A foreign Indian's take on Slum Dog Millionaire...

Not another blog post on this movie, oh no, let the controversy stop. ;-) I am sure that is what the producers are thinking or not. After all, there is no such thing as bad publicity. 

Anyways, here is what I think. The Indian culture has been increasing in popularity in the Western world. I am seeing more best seller books written by Indians, increased posters advertising bollywood dancing and you know the west is embracing something when you have white people teaching the dance! much like peering behind the kitchen of a Indian San Francisco restaurant to reveal that the chefs are well - not Indian.  

However, I digress. The classic way in which I see that the West is interested in the East is through the movies. In the beginning, the movies portraying Indian culture were largely in artistic format, going unnoticed apart from winning the hearts of the avid foriegn film fan. Now, I am surprised to see that Slum Dog Millionaire has taken on quite a bollywood approach but still winning the hearts of mainstream movie goers outside India. 

As an Indian foreigner, I actually like the fact that India is in the spotlight. Even if the move shows some of the uglier sides of the country, I also think it did a good job in showing the side of Indian culture that I am proud to associate with. This is the genuine compassion in people, the hardworking go getter attitude and ability to have a good time no matter what the circumstance! Some parts of it are certainly gruesome but here is to hoping maybe, just maybe we can starve the beggar industry by not giving money to the begging children in India. 

I also particularly like this article from Time.com on the movie, it captures the themes in the movie from many angles.   The frustrated Indian viewers, indifferent viewers in India who have become somewhat blind to movies showing 'real' India (they are happy sticking to bollywood as they see real India everyday) and the slum dwellers themselves. They didn't however cover the enthusiastic brought up overseas Indian who is thirsty for such movies or any other film/documentary/tv show/book that educates the western world of the rather complex and confusing country that is India.

I think this quote from the article puts it well "The film only shows what is real," says Rakesh Nair, a driver in New Delhi. "If it's set in a slum, there's going to be garbage. It's those who are making lots of money who are cribbing about the film showing the dark side of India. Those left behind are loving it because they can empathize with the film's hero."