Slumdog Mumbai

When i started my blog, the intention was to write about me, and my experiences of life in Mumbai.. somehow... "Me" has taken over "Mumbai". Anyway, here is a food for thought.

I know this comes a bit late in the day, but i think i still need to put it here. The other day i was having a discussion with a friend about the movie "Slumdog Millionaire".

Now, he totally abhors the movie and feels nothing could be more pitiful than we Indians celebrating the success of a movie which glorifies the unbelievably surreal existance that a slum dweller survives in. He said that though India is also about a thriving economy, a young and educated population and industry, what was potrayed was a land of poverty, a state of constant organized chaos. Movies such as SL really put us down in front of the entire world.

But then, thats what we are!
No matter how much we ignore, the fact wont change that slums and poverty are as much a part of us as the five stars and studio apartments. And frankly, its nothing to be ashamed of.
What really is to ashamed about is that it takes a movie made by a british director, a rank outsider, to sit up, take notice and do something about the plight of the thousands of azhars and rubinas staying in this city.


Highlighting the successes of the past and the promise of the future shouldnt take away the realism of the present.