What’s Up ‘Slum’dog?
January 13th, 2009
Submitted by: Professor Jay Singh
This post is a follow-up to Professor Carr’s Slumdog post immediately below (click here).
Not many non-Mumbaikars (non-residents of Mumbai) can even fathom a million people living in a square mile (530 acres). Yet Dharavi, Mumbai’s shadow city and the largest slum in Asia, is thriving with a contribution of 500 million dollars to India’s GDP. The financial capital of India that boasts arguably the world’s second most expensive office space at $190 per square foot and the world’s most expensive home at $1 billion is also home to the dubious attribution often referred to as ‘the largest slum in the world‘.
The recent sweep of the top five categories at the 14th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards and the Golden Globe Awards including the Best Picture of 2008, Slumdog Millionaire is a must see for all enrolled in GSB 563 (International Business Study Tour, Chindia trip) this year . It is presently showing 3 times a day at the Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo. A heartwarming love story of an 18 year old orphan from the slums of Mumbai (hence ‘Slumdog’) who ends up winning the top prize on India’s ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ show. His journey to the grand prize is documented and includes suspicions raised by the game show host which end up inflicting inhuman torture by the law enforcement.
This film is highly recommended as a must-see to the GSB 563 students as it will provide a better understanding of what they will experience traveling through Mumbai. A few key queries they might want to explore via the movie and some on-line research questions are:
1. What are the reasons behind the unnaturally high population density at Dharavi?
2. What contributions to the Indian economy does this ‘largest slum in the world’ provide?
3. What has caused the Slumdog Millionaire to burst on to the movie scene in the US (1,000 additional screens opened within a week of screening at a modest 90+ screens in the US)?
What comes to mind when a not so well traveled, physically or mentally, American thinks of India? More than likely the soon-to-be most populous nation in the world, a third world nation, good command over spoken English albeit with an ‘Apu Nahasapeemapetilon Ph.D.’ accent, crazy motoring skills, cattle squatting in the middle of the busiest roads, the Taj Mahal and of course the technology niche constantly in the news.
What does a resident Indian think? Religion, cricket (should be included under religion), Bollywood, politics, holidays and festivals (24 Hinduism, 3 Sikhism, 1 Buddhism, 6 Islam, 3 Christian, 6 Jainism and 14 Zoroastrianism related as well as 7 national), terrorism (comparatively recently), mobile communication devices (and of course SMS), incomprehensible delays in traffic (primarily in larger cities), and of course the technology news amongst others.
As an aside, PBS launched what many are claiming to be the best documentary ever made on India last week in the US. In particular, check out the interactive photo gallery at their website to learn more.
8 Comments Add your own
1. Lindsay Leaver | January 9th, 2010 at 5:51 pm
I think there are two main factors that contributed to Slumdog’s success.
First, and easiest to identify, people love an uplifting underdog story. The good guy wins, after years of hardship. It is a formula that has been used for years in the movies, and it works well. He gets the girl, and people are happy. Basic, to the point, and satisfying.
The second, and not as obvious reason for Slumdog’s success is that it was mainstream and exotic at the same time. It included incredible shots of India, the people, the landscape, the culture. It was exotic and different, giving insight into a foreign and difficult to imagine place, all the while keeping the viewer comfortable with the all-too-familiar “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” shots, and underdog storyline. It also utilized exotic music that was different to the ears of Americans, but still was melodic and easy to listen to.
Lastly, it was just a good movie pure and simple.
2. Kirk Story | February 8th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
It is evident that the citizens of Dharavi are extremely hard working people on the fringe of our habituated understanding of corporate capitalism. The generation of a half billion dollars in goods on a square mile of illegitimately occupied land attests to this contention. Imagine living in a population density 6 times as dense as daytime Manhattan. Patience would surely be a virtue.
The photos and descriptions found at the National Geographic link ‘the largest slum in the world’ are powerful. Many of the photos evoked emotional or cognitive responses. The vibrant expression on the school teacher’s face stirred an emotion of hope for the education of the youth in this unique cultural enclave-Dharavi. The guy smashing bags of paint chips left me scratching my head a little. I thought “Tommy Boy” was a global classic. Seriously though, it’s sad that a person is smashing bags of paint chips and inhaling the particulates. I suppose the next logical question is whether he’s uninformed and thinks, “this paint smashing thing’s not a bad gig,” (it is fun to swing carnival sledge-hammers) or if he is informed and working out of necessity with few alternatives.
