Slumdog Millionaire, an Oscar Favorite, Is No Hit in India

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1873926,00.html

Slumdog Millionaire, an Oscar Favorite, Is No Hit in India

"Slumdog millionaire" has been a great success in many nations and has received 10 Academic Awards. However, the Indian population does not seem to share this interest and excitement about the movie. The movie is about an educated young man from the slums of Mumbai, who wins a million dollars in a TV show. Although the Indian people can identify their lifestyles with this movie, they do not approve it.

Many people in India claimed that the movie was full of stereotypes and false facts. They therefore believe that the movie was only made to entertain people and not to bring them nearer to Indian culture. Other citizens of Mumbai are aware of the social problems and the slums, however, they do not want to be reminded of these problems. Therefore, they do not want to be confronted with the movie.

"...but if I speak for Indians like me, there's nothing new in it for us. It's saturated with stereotyped images of India."

However, not only middle class people from India are critical towards the movie, but also the people who are actually living in the slums. Many of these people feel offended by the movie and do not want to be named a "slumdog" and be presented in a wrong manner.

Nevertheless, why are the people who are faced with a cruel life in the slums rebelling against this movie? Don't they realize that this movie could make other people understand the problem and start helping them? The movie certainly made many people think about these poor communities in India and could maybe even bring some improvement to the slums. However, the improvement cannot occur until the people in India are not ready to accept this help.