“Too stereotypical,” critics said, complaining that its title and the setting reinforces the Western stereotype of a slum-infested Mumbai and India.
“Too foreign,” others said, critical of Dev Patel, a U.K.-born actor and newcomer, as the choice for lead protagonist in the film and for his bad spoken Hindi.
“Too British,” some other critics added specifically, referring to director Danny Boyle’s nationality and the general perception that it was directed from a British perspective.
But early Monday morning, as the Oscars were announced, hordes of Indians got out of bed earlier than normal to watch the show. And as Slumdog picked up Oscar after Oscar, Indians from all major cities thronged the streets, sometimes breaking out into impromptu dance routines to celebrate the win which they saw as their own.
Eight Oscars
Slumdog Millionaire went on to pick up eight Oscars, including the coveted top prize—Best Picture. Danny Boyle won the Best Director award, while Resul Pookutty won the award for Best Sound Mixing.
Slumdog also won Oscars for best adapted screenplay, cinematography, and film editing.
And if the night belonged particularly to one person, it would have been A.R. Rahman, the music composer for the film. Rahman, a household name in India for his 15-year stint with the movie industry and for composing music for some of the biggest Bollywood blockbusters, picked up the Oscar for best original score and best song.
Celebrations erupted in Chennai, Rahman’s place of birth and his current residence, as his wins were announced. People from Chennai organized an impromptu cutting of a large cake and distributed it on the streets outside his residence in the city. His song that won the award, “Jai Ho,” could be heard playing on Indian TV and radio channels throughout the day.
Rahman, who spoke fluent English, briefly broke into to in his native language Tamil to say, “God is great” when accepting his first award for Best Music Score. Moments later after performing live, he was summoned once again to accept the award for Best Original Song for “Jai Ho.” He praised “all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives.”
Anil Kapoor, a well-known Bollywood star who plays the game show host in the movie, probably summed up the feelings of his fellow actors in an interview with the Times of India. “Slumdog Millionaire has definitely made Hollywood take notice of Bollywood.”
Slumdog Millionaire had its own version of a rags-to-riches story, mirroring the protagonist’s story in the film. The film, produced for around $15 million U.S. dollars, almost failed to find a distributor as Time Warner Inc. shut down Warner Independent, which had purchased rights to distribute the film in North America, due to the worsening economy.
However, News Corp.’s Fox Searchlight later picked up the film, eventually showing in close to 1,600 theatres across the United States and grossing nearly $100 million.
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