)
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ma'am, were u saying something? cause I really didnt get you :p
PS: I dont have a heart condition either ;-)
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I wud say that half of my "open mided frnds" have never visited any of the villages nor they have seen the real India.
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Now lets get a bit serious here. I dont know about ur friends. But I was one of the guys who volunteered with an NGO during the Tsunami. I travelled to the fishermen colonies of Tamil Nadu, REALLY rural and poverty struck places and i did all the work that was entrusted to me by my NGO.
Dear Amit dude, dont jump into conclusions that are generic and misinforming. I am the so called "open-minded" as you put it. I love my country. I want India to be better. I HAVE seen the villages. I bloody come from one myself. Dont think that the people who like this are snobbish wanna-be-whites.
That is exactly the stereotyping that is blinding you all.
People who like this movie like it because they went for a movie and what they saw they liked. They liked the spirit of Jamal who never gave up inspite of so many odds; they liked Salim, who inspite of everything was big brother to his little brother and protected him with his life; They liked Latika who lived all her life with her love for Jamal; They liked it in the end when Jamal and Latika finally got to be together; They saw the never-say-die spirit of Jamal - a salutation not just to an Indian from adverse condition, but to every human being who has fought life and never given up.
THAT, dude, is the essence of the movie. The people who are crying out against this movie are completely oblivious to all this. They are just mad that slums were shown in the movie. They are people who are SO used to seeing the rich and unreal bollywood movies, where even poverty is shown in glamour. They have been so much into seeing it with bollywood eyes, that when a movie maker creates a candid shot of a slum they think that it is outrageous.
Dude..
Accept the fact that people are also hating the movie and your explanations to people's comment won't make any difference...
If you still can't understand...be in your dreamy world and enjoy yourself....
Let us condemn Lagaan too... because it shows how poor India was.
Mr Arindham can you please keep politics,branding away from entertainment and art...
PS: The "STORY" was written by an Indian writer..
----------------------------
Molten (Mr. Producer)
Accept the fact that people are also hating the movie and your explanations to people's comment won't make any difference...
----------------------------
same to you :)
ur comment on slumdog is so fantastic............
thanx for printing that on newspaper. I had read article on paper.
Going by your thoughts Steinbeck should never have "The Grapes of wrath"
I agree with yur ideas on Slumdog Millionaire..but I still feel that people should atleast watch it once...not coz its good or sumthing..but coz they shud know how the world looks at India...
I will appreciate if you can read my views on Slumdog Millionaire at:
http://www.youthpad.com/blogs_detail/Movies/50/Slumdog_Millionaire:_Fiction_or_true_India.html
This movie showed all that one does not want to see ( even though it might be real in some cases ) like cops beating a boy to make him salivate n bleed, open air lavatories, slums, all that garbage one can see in slums, children sleeping in garbage, bad guys picking these kids putting acids on kids faces so that one can make them beg ….
Oh god .. what sort of movies are these maniacs making and who the hell are these people who are awarding these ?
You might as well tell me if you don’t like don’t see this movie ..
Please don’t waste your time and money on this movie
Regards
James
The movie is sick...
I believe that this movie didnt show anything wrong...this is a fact that poverty, dirt exists in India. Its just because a hollywood director has tried to depict it onscreen...Bollywood Big Guns are opposing it...
I feel its very HOLLOW and NARROWMINDEDNESS on part of the people who are saying that a westernizer is making a mockery of India by showing this kind of stuff...
..Cmon we Indians have the potential to reach the pinnacle...but our inner-disputes, Shortsightedness never help to realize this potential....
take an example of Swades...such a wonderful movie....even SRK pointed out the inner problems persisting in India..related to caste..illiteracy..poverty...religion...but nobody questioned him when he showed this concern onscreen...Danny Boyle has just made an attempt to make aware of the horrifying life,people live in slums like Dharavi of Mumbai...
..the Jealosy/doubts which provokes in the mind of INDIAN people when someone from Slum breaks the norms and ends up winning a Crorepati quiz..
..Further to this, people who are saying that it only has bad things about INDIA...should wake up and watch it again...it shows that against all odds...how a Slumboy by virtue of his Knowledge, Luck and utilising his real life incidents...ends up winning something..as big as a Crorepati Quiz....which I guess every boy living in slums dreams of...to get good money...for the betterment of his life...
whats wrong in that....!!
The movie is well directed. even though a lot of negetivity is a part of the entire movie screenplay, is it not the type of world the a slumdweller has to face daily in his life. Neither you nor me have lived in the slums. But at least I know that a life of a Mumbaikar(the one living in slums) or for that matter slums anywhere in India is WORST THAN THAT DEPICTED IN THE MOVIE.
I believe "Its better to rectify your shortcomings than to point finger on the person who brings it to your light"
I used to respect you for beautiful articles you have written in the past.
This was unexpected from you.
