Slumdog Millionaire

The amazing thing about the Oscars this year is that a film made on a modest budget, partially in Hindi, directed by an Englishman, and starring complete unknowns, won the prizes for Best Picture and Best Director. This film almost did not make it to theaters, having been dropped by Warner Brothers for financial reasons, but then picked up for distribution by Fox/Searchlight. Taken from a novel by Vikas Swarup, the screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy, who also won the Oscar for best screenplay.

Despite the fact that the cast is unknown in the West, several of the Indian actors have been featured in very prominent roles in Bollywood films, notably Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan. Just the suggestion of the presence of Amitabh Bachchan, even though he does not appear, is very powerful, considering that he is the most famous actor in India, and probably seen by more moviegoers than any other actor in the world.

There is a considerable amount of controversy surrounding this film, some critics saying that it is "poverty porn" while others claim that it demeans poor people living in the slums of India's largest cities. It is interesting to note that no such controversy exists concerning a documentary film, which won an Oscar, called "Born Into Brothels." This film was made by an American, and concerns the children of prostitutes and what becomes of them.

I can only feel very positive that a film like this was able to attract such incredible support from the Academy, which is not usually known for sticking its neck out. Perhaps globalisation is having a salutary effect on the film industry.