Bollywood comes knocking

Rating: 8/10 (12 February 2009)

Disclaimer: I'm an Indian fed heavily on Indian films, and below is my experience from the perspective of an Indian. If something feels out of context or some Indian words fail to make sense, I'll be happy to discuss.
It is the season of over-hype waves and things working by riding on them. An undeserving "Ghajini" becomes an all-time hit and now we have Danny Boyle's saga of amchi (our very own) Mumbai, "Slumdog Millionaire", sweep awards all across the globe. Though the narrative of a slum-dwelling chaiwalla (tea serving guy), Jamal Malik, holds your attention, haven't we all seen better? Boyle seems to have drawn his inspiration from Bollywood, which over the years has brought the poverty-stricken and dark reality of Bombay/Mumbai on the screen through the likes of a "Salaam Bombay" or a "Satya". The movie is a tell-tale of all that is wrong with India, only this time it is an outsider who brings to us the plight of slum dwellers, communal riots, the beggar mafia, the fleecing of foreign tourists, the prostitute business, the underworld, the abusive police alongside an eternal love and longing  all in Bollywood style! I don't understand the criticism that is being heaped on the movie about it depicting our country in a negative light. Boyle has presented what our filmmakers have been doing for decades. The film captures the darker shades of Mumbai but hasn't everyone from RGV to Madhur Bhandarkar done it before. I would honor the director's prerogative to not sugarcoat his subject, even if it means stringing in cliché after cliché.
Some of us have gone ahead and challenged the film for projecting India as a "Third World dirty underbelly developing nation". In fact, I believe it is quite the opposite. Alongside all that is shown as wrong, there is an undercurrent of hope that flows throughout the film. The film manifests the much-talked about "spirit of Mumbai" through the resilience of the protagonist. The ability of the characters to survive against all odds, come what may, forms the fabric of the screenplay.
The premise of how a slum dweller knows the answers to all the questions in quiz show "Who wants to be a Millionaire?" and goes on to win the show makes an interesting story. And it is in the answers that the story of Jamal's life unfolds. Even though the film is in no way extraordinary, what is surprising is how Boyle churns out a potboiler that has Bollywood written all over it. In our typical "filmy" fashion, Jamal goes about finding his childhood sweetheart and expressing his love for her. I can't believe a foreign director can see India this way! As an Indian, fed on a staple diet of Hindi cinema, this one barely seemed any different.
That the western audience has accepted the film in a big way and that critics are lauding it with awards is more to the credit of the marketing team behind the film. The publicists deserve every bit of praise for being able to package the film in a way no India-themed movie (no not even "Lagaan", and I was too young to notice what stir "Salaam Bombay" or "Gandhi" created in their time) has ever been done before. I do hope it goes on to win the Academy Awards, at least for Rahman's work (even though in the same breath, I should add that the musical genius has far better works that have gone unnoticed).
And at a time when (borrowing a dialogue from the film) "India is at the center of the world", this is good news for Indian cinema. Going by the response "Slumdog Millionaire" has received, "the song and dance factory", which Bollywood is commonly seen as by the world, can come up with crisper ideas and market them well to the world. Perhaps, a western audience is becoming willing to hear an Indian story, the Indian way!