This was as they call in Psychiatry Immature defence mechanism.
It should be banned from screening in India..
Totally agree Slumdog Sucks!!!
Like so many people have already said, not many people are gonna agree with you regarding this. The movie is a spectacle(it does have a few small niggles in the plot), and it deserves more or less whatever it is getting. You have entirely missed the plot when it comes to the movie. Never once in the entire course of the movie are the slums reflected in a bad light. Infact, it vibrates with energy, upbeatness and rare visual treats. The children are awesome, the cinematography probably the best I've seen in a mainstream film for a long time. You would never have said all this had Mira Nair directed the film once again. Or any Indian director, for that matter.
On the contrary, I think Danny Boyle has to be applauded for the manner in which he has understood Mumbai. I think in one of the reviews, it actually said, "the film is Danny Boyle's love letter to the city of Mumbai!" - thats the point that you are missing. Danny brings out the true, unswerving, defiant spirit of "Real India" - that is much more prominent in a simple, but intelligent slum kid than in anybody who'se better off.
hats off to danny boyle!
With all due respect I do not completely comply with your point of view. I accept the fact that the movie depicts the dirty under belly of India in the worst light and yes its also true that the protagonist of the movie is being depicted as India, but this should not allow us to turn a blind eye to the fact that the movie also shows the optimism with which this country has grown. We cannot deny the fact that even today this country's progress and prosperity is still stymied by all the adversities shown in the movie, but still this country continues to grow. Isn't this short of being a lucky millionaire.
After reading your article I did feel the movie shows India in a poor light, but after some pondering you realize that actually this is the first movie which throws light on the real reason of India's prosperity, which is optimism and hope. Look at the majority of the third world nations. Almost all are still stuck in the quagmire of all sorts of troubles and problems which strangles the countries hope for a better future. India is a rare example which has marched ahead because it had leader which gave hope and optimism to this nation. After the disappearance of these leaders the hope of bringing this nation back to its past glory has kept the flames of hope burning in the hearts of the people and is solely responsible for the growth which we see today.
This is the exact concept which has been shown in the movie, not exactly in the nationalistic sort of way, but how really the people of this nation have risen from the ashes of their misery to rise to their glory.
Obviously the western world is not aware of this concept but we in India rather than completely condemning this movie should look at the concept which encourages growth in this country despite all sorts of dirty under belly.
I might go ahead and say "This movie is not against India, but it shows how this great nation continues to grow despite the problems it faces everyday"
it was shocking to read your article. i agree upto this extent that the movie has shown extreme poverty but upto a greater extent its the truth. your article itself was full of cynicism and sadistic thought. see it from an artist's view. i dont digest this as a movie made in an intention to hammer on the mighty india's growth. if a movie can do so then i feel really sorry about ourselves. i have read books written by indian authors and movie made by indians which shows extreme poverty. wat u have to say about that ,sir? what is your views about the booker winning novel The White tiger written by our very own arvind? there are many books which depicts the real india and you need to read that.we can not runaway from that.its a movie, an earnest effort of so many people which is being rewarded. and about poverty sells...its not only poverty sir...anything that hits the emotions of human being will sell easily...be it a movie or a book...finally it is an art form only...let us view it in that way...
Danny Boyle dude have you ever found anything good in yourself or even there you are just the same like your crap film...
hell don't watch it pls...
Full of coincidences even rajnikany wud blush away !!
how come all the bad thngs in the entire world happpens to this protagonist who doesnt even look indian. The child actors are flawless . the roles played by anil and irfan are guest appearances . the way they were dancing in the premier i felt that they are the slumdogs. i hate the concept and specially the scene where the american couple gives 100 bucks to the guy and tells him " this is real america" thats one of the comic scene for which it shud be nominated for oscars . the movies is full on bore and just bcos of the fact some silly psudo intellectual loved the conept of taking a dip in the holy shit u shud go watch it !!
I feel the tourism definately going to get affected as indian is portrayed a big Slum with all the ppl trying to grab the money trying to steal the shooes .
I support to oppose the crap !
With regards
Osai Chella
Author: Reservation FAQ
Same ways...Slumdog Sucks!!!
Let us not mix up the purpose of a movie and the western attitude towards India. We need to understand that our India is not going to become bad or good just because some people portrayed its bad aspects only, in their films. A famous story related to Mahatmaji comes to my mind at this instance...where Mahatmaji was given a paper full of abuses and he threw the paper but kept the pin which was holding the paper,saying that it would be of better use to him later!!
So let us also look into the better aspects of situations. The fact that ARR won Gloden Globe Award is again universal recognition.
If our self esteem gets hurt or our blood boils, on minor issues like a movie, and if we start comparing ourselves with sulmdogs, who is winning? Surely the west!! We should be strong in our heart and mind about our country, that it is not going to fail in front of any other country or race.
Our country is growing, and let us leverage all insults thrown on us into successful plans for the future. Let everyone watch the movie and come to their own conclusions.
