Review of Slumdog Millionaire: a case of 'The Emperor's Clothes'

Rating: 4/10 (12 February 2009)

The film has been favourably received, gained Golden Globe and BAFTA awards and we are soon to have the Oscar verdict. However, this is a case of 'The Emperor's Clothes'.
BACKGROUND Chris Tarrant's 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' is a popular programme: the host's manner is distinctive and impeccable and the contestants invariably interesting. I had misgivings about the Indian version being effective, as the programme requires a familiarity with the local culture. Similarly, I had difficulty with the Australian version when I was in Sydney.
TV INFORMATION The author was interviewed on television and stated that the Major Ingram 'Millionaire' fraud had sparked the idea for his book. We were fed with glowing reports about the film and various clips on TV.
DISCUSSION It is evident that the film is brilliantly photographed and technically assured, although some of the shots were pretentious and contrived.
However, within a few opening scenes we see the hero is arrested on suspicion of cheating, is tortured and even given electric shocks in order to extract a confession. This is unacceptable and defies credibility as there was no evidence of cheating. Major Ingram and his wife were not manhandled in this manner. It showed the Indian police in a poor light and made for unpleasant viewing. I was surprised to meet a person (who liked the film) who said that the Indian police are like that! Hmm... The children from the slums uncharacteristically did not seem underfed, looked clean and healthy, had bags of energy and triumphed on various daring-do. Then there was the distasteful sequence of the child immersed in faeces and the unnecessary scene of the quiz host in a toilet with the hero. The quiz host was assured and obnoxious: he taunted the hero regarding his slum background and even did his best to direct him to the wrong answer to the penultimate question, thus violating the spirit of the Chris Tarrant show.
There have been numerous intelligent films involving India: Bhowani Junction, Jewel in the Crown and A Passage to India to name a few. Slumdog Millionaire seems fatuous, distasteful and does not bear scrutiny: It gives a distorted image of Mumbai and its inhabitants. Are they all crooks and unscrupulous?
It appears that many people succumb to a flavour of India, slum children and an obvious happy ending to the love story, irrespective of the detail.