There is so much being talked about 'Slumdog Millionaire'. Some people are so ecstatic about the movie and others just feeling the opposite. While I do empathize with either groups, what I fail to fathom is the amount of praise being showered on the film. It is no doubt a good movie, very creatively made and well presented. But, at least to me, it is not a movie which has the potential to dwarf other amazing movies. Some contend that it is too good a movie from the Indian subcontinent. That is where I beg to differ. First of all, even though it has a predominant Indian cast, it is still a movie made by and publicized by western folks. And of course movies like 'A Wednesday', 'Taare Zameen Par' and 'Welcome to Sajjanpur' were equally superior. And of course there are other hidden jewels from all over India that fail to get recognized. Although I like Slumdog.. I still maintain that it isn't an extraordinary movie to be cherished as historic.
Going to the other side of the story, I don't think the movie has done any good job at tarnishing India'a image. I guess people sentiments towards such notions is mainly drawn from the fact that it is a movie made by a non-Indian. And this I completely understand. If Madhur Bhandarkar depicts realism it is still an Indian's perspective and maybe even called as an eye-opener and hence educative. But if an outsider does the same it might and will be seen as the portrayal of India in bad light. Facts I guess are facts no matter who is trying to convey them. With the ongoing trend of globalization we need to grow to accept such external perspectives.
My hope is that Slumdog helps expand the world's perspective of India and not think of India as the land of elephants, snakes and of course call centers. The global citizens need to see not just the slums of India but its rich heritage, diversity, secularism, culture, history and of course the vibrant landscape treasured with natural and man-made beauties such as the Himalayas and the Taj Mahal.
