Movie starts.
Scene: Young man hanging from ceiling being tortured by Mumbai police.
Review: I’m offended. This is showing Mumbai police in bad light especially in the light of the heroism they displayed during the recent terror attacks. So this shows India in a poor light.
Scene: Mumbai police call young man “slumdog”.
Review: I’m offended. How dare they compare a slum dweller to a dog? So this shows India in a poor light.
Scene: Boy performs his daily habits through hole in the ground in a shed overlooking a cliff.
Review: I’m offended. Thinking to self: not sure why. Oh wait, this shows India in a poor light.
Scene: Boy dives into pile of human excretion to get Amitabh Bachchan’s autograph.
Review: I’m offended. As a Amitabh fan, I can attest to the fact that he would never sign autographs for people covered in human excretions. So this shows India in a poor light.
Scene: Boy’s mother killed by Hindu rioters.
Review: I’m offended. People like Narendra Modi and Bal Thackeray have repeatedly told us, it was “them” not us. So this shows India in a poor light.
Scene: Boy and brother live amongst garbage, filth and squalor.
Review: I’m offended. I live in high rise apartments and shop in shiny malls. So this shows India in a poor light.
By now you probably get the point. 2 out of every 3 reviews we read on the desi blogosphere or the desi media seems to be someone being offended by the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”, rather than concentrating on the merits and demerits of the movie – story, acting, cinematography, soundtrack – itself.
This one pretty much represents those kind of reviews. The underlying theme to these arguments seem to be “I live in high rise apartments and shop in shiny malls. Why don’t they ever show this in Western movies with Indian themes?”.
They do. Those movies while not half bad, did not win any major awards. See: Monsoon Wedding, for instance, showcasing the lavish weddings that happen in upper middle class families. Do movie makers have to stick to a certain agenda, i.e. showcasing the wealthy Indian middle class or the über rich?
Whether, the poverty angle of “Slumdog Millionaire” played a part in terms of award recognition is up for debate. But why does seeing poverty and slums on-screen bother so many Indians? By unequivocally suggesting that somehow showing the poor of India on-screen, harms the reputation of the country, aren’t these critics, most of them middle class or higher, being elitist?
What do you think? Thoughts. Opinions.
P.S. Just to further antagonize these elitist critics and drum up more support for the movie, particularly among the desi (and non-desi) male population, we bring to you “saxy” pictures of Frieda Pinto. (tip via email)
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