Does Slumdog deserve Oscar glory?

'Shows a neo-colonial mindset'

Regardless of the commercial success of the film in the West, Slumdog Millionaire has been generating angst in the blogosphere, especially among NRIs.

"It's another reinforcement of the 'white man's-burden" view of India and Hindus — as superstitous, primitive, divisive, and, therefore, poverty-ridden, immoral, corrupt..." goes a post that sums up the sentiment.

Back home, the film has not only had a lukewarm response from the public, it has also been panned for showing India in bad light. No less a luminary than Amitabh Bachchan has written, in his blog, that the movie "projects India as (a) Third World, dirty under belly (sic) developing nation and causes pain and disgust among patriots. Let it be known that a murky under belly (sic) exists and thrives even in the most developed nations."

Others have accused the film of "slum voyeurism" and "trauma tourism", while residents of Dharavi have taken objection to the "negative" portrayal of their abode. Many find the use of the word 'slumdog' derogatory. And Hindutva ideologues did not like the fact that the Ram Mohammed Thomas of Vikas Swarup's novel, Q&A, was "conveniently transformed into a Muslim boy, Jamal Malik, who lost his mother to a Hindu mob to make it politically correct."

More damning, perhaps, is the criticism at the cinematic level. Some have accused the film of being "dazzling without being illuminating", providing a superficial glimpse into the so-called Indian reality without offering any insight or meaningful comment. A blogger who goes by the name 'freakonomics' wrote, "Slumdog felt forced and predictable with shallow characterisations and stock movie tricks."

Some academics see it as cultural neo-colonialism, reconstructing an image of India in terms that the "coloniser can comprehend and control". Even the "liberation" of Jamal, writes a blogger, "is not through any indigenous worth, but through an internationally funded poverty alleviation game show".

Theatre personality Cyrus Dastur has a more basic objection: "Forget being entertaining, the film was just too boring in parts. I do want India to shine at the Oscars, but I don't think Slumdog is the best way to do it."

'It will encourage honest films'

Ted Balaker, an American television producer, has fallen so much in love with Slumdog Millionaire that he sincerely believes it holds a solution to America's current economic woes.

He has even made a film to make his point. It's called Slumdog Thousandaire: What The Celebrated Film Can Teach Americans About Economic Stimulus. You can watch it on www.reason.tv.com.

If this proves anything, it is that Slumdog Millionaire is a bigger hit with Western audiences than in India, where the interest in the film is driven less by cinematic adoration than by a hunger to see, and claim, an 'Indian' success at the Oscars, with The New York Times calling it "one of the most upbeat stories about living in hell imaginable".

Criticism about how the film paints a 'Third World' picture of India has a counterview too, like Nirpal Dhariwal says on Film Blog, "Slumdog Millionaire will encourage many more honest films to be produced in India. But they should be ashamed that it took a white man to show India how to do it."

Those who love the film have also invariably been captivated by its technical brilliance — the cinematography that can make a slum look glamorous, AR Rahman's music which lends an upbeat resonance to the rags-to-riches storyline, and the slick editing that maintains a breathless pace of narration.

Film Babble Blog asserts that Slumdog deserves every award for its "inventive story-telling and rich palette of visual splendour, simply amazing considering its squalor-filled settings".

The film is not without ardent advocates among Indian film-makers either. Shekhar Kapur considers Slumdog to be the frontrunner for the best picture Oscar this year. "Milk has a great performance by Sean Penn, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button has technology, but Slumdog is a more complete film," he says.

Kunal Kohli shares the view. "Everything said and done, I want Slumdog to win the Oscar," he says. "Not just for emotional reasons, but also because it is a great film."