Over-hyped and clichéd

Rating: 2/10 (14 February 2009)

Only a few films live up to their hype e.g American Beauty, No Country for Old Men, Brokeback Mountain etc. I was eager to see how this one was and I was infuriated. Anyone who has no idea of India, will after viewing this film think that India is an anarchy where cops play cards while watching men burning alive and chase street kids right upto their houses. The same person will also think that India is a morally corrupt nation where winning contestants on a game show are handed over to the police for third degree torture and where the audience laughs in delight when crass comments are passed on the contestant's poverty. Has Danny Boyle even watched the Indian version of Who wants to be a Millionaire? Mr. Bachchan was the most courteous towards all the contestants. He won everyone's heart with his humility. Anil Kapoor here makes the viewer want to punch him in the face. Plus the uneducated protagonist of the film who speaks British English! Wow! And this despite the fact that all around him speak in Indian English.The most angering aspect was the portrayal of the magnanimous hindu community who prey upon the hapless(!) Muslim minority. And the portrayal of Lord Raam should make the blood boil of any devotee. I dare Danny Boyle to make a similar portrayal of Jesus Christ or Prophet Muhammad. He will be promptly butchered.And also all street children don't end up in begging rings and gangs. They fall into good hands too. A guy who's Mercedes has been stripped bare pays the accused kid $100?? Talk about the white man's burden in the post modern world!!A blind beggar knows who is on a $ 100 bill?? A teenage Salim knows Colt 45? Indians are film crazy but no one will jump and wade through excreta to get an autograph of any film star. Plus, is the name of the third musketeer so unfamiliar that one has to pose as a question for Rs 2 million????? And whats the fuss made about Freida Pinto's performance?? Her performance was even more insipid than the rest of the cast. How can a battered girl who is not allowed to step outside drive?? And does Salim's heart change when he sees his lil' bro win millions?? Why cant he escape himself? And can a man who has won two million in a game show go unnoticed in CS Terminus, one of the most crowded places on earth? The only saving grace are the child actors. They are a welcome relief in this otherwise insipid film.
Had this movie been made by a Bollywood director or even some prominent Hollywood director, it would have been labelled as trash which it is. And I'm shocked at the academy. Yes, AR Rehman should win at least one, but that's it. But then what do you expect from Oscars which can ignore a movie like Dark Knight? Or which can award a hideous Chicago best picture in place of the Pianist? I think this time the tradition will be followed. And I'm aghast by the overwhelming approval by western audiencesget a life, guys and leave India alone if you cant portray it correctly.