I saw Slumdog Millionaire partly to beat the burning heat outside in Sydney. The cinema hall was mostly full with mostly non-Indians.
What a powerful, taut narrative of a story told "like-it-is", with no superman for a hero nor divine intervention. Jamal, Salim and Lathika are so woefully alone in the big bad world and survive by the skin of their teeth. The camera angles and editing give a huge edge to the whole movie. The photography is not high definition like Jodhaa Akbar but adequate.
Why do Indians ( as I understand) not like Slumdog? I can well understand Bollywood aversion from the likes of Amitabh (he can’t help but feel parodied, with his rags-to-riches cult hero image, ending in Millionaire hosting and glitzy Reid and Taylor suits being villainised here). I think the fat rich who stuff themselves without giving to the poor will also feel incensed. But I think the real reason is more subliminal.
When sociologists ponder why the vast Indian poor do not rise in anger or protest, they always come up with Indian fatalism or Karma theory as the answer. Boyle has had the last laugh using the same words in the end... "It is written".
But even more, I think we Indians have become inured to the inequities and cruelties of our divided, opportunistic society to such an extent that the Indian mind thinks only a super hero with divine inner conviction and extraordinary invincibility can really rise. That is why we manufacture so many gods... like Amitabh, Sachin, and now Dhoni.
But Slumdog shows it truthfully - like what we see within each of us and all around... an utter vulnerability and helplessness. And we don’t like to face the mirror!And the movie is no tribute to Amchi Mumbai or any such thing. You will find a Slumdog Millionarie anywhere in this big bad world... all it needs is a little bit of love and luck.