Slumdog Millionaire Portrays Poverty and Affluence Well

Thanks for starting the debate. You have said: ‘Slumdog Millionaire' may not be based on a real story, but the story told through Jamal happens commonplace. " You are wrong. There are indeed major problem associated with slums - but the way the film looks at it is highly unrealistic and motivated. I will come back to the motivation part later. First let me tell you the real story and the associated tragedy of Indian slums. The tragedy, which has been glossed over by the movie. Why people live in slums? Many people who live in slums do have the option of going back to villages. However they prefer cities because of better economic opportunities. Problem is - the real estate in cities like Mumbai is beyond the reach of - say a taxi driver. Hence the slums. A slum is a whole society. There are human beings living in slums. Some people are bad. Naturally there is crime also. However most people are helpful and friendly. This is especially true about Mumbai - which is having its own unique culture - it welcomes everyone and values hard work. Perhaps the biggest tragedy of slums is that most children are unable to get proper education. The government has opened schools for them - but there are several issues. These schools are often substandard. Many children are unable to attend school because of family conditions. Sometimes some tragedy in family forces them earn living from very young age. Even if they do study, the lack of personal space makes it difficult to do well. These factors often lead to vicious circle of poverty and lack of education. However there have been many gains over time. The biggest one is that most people now realize the importance of education - and are consequently ready to make sacrifices for its sake. There is a growing pressure on government to pay more attention to education. Even children who are forced to work often know what is at stake and continue their education in whatever form they can. This is the real story of slums in India - hard issues ignored by the movie in favor of crime. There is a common perception in India that the movie has shown India the way people in west want to look at it - rather than focusing on the real India. Sure India has many problems. We are not in denial about it. (And we definitely don't blame the poor for it). But we are together, struggling hard against it. And I hope we are continuously winning newer victories. That I think is the story of modern India. However I suspect, making a movie about this would not be a financially viable option for a Hollywood director. The movie focuses too much on crime, which though present, is not that common. Permit me to post the comments of a reviewer (http://www.rediff.com...) Say an Indian director travelled to New Orleans for a few months to film a movie about Jamal Martin, an impoverished African American who lost his home in Hurricane Katrina, who once had a promising basketball career, but who -- following a drive-by shooting -- now walks with a permanent limp, whose father is in jail for selling drugs, whose mother is addicted to crack cocaine, whose younger sister was killed by gang-violence, whose brother was arrested by corrupt cops, whose first born child has sickle cell anaemia, and so on. The movie would be widely panned and laughed out of theatres. It is not surprising that an organization of slum dwellers filed a blasphemy case against the movie for misrepresenting the conditions in slums. (http://www.thewest.com.au...) The motion is "Slumdog Millionaire Portrays Poverty and Affluence Well". It definitely does not represent affluence. My contention is that its representation of poverty is unrealistic and cliched.