Slumming at the Golden Globes
Hey, Melissa here.
Perhaps I'm jumping the gun for my Indian readers, since India doesn't get to see Slumdog Millionaire for another week and a half (it's out Jan. 23, fyi), but in light of the glitzy award show this weekend, thought I would ask people a couple questions about the movie.
I watched Danny Boyle's flick over Christmas with my family in the US. The theater was packed and it was likely few people had ever set foot in India. This could be a gross assumption, but it was also likely, that--aside from Monsoon Wedding, Gandhi, and Darjeeling Limited--this was one of the first movies that really took them to India. Still, it's not that surprising that people are so drawn to the film. It's a great film--not total classic, I'll watch every chance I get to digest the great, subtle layers--but fun, romantic action with a hero you'll cheer for, not just because his huge ears stick out in a compellingly cute fashion.
However, there are plenty of people grumbling in India already about the fact that this movie propogates major cliches about India. I say it's Dickensian that way: there's just no way one boy can suffer all the major travesties possible in Indian life. Sure, one child may have suffered from the Mumbai riots in 1992. Another may have gotten involved with major gangsters. Another may have encountered X, or Y, or Z. But X and Y and Z? Not likely.
Does that mean the movie isn't a good depicition of India? Does that mean it's another Westerner imposing a straight jacket on Indian life?
I don't think so. I think it's a great way to get people talking about India, and intrigued by India. In fact, I cried at the end. Not because of the content of the movie, but because the Victoria Terminus plays a huge role in the movie and just months after the movie released, the beautiful train station saw a horrific terrorist attack. The movie pays homage to the place prior to the violence, and for that, I was glad my family got to see the place.
Have you seen the movie? What do you think about it? If you're Indian, do you want to see it? And do the cliches bother you?
Perhaps I'm jumping the gun for my Indian readers, since India doesn't get to see Slumdog Millionaire for another week and a half (it's out Jan. 23, fyi), but in light of the glitzy award show this weekend, thought I would ask people a couple questions about the movie.
I watched Danny Boyle's flick over Christmas with my family in the US. The theater was packed and it was likely few people had ever set foot in India. This could be a gross assumption, but it was also likely, that--aside from Monsoon Wedding, Gandhi, and Darjeeling Limited--this was one of the first movies that really took them to India. Still, it's not that surprising that people are so drawn to the film. It's a great film--not total classic, I'll watch every chance I get to digest the great, subtle layers--but fun, romantic action with a hero you'll cheer for, not just because his huge ears stick out in a compellingly cute fashion.
However, there are plenty of people grumbling in India already about the fact that this movie propogates major cliches about India. I say it's Dickensian that way: there's just no way one boy can suffer all the major travesties possible in Indian life. Sure, one child may have suffered from the Mumbai riots in 1992. Another may have gotten involved with major gangsters. Another may have encountered X, or Y, or Z. But X and Y and Z? Not likely.
Does that mean the movie isn't a good depicition of India? Does that mean it's another Westerner imposing a straight jacket on Indian life?
I don't think so. I think it's a great way to get people talking about India, and intrigued by India. In fact, I cried at the end. Not because of the content of the movie, but because the Victoria Terminus plays a huge role in the movie and just months after the movie released, the beautiful train station saw a horrific terrorist attack. The movie pays homage to the place prior to the violence, and for that, I was glad my family got to see the place.
Have you seen the movie? What do you think about it? If you're Indian, do you want to see it? And do the cliches bother you?