Opinion Are You a Slumdog Snob?

Harneet Singh | Fully Filmi<br>Whoever said you can't get enough of a good thing probably didn't have his meals disrupted each and every time just because the word Slumdog was being mentioned.

MumbaiMarch 4, 2009 02:29 PM IST First published on: Mar 4, 2009 at 02:29 PM IST

Stop. If I have one more dinner/lunch/coffee/breakfast/midnight snack conversation revolving around Slumdog Millionaire,I’ll scream the place down. Yes,I get it. The world is coloured in Slumdog colours. It’s absolutely fantastic that our very own A R Rahman,Gulzar saab and Resul Pookutty have won Oscars. Yippee! India is on the global entertainment map! Double Yippee! The slum kids,Azhar and Rubaina,will be given proper houses! Hallelujah!

Seriously stop. Enough already!

Whoever said you can’t get enough of a good thing probably didn’t have his meals disrupted each and every time just because the word Slumdog was being mentioned. It’s great that everyone has an opinion on Danny Boyle’s film. There are those who think it’s the greatest Indian story ever told and then there are those who are offended by the portrayal of India in the film.

My views on the film have already been stated in an earlier post. To be frank,I’m a little fed up with the whole Slumdog wave. But now because I choose to be quiet about it,I’m being labelled as a ‘Slumdog Snob’. Yup this is a new term for the urban dictionary. It refers to any Indian who:

a) doesn’t wish to talk about the film

b) has a non gushy opinion of the film.

Typically,the term is thrown about in a social situation. You can be having a nice steak dinner when somebody in the group will mention Slumdog Millionaire. You don’t want to be a part of the conversation. But how can you be a film journalist and not have an opinion about THE OSCAR WINNING FILM? Sure enough somebody will ask you directly and demand an answer. You have two choices: either you tell your real opinion about the film (nobody really cares about that) or you just shrug and say,”I don’t wanna talk about it.” If it’s the latter,you will get a snigger and a look and under the breath you can hear,”Oh,another one of those Slumdog Snobs.” Ouch!

My guess is that the new term will continue till the time the media decides to turn the page. In these depressing times,movies are a safe topic. Movies allow you to have an opinion even if it’s a militant one you can be assured of getting heard. While we may not be able to control big issues like global meltdown,global warming or global terrorism,if we have an opinion on a global film,at least we think we are important enough. It feels nice and somewhat cathartic. That’s the magic of the movies.

So whether or not you’re a Slumdog Snob,if you feel passionately about the film,it’s quite healthy.

Er,ahem,just don’t be all judgmental and term someone a snob!