The unexpected international success of Slumdog Millionaire has pleased some Indians while provoking unusually strong protests from others. The critical and commercial success of the film, contrasted with sharp criticism and alacklustre run in Indian theatres, captures the inherent contradictions of an increasinglyglobalised country. India basks in the glow of international recognition, but resents the critical scrutiny that global exposure brings.
Not since Sir Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi has a film about India captured the world’s imagination as strongly asSlumdog Millionaire, director Danny Boyle’s gritty yet uplifting drama about a boy from the slums of Mumbai who makes good as a game-show contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The low-budget production -- which cost $15 million to make, a pittance in Hollywood terms-- has garnered both commercial and critical success, grossing $96 million worldwide as of February 1st, and picking up four Golden Globe awards and 10 Oscar nominations. In one among a raft of glowing reviews, Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern hailed Slumdog as "the world’s first globalizedmasterpiece".