Have you watched the movie, 'Slumdog Millionaire'? Otherwise, catch a quick trailer. A simple story line - A Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while being interrogated, events from his life history are shown which explain why he knows the answers. Although, this movie won 7 awards at the British Acadamy of Film and Television Arts Awards 2009 (BAFTA) from the 11 categories it was nominated in, it was faced with many allegations in the media mentioning that the producers and distributors paid the Indian child actors cheap wages and have not been concerned with their welfare. The guardian reported a statement released by director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson defending themselves against allegations that they exploited child actors, in the latest round of controversy to hit the Oscar-tipped British film, Variety reports. Compared to blockbuster movies such as The Dark Knight, Batman, Superman, Brokeback Mountain or Titanic where producers spend millions and millions of dollars on its setting and production, my question is how did a simple story like 'Slumdog Millionaire' create so much of hype even before the movie was released? Apart from the fact that the movie was solely produced in Mumbai and taken at the slums with never seen faces before, what contributed to the movie's success? A review in The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) said that MPAA was wrong to give R rating as there are more offensive movies than Slumdog Millionaire. Could be possible that the reactions of the public on the allegations be part of the movie's big win today? Many critics commented that the movie was good but not outstanding to deserve the Oscar. In an article on The Financial Express, it reported that critics felt the movie sells India's poverty to West and some others had raised objections to the word 'slumdog' on grounds that people living in Indian slums were being referred to as 'dogs'. Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has said that the poverty highlighted in the movie is a "reality" and wondered why people in India tend to become cynical when something good is happening. Whatever the reasons, the Oscars could not have been possible for Slumdog Millionaire without the media's quick reactions to such critics, allegations and movie reviews. Do take note that this is just one example of how powerful the media is! Reference:
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