Slumdog Millionaire

Comments (Archived):

1. Hey Fred, that looks like a great movie and one I only just discovered a couple days ago, I can’t wait until it’s released here in the UK in January. There’s a lotta talk about Danny Boyle getting his first Oscar nod for Best Picture…

   1. I liked it better than anything else being talked up for best picture.

2. It’s always fun to see a colorful movie about a place to where you are about to travel.And then go to the place and find it’s still nothing like what you expected.

3. Fred I saw it Thursday and loved it.As an Indian I thought they did a fanatic job portraying both the challenges and the beauty of India. The story was also very solid.The Cast and Director will be at the Soho apple store next week:Danny Boyle and actors Dev Patel & Frieda Pinto discuss their new movie, “Slumdog Millionaire.” November 20, 5:00 p.m.

4. Fred, Just today i saw the trailer, and now the first indi review. Makes the movie a must watch, especially when the movie has my favorite star Anil Kapoor, among others.

5. We saw it too and loved it. A wonderfule film.Dave & Lorea

6. It’ll be a while I watch this move here in India. I hope they have given the right picture of India rather than just concentrate on the poverty, slums, etc.

7. Seesmic video reply from Disqus.

   1. lol

8. Fred,I just saw Slumdog Millionaire last night and I really loved it. I used to work in film and would usually know about flicks like this, but I’ve been buried in start-up life. Glad I saw your review!Thanks,reece

   1. I don’t often give movie reviews on this blog but that one was a must see

9. Slumdog Millionaire: Is India, what is shown in the Movie? Does this movie correctly reflect India? Why should the movie be permitted to spoil the image of Brand India?The recently released and much acclaimed movie Slumdog: Millionaire has depicted India in a particular manner; The Slum, The Society, The Police, The reality television-show ethics, the poverty and the cruelty. Shown in the movie is the religious fanatic, the crooked TV show anchor, senseless police, extreme poverty and miserable living conditions. While one can not and need not mask reality but the proportion and the severity shown in the movie needs to be balanced. Any sensible Indian will agree that India is not what has been shown in the movie and it definitely is not a correct and complete picture of India. This also gives rise to a question – is this deliberate skew added to help the film sell?Now, having said this, please think of the image the movie would create in the minds of people who have never visited India or have no other means of getting the correct picture of India.I happen to travel to many countries frequently and have met people from many nationalities. I have often had an opportunity to test the feeling or image about India. More often than not, I have personally seen people believing that India is still a country full of Maharajas, dacoits, thugs, religious fanatics, criminals and snake-charmers. Where as we all know that in spite of having genuine problems we are changing, improving & upcoming. Probably, movies like this inadvertently add to such sentiments.I strongly believe that such a one-sided, extreme depiction greatly spoils image of brand India, which will take years together and millions of dollars to rectify. Is someone worried about that? When an Indian exporter meets a possible buyer in developed countries, his ability is looked at with suspicion. Is someone worried about that? An international tourist drops his idea of visiting India because of the depiction, is somebody worried about that? Is it not duty of administrators of films in India to visualize impact of such a movie on country’s image?The only suggestion here is, the film-maker would have at least balanced the story to neutralize the image of the country or the administrators would have ensured sensor on the extremes shown in the movie. But then, depicting poverty is the ‘masala that helps sell a movie! Or helps get Awards.Dr. D K Mehta [email protected]