Slum not the other India

Nobody complained when Vikas Swaroop wrote it, nobody batted an eyelid when the film was shot and released internationally. After all, so many films — both features and documentaries — have been made around the subject of poverty in India. The protests started only when Slumdog Millionaire started winning international awards.

The unkind way of looking at this is to argue that there is no value in complaining about the obscure — only protests about the famous can become famous. But then, it is equally true that only popular films actually do impact the way people see things and hence Slumdog Millionaire is worth complaining only now, that it is an Oscar nominated film. The celebration of the film is an implicit certification of its authenticity and this raises questions if indeed this is so.

Does the West have a vested interest in pinning India to its poverty by refusing to acknowledge the progress it has undoubtedly made in the last few years? Is India interesting only because it is poor? Is the gratuitous use of poverty nothing but an exploitative use of someone else's misery for one's diversion?