Skip to content Skip to navigation

Slumdog Reality

Slumdog Millionaire is yet to be released in India (set for 23rd January) and the controversy is already razing. Its sweep in the Golden Globe Awards including the one for A R Rahman, the first Indian to win one, had set the stage for its grand release. But, thanks to Amitabh Bachahan, the old ancient Indian debate on ‘reality’ has already begun and Slumdog Millionaire is basking in pre-release publicity windfall.

Reality portrayal in a film depends on the subject chosen and reality can be beautiful, stark, ugly, pugnacious, gut-wrenching and revealing in all societies of all countries, not only India, the so called third world developing nation. Nationalists and patriots of India know poverty exists. So why should they be hurt by its portrayal? Or is it that filmmakers will have to take their prior permission in selecting reality subjects and how to show it? You can debate whether the film has portrayed the reality correctly or not, but not on the ‘reality’ of the reality.

And who is the west? Are the people in the west are always thinking of India and that they always hail the coming of its reality packages since the days of Satyajit Ray? People there too are as flesh-n-blood like us, they are too as hungry or as greedy as us and they also appreciate good things and hate bad things like we do. This is our die hard colonial slavish mentality that we still look upon them as superior and decisive human beings.

Once you admit it’s a good film, it’s a good film. The matter ends there. People like good films and so good films become commercial successes. You enjoy it; and do not cry hoarse why or how should it be so good. And film is only a creative interpretation of reality. So, dramatic elements are a must to make it well paced and effective. If it’s good enjoy it and if it’s bad forget it. It does not matter which part of the globe you view it from—east, west, north or south.

Add some more reality. More than sixty percent of Mumbai’s inhabitants live in slums and all of them are not exactly poverty stricken. They are a very active, hard working and happy lot having access to all basic amenities like water, electricity and telephony. A slum hutment or ‘jhopda’ sells for lakhs of rupees in certain areas. They are also the most powerful vote bank in Maharashtra elections. Yes, contrasting pictures exist in slums too—some of slum dwellers do live in extreme and stinking poverty. But these people are the surplus population from the villages where they have no alternative but to die of starvation. So, if you want ‘real’ reality go to the interior villages even in relatively richer state of Maharashtra where hapless farmers still commit suicide for unpaid debts of just 15000/20000 rupees. Even after the implementation of PM Relief Package and loan waiver schemes of both central and state governments.

Any buyers? Oh sorry, any sellers?







Author info

Chinmay Chakravarty's picture

Add new comment

Assamese Translator

Assam Times seeks English to Assamese translators!
Join our volunteer team.
Email editor@assamtimes.org.

Random Stories

Gogoi admits 2014 voter list

10 Aug 2015 - 12:35pm | AT News
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday made it plain and simple that his government wants 2014 voter list as one of the supportive documents to update the national registrar of citizens.Responding to...

Plantation drive at Bishnu Rabha Park

7 Jul 2013 - 11:15pm | Peter Alex Todd
Janajatiya Yuba Kalyan Parishad took a plantation drive on Sunday at Bishnu Rabha Park, Udalbakra, Guwahati. The park is being set up by the organization as a recreation place. The park also have a...

ABWWF conference concludes

9 Feb 2015 - 8:10pm | Hantigiri Narzary
The 19th binnial conference of Kokrajhar dsitrict committee of ABWWF was concluded today with two day colourful programmescheduled at Salakati ME School ground in Kokrajhar.Former Assam minister and...

AGP pins hopes on Advani help for LS poll

28 Sep 2008 - 2:47pm | editor
The Opposition Asom Gana Parishad pins hope on help from BJP L K Advani to steal the show in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.Talking to Assam Times, senior AGP leaders said they will be holding a...

Other Contents by Author

Villagers of an interior village of Vidarbha, the eastern region of Maharashtra known for extreme poverty, are starting a protest of a very different kind from today, the 22nd of January, 2009. More than a thousand farmers of Maharashtra commit suicide every year due to unpaid debt and this has been the scenario for several years. Vidarbha with eleven districts of the states is the worst affected region. Despite Prime Minister’s Relief Package of 2006, the historic loan waiver scheme announced by the Union Budget 2008-09 and the recently declared state government loan waiver package the benefits are not reaching the poor farmers and suicides continue. Out of sheer desperation...
Apart from voting to elect governments expecting them to deliver and to reject them if failed common people can hardly do anything else. They cannot enforce implementation. Of course they can do protest marches, demonstrations, sit-in hunger strikes and all that. If properly supported and guided these are effective as was the non-violent Indian freedom movement and many others in different parts of the world. They can also light candles and hold prayers meetings and all-religion gatherings when their hearts are laden with frustrations. But when common people are fed up and angry they are capable of revolutions, again, if properly supported and guided. Pages of world history give enough...
January 4, 1951. Assam lost a great poet, composer-lyricist, playwright, actor and freedom fighter Bauli Kavi Kamalananda Bhattacharyya. On his 57th death anniversary he is remembered fondly by Assam’s intelligentsia, artistes and music lovers. Born in 1894 at Nagaon, Kamalananda Bhattacharyya did not have an easy life. Brought up in a musical ambience he lost his father at a tender age of 15 and being the eldest son the full burden of seven brothers and family fell on him. He could not complete his graduation at Kolkata and had to join a secondary school as a teacher. But even that was not for long. Sensitive and a patriot at heart, Kamalananda could not ignore the call of the non-...
Mumbaikars are grateful to Aamir Khan for giving Ghajini at a time when most of them seriously considered the safety aspects of going to the multiplexes post 26/11. With Ghajini audiences are back at the theatres, in fact, creating all time records of the highest advance booking for a film. Ghajini has broken all records of first week collections by any film and is the biggest hit of 2008. It is set to become the highest grosser of all time. Aamir Khan has a huge following in Mumbai due to a variety of reasons. His films are less and are always awaited. Though his popular image is a sweet-faced romantic hero his acting and commitment to different kind of roles always got him the laurels...
Mumbai the dream city. Mumbai the glmour den. Mumbai the fashion hub. And yet, no raucous parties to bring in the New Year 2009. Mumbaikars (residents of Mumbai) have remained true to their new-found awareness and their anger against terror and to their commitment for a terror free era starting with 2009. What had so far been described as the 'spirit of Mumbai' is proved to be a myth as Mumbaikars no longer are ready to carry on with the pathetic lack of security to common people. After the 26/11 terror strike the anger of Mumbaikars had erupted into the streets and spread to other parts of India. The media has done a great job by graphically showing the tremendous...