How I Feel About Slumdog Millionaire

It was one nail-biting ride. I was really hoping Jalal would be smart enough to know Prem Kumar was fooling him with the wrong answer, and he exceeded my every Bollywood expectation. I was hoping Lalita wouldn't leave the cell phone in the car even after Salim specifically told her to hang onto it - she lived up to the feminine Bollywood ideal well. And of course, I was keeping my fingers crossed that Salim would repent his evil ways and kill himself in a bathtub overflowing with rupees. No let-downs there either. So all in all, this was Bollywood in true form, Hollywood style, with a spark of genuine earnestness. A well-executed entertainer with what I think was a brilliant story/theme, but with little new to offer and a song and dance number at the end. For those of us unfamiliar with Slumdog's images and themes in either film or everyday life, it was understandably quite a different story, and a much better one.

There are quite a few Desi/Indo nerds out there who either found parts of this movie to be offensive/insensitive/problematic or generally didn't appreciate the "poverty porn" that international audiences so seem to love. I commented on an Uberdesi review along those lines, mainly because 1) I don't know what else people expected from this film given that it was not an Indian production 2) any treatment of this material would have resulted in some degree of insensitivity, probably more so if it were an Indian production 3) why don't Indo nerds have similiar expectations for sensitive and realistic film-making when it comes to the general crap Bollywood is so good at producing? 4) Why do we care so much about India being shown in a poor light when even in a better light, there is a lot to show despite all the India-is-great craziness being thrown around willy-nilly of late? Frankly, I'd rather see some of this than the disgusting opulence displayed by apparently "real" Indians in Bollywood films. And why are Westerners the ones making films like this anyway?

It might be nice to see a film that better shows the "real" or a changing India, or a film that international and disporic audiences can appreciate. Yet we all know that these movies don't sell in either India or abroad. What really sells is the latest Punjabi, wedding-themed foot-stomper that Bollywood copies for us from original music produced in Southeast Asia or the Middle East. I figure that as long as Bollywood is doing this and alternative cinema in India gets continuously ignored, there is no hope but for the likes of Danny Boyle to make movies like Slumdog Millionaire for those who need some happy medium, particularly outside of India. It has clearly come out the winner across several categories in American awards shows thus far, largely due to the novelty of the film in the midst of some pretty bland competitiors (although they are probably technically/artistically superior).

Someone suggested that Amal (2007) should have been last year's Slumdog, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. A few weeks ago, I also saw a little gem of a film, Everybody Says I'm Fine! (2001), that was truer to the various aspects of modern India and Indian life. From what I know, that film went virtually nowhere, but it could have had a future had someone paid more attention to it, and if India stopped nominating films like Paheli or Taare Zameen Pe for the Oscars. I mean, really...?

I have lots more venom to spew at the typical Bollywood fare, Indian film in general, and mostly the South Asian film-goer, but I might have to can it for now lest some of my more devoted friends start hating on me in turn.