If Slumdog Millionaire Was Unfair To Mumbai

Yes I saw Slumdog Millionaire. A good movie, but highly overrated. Although it had a Bollywood feel to it, I enjoyed a lot because unlike the usual Bollywood movies, it didn't overdramatize situations and had a punch of raw feel to it. An Oscar material? I don't think so. But then if all the hype helps in getting global recognition for few Indian talents, who am I to compain! But Slumdog Millionaire changed the way I think about myself. Whenever I grumble about my not-happening life, I should remind myself to thank God that I wasn't chosen to be born in those slums, and that I'm not one among those numerous unfortunate boys whose eyesight is taken away with red-hot spoons or whose limbs are cut off so that their masters can get more money.

But this post wants to talk about an entirely different topic. Recently, the director Priyadarshan was bashing Slumdog Millionaire as a mediocre trashy film. Although I do not agree to his views at all, I couldn't help relating his thoughts to what I once wrote about the movie Dostana. (I know! I need to move on, but this is the last attempt. So please bear with me!)

Priyadarshan's remarks about Slumdog Millionaire are put in quotes and my take regarding Dostana is explained after each quote.

"The West loves to see us as a wasteland, filled with horror stories of exploitation and degradation. But is that all there’s to our beautiful city of Mumbai?"

The Indians love to see a homosexual man as limp wristed foppish flamboyant weirdo who walks and talks like a woman having extraordinary penchant in fashion or dying of AIDS. But is that all there's to portray about gays?

"It should have been made by Mani Ratnam. Then you’d have seen what he would have done with Mumbai."

Dostana should have been made by some female director, like Reema Kagti (of Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. fame) or Parvati Balagopalan (of Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula fame). Then you'd have seen what they would have done with homosexuality and gays.

Priyadarshan is surprised that Mumbai is celebrating a film that shows only the city’s underbelly. "Why are we taking this treatment? Just because a white man has made Slumdog Millionaire, we’re so happy with it?"

And I was surprised about many Indian gays taking pride in getting homosexuality featured through Dostana. Just because homosexuality became the core-theme in a bollywood flick, why were many gays celebrating a film that only enforces every conceivable gay stereotype!

The angry director wonders why there isn’t a single shot in Slumdog Millionaire that shows the more aesthetic side of Mumbai?

And the angrier I wondered why there wasn't a single shot in Dostana that shows the more usual behaviour of gays?


If you feel Slumdog Millionaire makes Westerners think about India as "a wasteland filled with horror stories of exploitation and degradation", I say Dostana was equally destructive towards gays. I was then told that Dostana should not be taken as a documentary and it was just a fiction, so chill! Then why now are we not having the same attitude towards Slumdog Millionaire? At least Danny Boyle didn't exaggerate unlike many of our Indian directors do.


Rant: Anyways, since I brought up Priyadarshan to this discussion.. Man! He is just butchering all those beautiful Malayalam movies that we Keralites cherish in our hearts. His latest offering Billu Barber is just another remake of yet another Malayalam movie, Katha Parayumbol (translation: When Story Is Told). Although I haven't seen Billu Barber (Why should I?), I'm definitely sure that it will once again not be a match to the original. I was moved to tears seeing Mammooty's efficacious acting in the climax scene of Katha Parayumbol and here I guess going by the standards, Shah Rukh Khan must have got yet another wonderful opportunity to ham!

And to the Westerners.. Let not Slumdog Millionaire scare you from visiting India, especially Mumbai. What shown in the movie is one reality. But now, why don't we try to see Mumbai through the eyes of an eight-year-old to get a different perspective!

The following video is available in HD (press to enable) which means, you can put it full-screen (press ) without losing much clarity!

This song is from the film, Taare Zameen Par (translation: Stars On Earth) and you can find it's beautiful lyrics and translation at here.

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