I personally am against the way we treat foreigners in our country. If someone visited India and carried back a bad impression it is not their fault. It is ours. Instead of crying loud about them making movies on us, better change ourselves fast enough to be at least in a position to compete.
Dear Arindham
Hope you have directed BIG B so i hope ur also biased on the statements and support BIG B.
The Slums are the real one in India and also things are real hope u know that better as u have a good organisaton called GIDF having that hope we need to help the slums come better
Chill!
The distributors can now do better in adding your review as a prologue to the movie! Your article has a text book precision- highly recommended as a responsible criticism: prescribe it to the schools.
The makers of the film (and the base novel)hardly realized their folly when they went about making this oeuvre. Can your & our feedback help them.
In the 330+ feedbacks, several are against your views. Are they substantial? I doubt.
Winning awards is not a measure of India's strength.
-Capt. Nagarajan
The Nonsense Blog
It just shows how asshole one can be and also what background you from...
i feel.... for or against should be provied with valid reasons counts rest all are like dogs on street...just let them bark..does anybody really cares about them no...No one..
Well India is my country ::my home and i cannot take anything wrong upon it...So i feel Slumdog is bad show to be admired if you are a true India lets not feel proud in making it to oscar or even if it wins any award...as i feel pride and dignity matters rest all things are fake...
I wanted to say that I appreciate your comments. I will respectfully refrain from seeing the movie as it is so hurtful.
I understand you and many others are angry, and thats ok. Anger can be the impetus for change and that is what we want under it all anyways, isnt it? So again, I appreciate and respect your views.
However, if a country chooses to be independent, and an independent democracy, it must accept the consequences.
The first consequence is the slums. You can be upset at the western world all you want. That is your right. But we have all been slumdogs at one time. All of us. 60-70 years after our independence, (Im American) Im sure the British had some choice words to say about us too. If not in cinema in words/print. That criticism continues today with movies like "Sicko" and "Bowling for Columbine" just to name a few. It doesnt always help if the director is a native. Cinema is always a caricature, it is never reality, and that never changes. Noone will remember this movie's name in 6 months.
This leads me to my second point, that if, again, you have chosen to be a democratically independent nation that implies an acceptance of free speech. This includes other cultures. Free speech is, and must be, universal if it exists at all. You cant pick and choose.
Again, I appreciate your point of view, I hope I do not offend in sharing my own. I hope you have a great day.
with due respect I would like to mention here that what all you have written over here is nothing more than crap, you sound like nothing less than an MNS or bajrangdal representative, if you blame Boyle for representing India as a third world the Mr. Swarup is the real culprit who came up with such an Idea in his book Q&A... I don’t know you have even read the book or not because if you would have read it you should have realized that there is a better treatment of the subject than what has been described by Swarup. Slumdog out and out is a romantic flick (yes I mean it) where the hero in very conventional style fight all odds to finally gets to meet his girl; happy ending- a Bollywood USP...the movie should be enjoyed that way only ... while the issues encountered in the movie are no fallacy that is the truth and must be put before everyone so that people could come forward and help us eradicate these evils ... movie has nothing very outstanding to boast of but still its a nice screenplay thoroughly supported by Rehman's superb score ... no doubt if movie is getting accolades we ought to celebrate having people like rehman,gulzar,lavleen,frieda,dev,irfaan etc associated with the project its their victory its a recognition to India going global... so Mr. Arindam I would request you to stop garnering attention with such crap blog entries and do develop a sense of appraisal for achievements be it big or small.
Dem pakis are ass-backwurds innit? , Lets curb stomp more pakis!
(In case non-NRIs didn't know, these ass-backward gora losers can't tell the different between Muslims and indians)
How do you self-loathing uncle tom Asians feel now?
Its been 60 + years since Independence, Leaders have been changed, many governments have come and gone yet nobody has thought of the Asia’s largest Slum and nobody has done any good to this slum, but I take lot of positives from this movie ( though I didn’t like the title) at least somebody has dared to show it in big screen and has forced India and the world to think about it by giving such an attention.
Regards,
Vinay
You can register and give your vote at imdb.com for this movie. At the current rating of 8.7 the movie is already in Top 250.
http://exercise.about.com/cs/cardioworkouts/l/blbootcamp.htm
It totally Sucks!!!
It seems sometime we Indian have left with no values by allowing such movies to be screened..
But after reading you article i felt there are people who care for the nation...
The movie plays with our pride and Goras are enjoying seeing it...which i hate to the bottom of my heart..
In short Slumdog Sucks!!!
Its been 60 + years since Independence, Leaders have been changed, many governments have come and gone yet nobody has thought of the Asia’s largest Slum and nobody has done any good to this slum, but I take lot of positives from this movie ( though I didn’t like the title) at least somebody has dared to show it in big screen and has forced India and the world to think about it by giving such an attention.
