Mr. Muneshwer opined that the movie’s “overly negative portrayal of India and Indians” was a major reason for its relative lack of success in the sub-continent. Additionally, he implies that the lack of the requisite “song and dance routine” might be another reason why the movie did not find favour with the majority of the Indian populace.

Before getting into my critique of the movie, I should make it pellucidly clear that I’m not a fan of Indian movies, in particular the extravagant Bollywood types, so I was initially a bit hesitant to see this adaptation of Vikas Swarup’s novel Q & A. However, I must admit that it was better than I expected, and probably is deserving of its recent 2008 Best Picture Award, albeit from an otherwise weak field of nominees.

One of the major reasons for weak reception in India, according to Trade Analyst Komal Natha, is that the word “Slumdog” is not readily recognizable in Indian parlance. The film also lacks any recognizable Bollywood stars, apart from Anil Kapoor. Additionally, in the original version of the film, the slum boys are heard speaking perfect English as young adults, which to most Indians is not quite believable. In fact, a dubbed over Hindi version of the movie “Slumdog Crorepati” seems to be doing better at the Indian box office than the original. But perhaps the major reason why the film did not win rave reviews in India is because it was directed by a white British director, Danny Boyle, and may be perceived by many Indians as merely a “white man’s imagined India” according to Shyamal Sengupta, a professor of film studies at the Whistling Woods International Institute for Films, Media, Animation and Media Arts in Mumbai.

On a personal note, while I thought it was a good all-round movie, my major criticism was the over reliance on flashbacks which resulted in disjointed storytelling that broke the momentum of the movie at critical points. In most cases they were too abrupt and sometimes irrelevant, and not as cleverly done as in Chris Nolan’s 2000 masterpiece Memento.

Therefore, in summing up, I think that there were a number of reasons why the movie did not do as well in India as in the Western world. However, I think Mr. Muneshwer’s sweeping condemnation of the movie-going public in India borders is irrelevant, given the vastness and diversity of the society.
Tariq Williams