a little more than simple reasoning
‘Slumdog’ is the first film since ‘Gandhi’ to show the dark side of India’s poverty and corruption”
(L-R) Director Danny Boyle, and actors Freida Pinto and Dev Patel arrive at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
By John Charles Reedburg
Life wouldn’t be complete without controversy.
The film scored 10 Academy Award nominations this year, but Slumdog Millionaire has sparked some controversy in India with its portrayal of the country’s poverty. The Washington Post reported that while many Mumbai locals feel proud to have their slums showing up on the big screen, Bollywood giants and Indian millionaires are offended by what they see as the exploitation of a grim scene.
Actor AMITABH BACHCHAN at the UK premiere of “Chandni Chowk To China.” Indian films generally tend to focus on the lives of the wealthy, because as one local puts it, “in India, we don’t like to see the common man on screen.”
Amitabh Bachchan is one of those Bollywood legends, whose image actually appears in the movie in a picture that a child admires. He was critical of Slumdog on his blog, claiming:
[If the film] “projects India as [a] Third World, dirty under belly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky under belly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations.” Some of Mumbai’s poor local residents are also insulted, hanging signs that read “Poverty For Sale” and “I am not a dog” outside the home of Anil Kapoor, who stars in the movie. Others are more optimistic. One resident told the Post, “Maybe fortunes will come our way now, because people will know about us.”