Regards,
Vinay
Vinay.bakale@gmail.com
Hello great INDIANS whts rong with u ..u wont work to make life better in d country but wen some1 shows d reality it hurts !..like said
truth is sour!
http://victimofprejudice.blogspot.com/
Making film using such topics and in real life doing nothing about it shows that how concerned you are...
And it is itself a shame on we Indian that a Gora trying to poke his nose in our matters just to win name, fame and money by showing bad about our country and we are doing nothing about it.
Shame....This movie sucks pls don't see it.
The need of the hour is "why do people like it? is it because its shows poverty which is a scintillating and shameless truth or we are trying to say that our undergarments are not washed from ages but we are covering them with branded or clean clothes?or we love it becoz its an international recognition and THAT"S HOW THE INDIANS WOULD BE RECOGNISED AS.friends we get influenced by cinema a lot and we need to understand the lobbying behind it.
I support sir's motion and it reflects his bravity!
thats whats happening here... SORRY this movie hurts your pride... And leave the word "MOTHER INDIA" Aside... its no where related to the current topic...
We students at Entrepreneurship Development Cell, Delhi College of Engineering are organizing 'Entrepreneurship-Summit' in the month of February(20-21). We are having leadership lectures during the summit. We wish to invite you to come and motivate the students of DCE.
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http://www.efateh.com/blog/bachchan-denies-slumdog-criticism
This film seems to be like the director taking out his frustration in the form of film.
Well, this film sucks!!!
D thing most hurted me ws a scene near Taj Mahal..Jamal ws beaten for stealin things 4m car..Im js changin situation..a british boy is beaten up near big ben by a guard..although every1 know hez d thief, an indian couple comes in btwn 2 save him,..Boy screams u want 2 c real Britain,thn c this..Indian couple imediatetly stops d guard and hands tht boy wads of cash n a digi cam..N the couple proudly says this is real India..Can any british man accept this crap in a muvi..???
This film sucks and Goras has made it to show us that we are downgraded people and to make fun of us.
Thank you for such a daring post.
What was positive about the movie is the upbeat attitude of the protagonist even after emerging from a shit pit to get his fav. star's autograph. It is small things that make him happy, he is helpful to an orphan slum girl and he is not greedy. He doesn't go to the game show with the intention of making money, he goes in hope to reunite with his lost love. The protagonist is projected as a simple, honest, loving, caring and cheerful boy inspite of all the hell he has gone through.
Anyway cinema is just cinema and we needn't mix it with management views or outsourcing politics.
There were some detractors, some who felt it was over hyped, and some who went to the extent of scheming sinister designs to bring down its chances of winning. But SM has to fulfill its destiny, and it is on its dream run. There is no one stopping this.
What a night it will be when the child actors Rubina Ali, and Azharuddin, the slum urchins of Dharavi Slums, strutting on the red carpets at the Kodak theater hobnobbing and rubbing shoulders with the A listed hollywood stars? An opportunity which many a 'B'ig Indian movie stars could not get in their entire life of work in the industry. Such a rags to riches has come to the little pair of uneducated, dirt poor kids. Believe me, the entire world media's attention will be focused on these two unlikely stars of Mumbai.
As I have been following the dream run of this movie, i am beginning to believe that this indeed has to be written. Arindham and his ilk, in my opinion has got it all wrong. In all their eloquent diatribes and rants, masquerading behind a mistaken patriotism, they have been barking up the wrong tree. I hope come sunday night, these detractors who dissed this movie, will have to eat their own dirt. What is funny is that some who trashed the binding element of destiny in the story line, are the ones who would look up to astrology, numerology, horoscopes, auspicious times and vastu sashtra!
It is just not mere luck which chanced up on this genre defying movie, but real quality workmanship in almost all the departments. It is evident in the way it is winning awards in whatever forum or guilds it is reviewed, The work done in this movie is the envy of many other professionals in this industry the world over. They would die to get this sort of recognition.
Take for example Resul Pookutty of kerala the sound engineer. I saw the movie for a second time to enjoy its technical brilliance. Resul has done a marvelous job. He has brought the real life sound and feel of the maximum city to the screen. I am sure he is going to walk away with the golden statue. As for ARR, I concede that his work in this movie is not as great as what he had done in some of his masterpieces for the indian movies. His score in Lagaan and DevDas will surely stand the test of time. But those were done for a typical indian consumption. But in SM he has really done a global cross over. Imagine a hindi song getting an oscar. The frantic editing, the wonderful screenplay and great direction from a master story teller have all added feather to its cap. A true accomplishment.
Every movie pundit has predicted its win. The timing of this movie and the message of grit and hope it carries has resonated with the people world over who are weary of the world economic recession. It gives them the hope that not all is lost, things will become ok if you hang in there. Luck would favour you if you tread the straight path with perseverance. With a wind on its back and spring on its feet, Slumdog will walk into the California sunset with the sweep of the movie glory.
