SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE:
Latest News, Plus Indian Premiere Pics & Video!

See two must-read articles on the controversies in India over SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE below. And don't miss the photos from our Indian premiere as well as video taken by MTV India at the bottom of this post!

From The Mumbai Mirror:

Slumdog Controversies

"Why is that each time there is a somewhat negative portrayal of India in the western media, some people — in India and Indians in the diaspora — always freak out about it? Why do these Indians take great pride in news items that focus on call centers, India’s so-called space program or analysis that compares India’s growth to that of China? And the same people are troubled if The New York Times writes about farmer’s suicides in Maharashtra or Andhra Pradesh."

I believe 'Slumdog' is a classic underdog story — a hopeful look at today’s India, a country brimming with the attitude that anything is possible. As someone who left India a while ago, I see that spirit among all the classes. Boyle honors that attitude in what is supposed to be a work of entertainment."

From The Hindustan Times:

Why Isn’t India Saying "Jai Ho"?

"I walked into the hall anticipating that I would feel guilt and self-loathing that in turn, would make me lash out at the “exploitative depiction of poverty” in the film. Having seen the most-talked about film of the year, I can argue that the controversy is just so much humbug. It’s a manufactured debate that reveals a petty, thin-skinned intolerance. And as liberal Indians, we need to ask ourselves what it is about 'Slumdog Millionaire' that has got under our skins... The self-righteous hand-wringing over how India’s poor are portrayed."

The irony is that 'Slumdog Millionaire' — more than many films I have seen in recent years — manages to capture poverty in a way that is neither patronizing nor simplistic. It entirely escapes the clichés of charity that bleeding-heart politics can sometimes force on a narrative."

"The movie is a masterpiece — because it is able to capture the horror of these moments without being pitiful or guilty. On the contrary, more than the poverty, it is really the energy, entrepreneurship and imagination of the slum kids that is the driving force of the story. On his India trip, Danny Boyle, told me this fascinating story about his encounter with a vendor in the slums of Bombay... The man told Boyle irritably that he was sick of camera crews coming in and stereotyping his life as 'poor.' He wanted Boyle to know that he worked hard to earn a respectable living and was sick of being labeled. It is this voice that Boyle is able to cast in his characters — a voice of pride and self-respect — even when pitted against people with muscle and money."

If anything, the movie is blatant in its affection for India. We can have different views on whether it deserves all the fuss it’s getting. But, let us not hide from the bare truths of the film, just like we duck the beggars at the street light."