Slumdog Millionaire - My wonderful India

Just finished watching Slumdog Millionaire. I know that its an English movie, and what's more, set in Mumbai. But still, I thought I might say something about it, because it resonated with me. It is one of those rare things that happen in life. You suddenly find that a third person has made an observation about you that revelas something about you, and that helps raise your own self beyond what you are presently. Like what this guy Danny Boyle did in this movie - made a statement about my country, a good one, atleast personally to me.

By the way, there are no spoilers here, so watch the movie, and then read my blog.

What a movie!!!!! Everything about the movie showcases the level of sophistication that Indian Cinema has to reach. That a beautiful story like this was told about Indians by a Britisher is most ironical. Why? Because the one tenet of India that the movie showcases more than anything else is the resourcefulness of a nation in conflict with itself, and the root cause for that conflict was the British occupation.

When the British came and wiped out our industrial might (India had a share of 34% in industrial exports in the world pie in the eighteenth century) of a proud nation, and made the disparities hit hard home - on the stomach, they left behind the morass of babudom and corruption, that led to millions of slums and rampant crime in every major city. They left behind a communally divided India, in which followers of one faith pit themslves against those of another faith just to wash the bile in their bellies, if not for anything else. But this movie is about how even the lowliest Indian, and not just the IT techie fights in life to make something of himself.

The tragic life history of Salim (yes, the brother blackguard), and the cute love story were just trinkets on the visage of the fight for life. Nowhere more in the movie is this more visceral than in the scene when the young boy Jamal jumps into the open defacation pit in order to run upto and get an autograph from Amitabh Bachan. In my opinion, that was the moment when the movie for me, transcended the screen and became a monument to the Indian power of will. The power of will, that is and always will be our great nations's mightiest attrribute. It is probably also our Achilles heal, because when anything goes to an end, that only produces more Jamals and Salims.

So, that one scene was the most well conceived one, because it makes a huge social statement about our psyche. We will survive, no matter what the odds, and we will also do anything it takes, no matter what. So, there is a society that is divided by a thin line between what is right, and what must be done - a society where Jamal fight against all odds to make a life for himself; a society where Salim will do whatever he must to make a life for himself. The difference becomes blurred, and good and evil are both in a race for survival. Caste, religion, language and all else is secondary. And finally, the backdrop of the KBC program was just brilliant. Because it underlines the film's fundamental argument. In an impoverished nation like ours (and yes, we are sadly, still impoverished), that thin line becomes a note, and the struggle for the note is the struggle for life.

There were two other scenes, both part of a minor story arc, that were meaningful to me. The first one is when an American tourist couple feels compassion for Jamal when he is unjustly beaten by a policeman, and gives him a hundred dollar bill. The second is when Jamal sees a blind beggar in a subway, and gives that boy the same bill. In a land blessed with plenty, and where its leaders strive for a compassionate society, that compassion is easy to trickle down and easy to express. But, even in a land ravaged by selfishness, there are pockets where the same compassion is evident. This to me, was a significant statement about the values of our people.

Thalaivar Rahman's background score was totally unbelievable. If it were left to me, for the sheer powerfulness of the BGM's, I would give him an Oscar today. But to talk about his music would need a separate essay for itself.

Slumdog Millionaire shows up India for what it looks like - a sham, a lie and a facade. The reality is the urban agglomeration, the slums, the beggars, the exploitation of the meek, the millions of focusless and jobless youth that are driven to crime for a roti in their stomachs, the evils that happen behind the veils of social mores, the open disparity between the rich and the poor. But it also shows our country for what it really is - a nation of hope, of resourcefulness, of infinite patience, a land where life will find a way. That is why Slumdog Millionaire tells us that for all its perceived faults and contradictions, India will be the powerhouse of the future - from the bottom up.

Watch this movie, please. And for many Tamil and Hindi directors out there - racy musicals can sentimental dramas can also be made this way.