Indians can live without food but take “controversy” off their dictionary, I bet they would choke in a day! 

It is amusing to see all these discussions on Slumdog Millionaire. It may or may not be a great movie. However the “controversy” part has suddenly become bigger than the movie itself. In fact it has now reached quite an unmanageable state with people losing their mind and becoming victims of unnecessary jingoism.

Here is a nice bit of tip for all those people. Movies are just that. Movies. They are not political statements. They don’t ascertain the supremacy of one race over another. They don’t change the world – for most parts that is. Sadly in India, they do seem to change the way we live!

Yes. Slumdog Millionaire shows the slums of India. Well, isn't that what the story is all about? When you are making a movie based on the life of a slum-dweller, do you keep the backdrop as the slums of Mumbai or the five star resorts of Rajasthan? The movie is based on a novel written by an Indian by the way– (Q & A, by Vikas Swarup) and this novel talks about the slums in even greater detail. The novel was released in 2006 if I remember correctly and I was one of those who bought the author-signed copies in Landmark, Chennai. I liked the novel but did not find it great.

Arguing that the movie would result in the West thinking about India as a land of slums is akin to Indians forming an opinion on the US based on what is shown in Basic Instinct or for that matter – Scary Movie!

Watch the movie for the entertainment it offers and no one can deny that Slumdog Millionaire is entertaining. It is racy; interesting; hard hitting and ends on a positive note. The movie is all about the rags to riches story of a Slumdog. Probably next time Danny Boyle makes a movie with an Indian backdrop, we can request him to talk about CityPigeons featuring our pigeon hole apartments facing the beach or the river.  (Or cats, horses, rhinos – whatever you want.) And we can all beat our chest saying “This is the real India.”

Or still better. Let us send “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham” to the Oscars next time and shout from the rooftops, “Oh West, Oh West – form an opinion on India based on this movie. This is so much better than the slums you have seen earlier.”