On The Road India

By Mayank Chhaya

The eight out of ten triumph of Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ at the Oscars is as much a result of the film’s intrinsic merit as it is shaped by a convergence of circumstances. The bizarre cocktail of the audacious terror attacks on Mumbai in the last week of November and the global economic meltdown lent the story of a poor slum boy’s quietly defiant battle against cruel odds some remarkable majesty.

On the one hand the terror attacks brought Mumbai into sharp international focus and, on the other, hundreds of millions affected by the economic meltdown were drawn to the story of an underdog soaring to unexpected heights. That the underdog comes from Mumbai, a city only recently wounded grievously, only made the move that much more intriguing.

At a time when people in many parts of the world do not know where the next bullet or suicide bomber might come from or where their next mortgage payment or meal is, the tale of Jamal, the protagonist in ‘Slumdog …’, running the gauntlet of a vicious slum life, brutal policemen, rioting mobs and even a scheming game show host is bound to resonate.

The film’s commercial success in the US, after facing the early prospects of becoming a ’straight to DVD’ venture, mirrors its own plot of its central character rising in the face of debilitating challenges. The Oscar triumph is as much a tribute to the movie’s extraordinary global as it is the Academy members to join the message of optimism of the film.

‘Slumdog …’ is also a powerful illustration of how rich Indian themes would necessarily require Western finesse and execution to bring mainstream audiences into the theatres. Although Mira Nair’s ‘Monsoon Wedding’ and ‘The Namesake’ did lower the entry barriers for Indian films, ‘Slumdog …’ may have created a possible model for other filmmakers.

The debate whether Slumdog can even be called an Indian film, while superfluous at one level, merely shows yet again how success has many fathers. There is nothing particularly wrong in celebrating the film’s success as heralding of the globalization of talents and skills. However, somewhere along the line one gets the sense that at least some are motivated by wanting lay claim on an unexpected success even though they may not have played any role in it.

The film’s success is expected to seriously internationalize the careers of those associated with it. Of course, music composer A R Rahman was already gaining considerable traction in the west before the film but his two Oscars are bound to propel him to the stratosphere of global stardom. No one should be surprised if he is inundated with Hollywood and other offers. So far Freida Pinto appears to have capitalized on the movie’s success the most having bagged a role in an upcoming Woody Allen film. Her reported price tag $3 million, which is probably the highest for any Indian talent so far coming out of India. It would be interesting to see if Anil Kapoor, one of India’s most talented and bankable names, manages to get some plum assignments.

One does not know if any of those involved in the project, especially Kapoor and Rahman, had negotiated a backend deal in the event that the movie turned out to be the enormous success it has. I also wonder whether Rahman managed to retain the copyright to himself.