Slumdog Millionaire: Is it Really all that Great A film?
It has been over a week since Slumdog Millionaire was released in India amidst lot of hype & hoopla...some genuine and some manufactured. With a string of awards and nominations in its kitty, none of the so -called Indian film critics have had the courage to see beneath the surface of the story as well as the film. They've played safe by giving it the highest ratings...fearing that a critical rating of such a highly decorated film may raise questions on their own competence perhaps. From all that I've read about the film and Vikas Swarup's novel (on which it is based) and watched on TV (infinite no. of interviews of Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan, Anil Kapoor & the lot), the film is essentially about a poor slum boy hitting the jackpot in a TV game show just by chance and making it good. So it is his sheer fortune / luck that plays a role in extricating him from the dehumanized existence in the slums. What's so great and different about the story? For centur...