....OF SLUM DOGS AND MILLIONAIRES

Much has been already said and discussed about the west financed and India-born movie slumdogs millionaire. There is not much to talk about except the fact that, none of us really care about them. There are always two sides of any event- the one we agree with and the other we don’t want to. But that doesn’t mean that the other side is false. It’s the self that compel us to believe something, the way we want it. Same is the case with the controversy surrounding this movie. The slums of India can’t be denied and so are the dogs. In this time of recession and downturn, all of us are in search of some feel-good factor which Rahman, Resul, and Gulzaar Saab has provided. The have provided us with some time to forget the economic slowdown and be proud to be called an Indian. If we can celebrate their success and new found glory, which they deserve, its beyond understanding that why cant we celebrate the films success. Bringing home Oscar and taking India to world platform may be the feel-good side but the other side which has been debated since the movie started bagging awards after awards is definitely not the flip-flop side which we don’t want to agree with. Debating a topic is a good but treating it single handedly and making a foul of self is not a healthy practice at all. However, many intellectuals raised eyebrows over portraying India in slums and jhuggis. The movie is said to be a west outsourced slap to the Indians. They have continuously accused the movie of hampering the brand- India image and making a mockery of the upper class Indians. But do they form the real India. India resides in its culture, traditions and nowadays on the outskirts of metro cities in slums. About 25% of the 30 crore people living in cities, live in slums and if that was not enough a recent survey has placed India at the top of the most food starved nation in the world. These data somehow comply with portrayal of the story, if not completely. But by just making foolish statements about the film shows the intolerance of these people in digesting their incapability to make a film for an international audience. Except some filmmakers and script writers, it seems as if the Indian film industry is on a strike for the past 20-25 years. Thanks to the strikers, for not thinking of a script like this one otherwise the Indian Slumdog would have been a complete mess. There is a saying, “if you cannot heal a wound, don’t even rub it”. These people should understand that if they cannot help them and pull them out of their slums then don’t even make a mockery of them by repeatedly realizing them about their birthplace. No one wants to see pimple on their face and if theirs one they try to hide it from others by applying make-up and other vanities so that they appear as beautiful as ever. Same is the story with this movie. Indian film stars are on Hollywood trip and don’t want these slums portrayal to hit their imported connections. What would have happened if it would have been a Madhur Bhandarkar Film? Primarily, it would have never been selected for India’s official entry to the Oscars and secondary there would have been no hue and cry of this kind. Everyone would have been satisfied with this movie as bhandarkar’s flicks are a reality check and no fictions. We are a distinct creature; we love to se the reality on a 70 mm silver screen backed by digital surround sound but are reluctant to accept it in out of the air-conditioned multiplexes. Why blame the west to portray a poverty stricken India if we want to see it. This time around, our government has behaved more maturely by just congratulating the Oscar winners and not uttering a single word against the film. They realize the truth that the slum exists and in a more pathetic state than the film has shown. However, they are yet to take any step to sweep it off. They have announced a poll-stimulus package of 30,000 crore to the tax payers and not a penny for the slum dwellers. Kalavati’s (Vidarbha) life completely changed after Rahul Gandhi mentioned her name in parliament, but what about the hundreds of Kalavati residing in these slums. Our government is yet to see what the west has repeatedly joked about. After all who wants to ponder his head in these slums if just speeches and lectures do the work? This movie should be a learning experience for those who have always basked in their palatial bungalow and king sized life and criticized the film. For many years, in our films, we have showed the western culture a taboo and against our ethics and values. Now it’s pay back time. The only way out to reply to them in a more meaningful manner is to lift the slum dwellers out of their closet and let them lift their pathetic living standard so that no other Slumdog Millionaire is made and we gat a controversy free Oscar.