In the movie when Jamal returns to the studio sets of Who Wants to be a Millionaire after the police interrogation for his 20 million rupee question, he runs into a poor lady at a traffic stop. On recognition it is Jamal she excitedly wishes him heartily.
"Jamal, son is it you? You have my blessings, go win it all"
That poor lady's wishes rings prophetic now.
Tune into sunday night's Oscars to witness Slumdog Millionaire make movie history.
Destiny is already in the envelope, sealed.
It is written.
And my final answer is...
Jai Ho.
Chris P.
Orlando, Florida.
Your cover story, editorial and musings (TSI 8th February 2009) made a sickening reading. Along with the universal truth of “Sex sells” “poverty too sells well” occupied a prominent place in literature and film. As the musings columnist pointed out in his column, that most of the best selling and prestigious award winning novels and literary pieces created by our Indian abroad writers portrayed India’s poverty side (Post and pre Independence India) in a very bad shape and procured accolades and dollars. Nothing but the same is repeated in the current controversial picture “Slumdog Millionaire”. We can’t just blame one ‘Danny Boyle’ for this, instead we ourselves have to blame. As Prasoon rightly said it, that we do not have a proper platform to portray the real emerging shining India in our nation, in such situation writers as well the film producers definitely look at where it’s available and they insults India, denigrate religion and distorts reality accordingly and portray it for their profits. This is nothing but a business tactic; this is being done by our own writers and film producers from the beginning. Who is to blame for this lack is a big question remains. P V Ariel, Secunderabad -3
http://linkbee.com/F6Q4
Its about pride of a country, showing negative to win does not mean a great job.
i feel that just to win name fame one should not play with the pride of a country and thats why it i feel it sucks!!!
" Slumdog Millionare" has won 8 Oscars for itself and made the country proud.. Hope next time round a similar film comes from planman pictures.. In life its important to have faith in someone's talent.. That's the reason Director Danny boyle came to India to shoot this wonderful film.. He surely faced lots of challenges but it has surely paid off..And he has dedicated his award to the city of Mumbai for its warmth & spirit.. Next time pls dont be so critical, yes we do live in a democracy.. and everyone has aright of opinion.. But u cant possibly fool a billion people who have loved the movie.. Goodluck to youin life.. Once again "Jai Ho" to the entire cast & crew of the movie..
Thank god the Indian Cricket Team has stopped doing that and will hopefully be the No. 1 ranked team in the world soon.
Amitabh Bachchan is also right to say that this film shows the dirty underbelly of India. A small part of India. Most Indians live in villages, not slums! Villagers mainly engage in farming, not begging!
Jai Hind
Sir i think that you were very offended by this movie but this kind of depiction was already done by a Indian writer in the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup. The movie is just a adaptation. Central theme of this movie is not accidental millionaire but is about the vast sea of possibilities which exist for those who believe.
Its good for the writer that his story was adapted to show this theme if it hadn't been his story some other story would have been used.
Well you are a economist so your comments are of political kind but i can only say a artist will think differently.
However, I feel like the values that the film presents are flawed, perhaps even harmful to the global audience. Allow me to explain.
I am sympathetic to the interesting opinion that this film portrays India as the scum-covered "other". This is called exoticization, & it commodifies other cultures, so that there is a danger of lost respect of empathy for people from other cultures. For example, if I see a child from India, I will subconsciously be reminded of the Indian kid swimming through the sh*t. I have doubts about the conspiracy theory that the academy intentionally decided to paint India as a 'Slumdog Millionare' because of a psychological effect on potential investors on the growing competition in the professional market in India.
The real problem is the happy ending. Instead of being informational wake-up call about the fact that social injustice exists, all around us, the film paints the problem as being solved (because of lucky gameshow questions.) Now, because of the popularity of this film, people are that much more reliant on luck and destiny, instead of free will & ambition. Like watching Schidlers List, which convinces people to psychological dismiss the Holocaust, Americans cram in their seats and sip on their cokes and watch this film & subconsciously feel like poverty & child prostitution has been neutralized. Happy endings are great, they are half of all endings in life. I love to see an underdog make sacrifices and study his whole life and win a million bucks. But when it involves "deserved" destiny, it is rubbish.
"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it."
-Thomas Jefferson
Just have a look at this point
1. Make movies like Lagaan and tare Zameen par. Send it to Oscars not a single award.
But slumdog millionaire gets many Oscars. Don't you people see any problem in the way India is perceived by the West.
I agree that movies are for entertainment. But they are a part modern literature.
You feel about something, you write a good story. But movie is a media which is the most effective way of storytelling.
It won't make any losses if entertainment either be harmless comedy or have some value if anybody has that kind of talent.
Moreover,if your point of view is different explain it logically instead of being aggressively judgmental.
You should have explained why the movie was good. What were the strong points about various things like performances, technicality, music.
