Slumdog Millionaire- Hit in the West but Died in the East!

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Slumdog Millionaire- Hit in the West but Died in the East!

In 2008, Danny Boyle directed a movie called Slumdog Millionaire (SM) which created a huge sensation around the world as it swooped several awards and honors. On February 22nd 2009, this movie won eight out of ten academy awards not to mention the Golden Globe award, the BAFTA award and the Critic’s Choice Awards. The movie was based on a book called ‘Q and A’ written by an Indian author, Vikas Swarup. Set in one of the bustling cities in India, Bombay (Mumbai), the movie projects India as backward and still underdeveloped nation.

The basic plot of the movie revolves around the story of a young boy (Jamal) who was raised in the slums and how his life takes an excited and unpredictable twist as he wins in the show ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire.’ Due to his background and the fact that he is uneducated, he is suspected of cheating during the show especially when he wins 1 million Rupees and is ready for the 2 million. The movie progresses and unfolds itself as he tries to prove that he is innocent when interrogated by the police. His life experiences during his time in the slums, people he had encountered along the way and memories that have been burned in his mind are the reasons how he was able to answer all the questions correctly.

At heart SM is a love story with the director treating it as a bollywood movie. However, scenes of the movie expose the slums in Mumbai (Dharawi- largest slum in Asia), corruption, underworld dons, child prostitution and other ailments that are common in any underdeveloped nation which bring about the dark and gory element to the movie. When the movie first came out, people in India were ecstatic about all the attention it had already received from the west, however, when the unflattering scenes of India came on, Indians were quick to condemned it.
Although it had received great acclimation from viewers and critics here, it performed poorly in India, Mumbai in particular. Arindam Chaudhuri, in The Times of India (February 2nd 2008), excoriated that the film “sucks,” describing the movie as “A phony poseur that has been made only to mock India for the viewing pleasure of the First World!!”
People felt it was not only unauthentic but were somehow not able to connect to the characters as it was hard for people to picture slum children speaking in English. Another reason why this movie failed to move the Indian majority was because of how Mumbai was portrayed, some calling it poverty porn. Soon more and more controversies surfaced as people who made this movie were accused of minting money and fortune by highlighting and projecting India’s weakness, distorting the truth and exploiting another culture. Others pointed out that the child actors didn’t receive the fame and fortune Boyle promised.

Although people in India were disappointed with the way the film was directed, they had to understand and eventually give in to the fact that the movie in fact did show the true face of the slums in India, bold but not beautiful!