Thanks for the Post Dr. Singh.
Kirk Story
3. Jason Silver | February 14th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
As future business leaders, it is important to understand “how the other half lives”. While India’s impressive economic growth has helped make the nation an emerging business power, the tremendous amount of poverty in the country still leaves much work to be done domestically. The disparity between poor and rich is strikingly evident. The example of Mukesh Ambani’s one billion dollar building/house/skyscraper is in stark contrast to a small room with 12 family members cramped for space trying to live on a daily basis. So as the gap between rich and poor is slowly closing, there must be something that drives people. Inside, I can only imagine that the current slum dwellers work hard to provide for their family and to one day have their ensuing generations be able to live in conditions better than what they live in currently.
4. Danielle Steussy | February 15th, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Slumdog Millionaire is one of my favorite movies of all time. I think what drew me to it so much was not its Oscar hype (I proudly have to admit that I saw it well before it hit the “big” screen) but rather its glimpse into a different kind of life and a completely different culture. The music was fabulous and the cinematography breathtaking, but even more I was entranced by the world that was so foreign to my own. I believe that most people are intrigued by what they don’t see everyday, almost like a fairytale or even more superficially, a Harry Potter or Twilight novel. Even though Slumdog Millionaire portrayed the realities of the slums in India, it still has this mystical effect of unfamiliarity on viewers. I suppose it goes to show how segregated Americans can be from other parts of the world.
All movie interpretations aside, the population density in Dharavi can offer a wide array of networking, whether it’s in business or in simple survival. Having that immense population can offer support that people need get by from day to day. In my opinion this network offers vast amounts of opportunities for the Indian economy to thrive now and into the future. I only hope that the living conditions for these slum residents can soon match the potential of the country.
5. Tim Lynds | March 3rd, 2010 at 9:11 pm
I agree with Lindsay about why Slumdog was such a hit in the US. It is a perfect balance of exotic and familiar. It has an easy to follow, well liked, and familiar love story plot with exotic mini adventures throughout the movie. In a way it reminded me of Forrest Gump (another incredibly successful movie) in that the majority of the movie was broken into short stories that outlined Jamal’s life. Each mini adventure explained how Jamal knew each correct answer in the Millionaire game while also giving a general outline of Jamal’s life to date. This was interesting because it showed that every hardship that Jamal went through contributed to his eventual break from poverty by winning the game show. What a great way to tie the entire movie together and make the audience feel good. All in all a great movie like Slumdog deserves the success it received.
6. Frederick Peemoeller | March 12th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Slumdog Millionaire is a microscope. Like viewing all objects, from a distance, things don’t look so bad. We convince ourselves they don’t, that is, until we sharpen the image and see things for what they really are. Slumdog zoomed in and gave us a reality that we can no longer pretend not to see or notice, its showed us human cruelty and poverty clearer than we would ever like to imagine.
When people talk abot Dharavi and its increasing growth in wealth one can only hope that people pay attention to whom the wealth actually belongs too.
7. Matthew Perez | March 19th, 2010 at 8:39 am
Although Slumdog Millionaire was a great film, I was surprised to learn that it many in India have had mixed feelings associated with the film. A quick read of this Washington Post article sheds some light on these opinions:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/22/AR2009012204082.html
The people who live in the areas depicted in the film are very happy that it brings to light the issues they face on a daily basis. However, most people who go to the movies in India expect typical Bollywood fantasies. These films of dancing and romance provide an escape from the often difficult lives that people have. It should come as no surprise that these were the same types of films that were used during the Great Depression here in America. In sum, people who are going through desperate times do not like to be reminded of that fact.
8. Yuxiang Gao | March 19th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
I agree with Lindsay’s points that why this movie is so successful.
Personally, the most attractive part is to see the hard working peole to fight with the difficult lift even in the worst situation.
As I said in the other Slumdog’s comment, the main character’s brother could be epitome for lots of people in developing country, Though that man is bad guy, but from him, I saw a shining quality called combatant spirit. He used this combatant spirit on the wrong way, but I appreciated his courage.
I having been living in the USA for more than one year, this moive mentioned me that on other side of earth, there is a group of people live in the worst living environment but still try to their destiny.
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