Instead you chose to aggressively blast on Arindam's view.
You started blasting and giving gyan to Arindam. That shows your level of maturity. Kidnly learn to express yourself
Due to low morale, our citizens judge their success only when United States approves of it.
That said, i must thank this movie for reminding me that there are plenty of great Indian/Bengali movies that I've yet to see.
You might have had much more knowledge of movies, and I agree to you that Slumdog isn't as good as has been projected, NO DOUBT. But that doesn't mean necessarily that it's a biased view of the West.The book firstly has been written by an India Author, so hardly that needs a debate.
Probably you should have subscribed to some click-and-earn schemes, since so many people are visiting your blog, you could have become Millionaire, too!!
Please do invest in good movies, hoping you wouldn't left as another critic and become one to be adjudged
Good Luck!
Arajit
Kolkata
After reading your post I decided I would'nt see the movie,but when I saw daily reports in the newspaper about how it was hotting up in the race for the oscars,I gave in and saw it. I must disagree with you totally. First of all, the life in slums that was shown was not concoted, its true, it happens and we all know it. Secondly it was'nt a deliberate attempt to expose the dirty underbelly of the city as is maintained by even the "great" amitabh bacchan who has had most of his hits portraying characters of the underworld, showing what a big fake he is. This movie showed what a person with selfrespect,individuality and a will to overcome hurdles in life can help better one's life and emerge successfully from the morass of poverty, hunger and want. In fact these are the people who are so resilient and live life by their own efforts and on their own steam. No politician has ever done anything for them except shamelessly beg them for votes. And all the painted society ladies who are craving for a photo op do their bit in the name of " giving back to the society"! It only goes to show what a bunch of fakes we indians are. No indian film director would've have had the guts or the finesse to make a movie like this. I think it was a good movie,like a racy novel and did'nt deserve to win oscars as such but definitely it should'nt kick up such a controversy. We have to accept what india is like and its high time we acknowledge it and start doing something about it.
being a blogger/journalist i hope you believe in freedom of speech. how come you keep deleting my comment to your "Don’t see “Slumdog Millionaire”. It sucks!"
Please remove yourself from the blogging world if you cannot face a little bit of criticism.
thanks
PReeti Govindarajan
I hate this movie.
I think your viewpoint on the movie was quite narrow-minded and puritanical. You seem to only see the negative aspects about India presented there as if you are wearing googles which filter the contents as per your prejudices.
This also highlights the pessimism stuffed in you.
While watching the movie, i think, many of us were deeply inspired by the success story of the slumboy which was not a luck but an application of gruelling experience which he faces in his lifetime. If not all, many of us vicariously linked ourselves with the struggling boy and gained confidence by his success saga.
And as far as the image of India is concerned, any movie in the world does not have the potential to tarnish it.We are class apart and even BILL GATES acknowledges much of his success to Indians.
In hollywood they even make movies that depict several unethical aspects of America and other western countries. Is that mean that US is a very bad country?
The western audience also enjoys watching poor picture of their country.
By condemning Slumdog Millionare, you are sounding like those activists who led legendary artist M.F. Hussain to exile.
I THINK ONE SHOULD WATCH A MOVIE WITH OPTIMISM....AND LET'S PLEDGE TO MAKE WHOLE OF INDIA A MILLIONARE!!!!!
JAI HO!!!!
ankit191188@gmail.com
http://ashcontemplations.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-say-your-say-and-everyones-say-on.html
I agree with your views. Slumdog is not a movie worth Oscar. Nor Jai - Ho song is the best of A.R. Rehman. Jai - Ho song winning an Oscar! and eight awards for the movie which had many flaws, is really surprising. If it was done by the Indian Director, neither Jai-Ho nor the movie would have won an Oscar. Finally Jai -Ho to the Slumdog team.
- Mytreya A
Daniela
Arindam, you might be right that we are a superbly developing country and the west economy is down and all... but then MODESTY is a good virtue to have. You, urself say existence of slums in India, as depicted in the movie, is a truth... So for us, as Indians, I don't think retaliating against the movie is a good behavior. We know we are advancing and we know the guy has shown something very truthful. Whatever his intentions are, we should not be sarcastic. As I said, modesty is a good thing to possess. We should say 'THANK YOU' to Danny Boyle instead for picturing this truth to us and reminding us that we have more and more work to do ahead of us. It is very similar to the Gandhi's way of dealing with things (ahimsa).
If Danny had real bad intentions making this movie, I think this 'thank you' will penetrate him much more than this blog post... which (trying to hurt Danny back) should not be our intention though...
