Slumdog Millionaire

India is frequently identified as an emerging super-power of the 21st century. And why not? The country's economic growth rate is considered to be above the world average, great progress is being made at the scientific and technological front, numerous industries and multinationals are investing billions of dollars in foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country, consumerism is growing, and so on and on and on. As an Indian, I am extremely proud of the way in which India has excelled and proved itself to the world. This great transformation of India is a momentous achievement for every Indian. Every Indian... except the ones left behind in the great 'modernization project'.

Slumdog Millionaire is the story of an 18 year old slum boy, Jamal, from Mumbai, India, who grows up facing a lot of troubles in life. At the end of the movie, the boy wins a 20 million Rupees jackpot on the Indian version of "Who wants to be a Millionaire?", along with finding his childhood sweetheart. The movie sorta depicts a "rags to riches" story. It's got everything that forms the crust of all bollywood and hollywood movies - pain, suffering, deception, love, money and killings. But apart from that, most of the buzz is about the dark side of India, which the movie starkly highlights. It's a shocking portrayal of our country's poverty and social inequality, of begging racquets and forced prostitution, of crimes and religion, and of money and power.

It is often said that India lives in the 19th, 20th and 21st century at the same time. Millionaires, malls, high paying jobs, skyscrapers, and nice cars, belong to the 21st century India. Poverty, corruption, and socio-economic inequalities are part of the 19th and 20th century India, respectively. True? Heck, Yeah!
When India gained its independence from the British colonizers, the leaders of our country decided against a social revolution, which if carried out, would have put everyone on the same platform. Instead, the Congress Party chose to keep the colonial structures intact, as handed down to them by the departing colonizers, and built the modern India on it. And so, even though it was advised that India carry out measures of redistribution to provide land access to small peasants (the majority), so that they are not exploited at the hands of large land owners (the minority), India never really carried out the necessary reforms. This, along with the persistance of the caste system in India pushed millions of country men and women into extreme poverty and landlessness. As a result, the nation's rapid industrialization and modernization ended up only benefiting the local bourgeoisie and the burgeoining middle class, while depriving the majority of its population the benefits of economic growth. The lack of political will toward greater equality has played a huge role in contributing to the high poverty situation present in the country today.

Back to the movie though - Does slumdog millionaire sell poverty? hmm. Many have argued that the Westerners have always only been interested in seeing India as a land of poverty and snake charmers. True, I'd say. Will this movie add to Western misconceptions? Yes, it would. But the point that we are missing here is that the stark and shocking descriptions of life in Mumbai arent untrue, either. In fact, this situation holds true all over India - not just Mumbai. Patriotism drives many Indians to deny the reality of our country. We want to be known as a person hailing from the emerging super-power of the world. We dont want to be known for our country's poverty and social inequality. However, if we are to become a successful super-power then dont we have to tackle these social evils? 2 years ago when I was doing an internship at Jaipur, India, I met with an NGO working to improve the lives of local streetchildren. The adorable little Jamal and Salim from the movie, Slumdog Millionaire, reminded me of the street children I met in Jaipur. They have the same life - in fact, worser than little Jamal and Salim... and what's even sadder is that, their life has no happy ending in sight. At least any time soon. The happy dance at the end of the movie is missing from the life of millions of slum dwellers across India.

My take: Poverty and social inequality are two realities that we cannot overlook, no matter how many great achievements our country makes. Becoming a super-power remains a distant dream for India till real changes happen for the millions of slum dwellers and homeless people in our country. The high growth rate will not trickle down till structural factors are addressed, and change will not take place unless and until people take initiative to do something. Slumdog Millionare might be a masala flick, but life in the slums, is not. And its time for India to wake up.