Shariq’s Département

Amidst the controversy over whether Indian slums are really quite as dire as the movie makes them out to be, “Slumdog Millionaire” shines because of the focused spotlight it puts on those forgotton beggars and indigents on the streets of Asia who are accepted as a part of everyday reality.

And what Danny Boyle is able to achieve in this movie, within the conceit of a “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” gameshow format, is quite remarkable.  The fact that there are still millions of children in this world who are denied schooling, forced to work and open to exploitation is graphically depicted in flashbacks as the slumdog protagonist Jamal (played amiably by Dev Patel) gets his day in the Sun.  The editiing is crisp, MTV-like, with quick jumps and panoramic vistas of slums extending in serpentine ways across Bombay, as a pulsating soundtracks underscores the harsh reality of that we would all like to avoid.

No matter how technologically advanced India is today with its software and global outsourcing industries, no matter how much growth is projected for its future, the world cannot allow such debasement of children and humanity, not only in India but in so many countries of the world in Asia and Africa. 

The movie heralds a clarion call to arms to the world to make the changes necessary.  No human being deserves such a life of misery.

And for this, in addition to being an entertaining movie with a satisfying ending, I would be happy if “Slumdog Millionaire” won the Oscar for best movie of the year.