You have expressed your vies wonderfully Arindam, but I just don't feel you are taking things in the right spirit that's all :)
More of my reactions on this subject. pl. visit this link:http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1570894/_slumdog_millionaire_some_reactions.html
P V ARIEL, Secunderabad
Small business website design
It's like when the Iranians went nuts over the movie 300
You guys just make yourselves look like idiots.
http://careers360.in/lead-story/iipm---best-only-in-claims.html
Go watch Traffic Signal, made by Madhur Bhandarkar. Go watch 'Apaharan' which had Ajay Devgan in the lead. All these movies showed India as a country into deep shit, how come you were silent then. Forget you, every Indian who is saying slumdog is wrong, please see movies made by fellow Indians itself, which show India in a poor state. The point is, what is been shown is true!. You can only raise your voice if something is not true. Can you point anything in slumdog which is not true? ...
Stop writing these articles, to promote your institution and publishing house. No1 wants to know your point of view anyway!
ccna ccent
I'm currently writing an essay about cultural appropriation in intercultural film and find this blog post, and everyone's comments really really interesting. I'm from the UK so no matter how hard i try, my perspective on this will be one sided- initially after seeing the film I loved it, but after more thought I've realised the film's tunnel vision, using another culture for its own ends.
One thing I can't understand, is why the Indian press hasn't picked up on these issues more? Could anyone perhaps give me any ideas as to why slumdog has been praised so much in india?
Thanks!
Business is all that counts at the end. There is a buzz that if the film does good business there will be more money flowing into the India film industry from abroad. Its like FDI (foreign direct investment). However, you being a researcher will certainly know better. Apart from the portrayal of India, this film has no cinematic value. Do not trust the Indian press. The news they produce is of no higher quality than any soap operas on the television channels. So do not trust on their intellect or judgement.
You can read my take on the film at:
http://www.rainbowshark.blogspot.com/
“Salaam Bombay” was a piece of art, each frame & corrector was esteemed with the hand of Mira Nair. Even some of new actors worked far more better than any other experienced actor. I am not bothered whether “Slumdog ……. got Oscar or any other award. But I was sure that this film will not make any place in Cannes Film festival or any other film festival, where judges watch the film , not the marketing of the film.
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Arindam,why do U beg for a pat in the back by a Gora.If the Gora is impressed or depressed by India it is his problem.
We Indians including U still feel a Gora is superior & we go out of our way to seek his patronising approval.What impression the Gora has about India after seeing the Film need not bother us.
Nice to see someone thought on similar line as me. Ultra rights in UK have typically wanted to believe that conditions have gone to worse from bad after former British colonies gained Independence which is far from truth. Many ppl in our current generation of India who are taught only how to do copy paste job and nothing about our history take immense pride in being British slaves. Many ppl still love, romanticize and support British rule. They simply count negatives of todays India and hail British masters for bringing railways. They don't have an iota of information about exploitation of our motherland by colonial plunderers. Most of them are mesmerized by west and want to see India rise up as an equal partner of Western powers in the world which is far from truth. We've our own identity and we must carry on with it.
Slumdog is also a movie on colonial mindset. They know India only for 'poverty', 'Taj Mahal, 'Goa' and 'call centers'. Except Goa this movie shows all typical stereotypes about India. That is enough to reflect is shallowness. It is really sad to see that probably we are the only people in world who take pride in being a dog of western master. If we really want a better future for our country, we must get over this mindset of slavery and colonial hangover. Why do care for Oscars? Simply because these awards are being given by westerners. Why we care a lot for being recognized from west? Do they care what we think about them? I remember few years ago there was a 'vote for Taj' campaign. As if Taj hadn't remained great monument without recognition from a private Canadian company. We spend so much money to buy harmful skin creams to make color fair. Why? Because we Indians love in being slaves of West and so we love slumdog.
I salute SLUMDOG MILLIONARE... I bet you can do a movie that can hit OSCAR. And pls get this off ur mind tht British - Indian.
The author of this topic sucks.. he wrote such a big topic not to watch.. indeed he urged ppl to watch the film. Indirect publicity.
The day u do a movie.. then we can talk. Now stop your *** mouth!
peace!
I'd have to call you cynical man if you believe a western director made a movie related to India profoundly to show western country's superiority over the Indian sub-continent. If you want a movie to be produced solely embracing the culture and positive outcomes of India, I suggest you resort yourself to watching a NatGeo documentarty on the growing economy of India; its bound to make you feel content.
I personally didn't feel the movie was good enough to deserve something as prestigious as an Oscar, but the movie was a sure shot to success with its subtle "bollywood-ness" and presence of perpetual flaws of India which it pokes fun of.
I reckon we should be happy that it atleast fetched an Indian (A.R Rehman) an Oscar for the first time rather than whine over petty pride as to INDIANS being mocked. (P.S: Britishers are always poked fun at by Americans - They don't make such a fuss)
Grow up. Poke fun of yourself once in a while. If you are so offended by movies such as 'Slumdog Millionare', I reckon you make a movie depicting the shortcomings of USA as a comeback. *grins*
NOW ITS LIKE TROUBLING SOMETIMES THAT A PERSON IS HABITUATED TO THINK OF SOMETHING AND IF THAT HAPPENS ETC??? IS HE TALKING OF HEAVEN???
its being on for so many years that west has been ruled by east
the industrial revolution started in the west ,for 2-3 hundred yrs, with their non-ecofriendly machine power, they reached the heights of development
as far as now the scene is that" after wholy polluting the enviroment for almost 2 hundred yrs, they are realizing their mistake and telling us to become eco-friendly, do not build more building,
these bastards are now trying to stunt our economy,
but still, they dont know how powerfull v r
I was in a AA meeting once and the speaker mentioned Dr Kishore, and the entire room erupted into laughter. I saw him back in the late 90s and he was a quack then. He was FAR from free. He had been fined years ago because when you sat in his waiting room (an hour was considered quick) he'd bill the insurance co's for that time. Then once you saw him he'd tell you what a great guy he was for working with addicts. Ive been clean for over 10 years now and those professionals who really helped me were ones that didnt need to continiously pat themselves on the back. Addicts are a nightmare to work with, and I commend all those that put up with it all to help those in need. But theres no way you're ever going to convince me Kishore was one of those people.
This Fool Punyamurtula Kishore MD aka MAD DOG was never licensed by Mass. Dept of Public Health to practice Addiction Medicine. Punyamurtula Kishore MD aka MAD Dog Millionaire is a fraud ,
The American College of Addiction Medicine and the National Library of Addiction has never existed except on paper. Punyamurtula Kishore has been indicted by 3 Grand Juries for Medical Insurance Fraud , bribery and giving out and receiving kickbacks. He was involved in Corruption when he was the Medical Director at the Massachusetts Dept. of Correction , Martha Eliot Health Ctr , Roxbury Comprehensive Health Ctr. and his possess Medical Practice , Preventive Medicine Associates.formerly Addiction Medicine Associates. He used two entities he created on paper that never existed called the National library of Addictions and the American College of Addiction Medicine to advocate his emergence in the field of addiction medicine. This unscrupulous MD used and exploited his patients and employees for financial wealth. The only thing that MAD DOG MILLIONAIRE aka Punyamurtula Kishore cared about was making money at the expense of someone elses misery
4
You are 100% correct : thanks for share it
First I would like to appreciate the patriotism and the language you have used in the post which is worth appreciating.
When you say do not watch Slumdog millionaire, I understand how insulted you feel by the reality we see in our beloved country.
"India happening in the protagonist’s life... slums, open-air lavatories, riots, underworld, prostitution, brothels, child labour, begging, blinding and maiming of kids to make them into ‘better beggars’, petty peddlers, traffic jams, irresponsible call centre executives…" Do you think those who portrayed the film are really afraid of us when 70% of our streets have all what you've listed? Isn't it a fact that open air lavatories are the emblem of every cosmopolitan in the nation? The film was released 5 years back? Has the nation made any progress in the plights depicted? At least one aspect bettered or changed?
When India is declared as the most unsafe place for women, and when Shri Jayaram Ramesh's statement "India deserves a nobel prize for filth" makes absolute sense even this day, I believe the film carried a message and a plea by the west to work for betterment, which went unheard as we got blinded to the TRUTH.
"When the West wanted Indians to embrace them and their companies to come to India and capture the lucrative markets, suddenly we had all the Indian women, some very beautiful and some not necessarily so, winning all the Miss Universe and Miss Worlds. Today, they are in a crisis and India is looking unstoppable despite its slums and poverty, and they are losing their businesses to us."
WoW!! I believe they are making buisiness out of this... When the young ladies in India had art, science and life as their dreams, the capitalists succeeded in making this country a pastureland for beauty industry... Now the girl in the Womb dreams her accomplishment to be winning beauty titles... Going behind the pageant title gives us nothing, but remain ass slumdog and give birth to many more lucky slumdog Millionaires.
I mean, are people in India really SO BAD, that a TV executive will torture one of the contestants because he believes the guy is cheating? It's entertainment TV, that story would be great for the show, even the producers might cheat to help the kid so the audiences will be entertained by a story like his, not the other way around!!
They would never try to make us accept that such thing would happen in an american TV show -or a UK one for that matter-, so why do they expect us to accept that it would happen in India? Oh, right, because MOST indian are bad people (unless you are a child in the slums, of course), and because is the third world, and you know how the third world is!! Almost none respects the law, almost everyone -from the slums to the TV executives- are criminal, is just their nature.
From that moment on, the story only got more and more contrived, unbelievable and offensive. It's and exploitation film, not a "feel-good" film. That was so insulting!! In the damn DVD box was the stupidest quote "The feel-good film of the year". Why are we supposed to feel good about children being blinded, tortured, forced into prostitution? Because the protagonist overcomes all and finds love and riches?
I wonder if the american and UK audiences would have found it such a "feel-good" movie if it was set in either one of those countries.
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