Slum Dog Millionaire- Poverty Porn or Real Cinema?

The success of Slum Dog has proved that the film is no underdog.
When Danny Boyle was conceptualizing the film little he would have realized that the film will be his biggest trophy till date and will fetch him 4 golden globes and 10 Oscar nominations and so did the other cast and crew.
It’s a film based on India and about India, to be precise “Indian Slums”. Rags to riches story of a boy from the slums of Dharavi. Now when I watched that film I could not help but notice a unique medium Danny Boyle has used to unfold the story of an 18 year old through the answers in a game show. The narrative takes the film to a different level, had Danny chose to tell the same story in another way it would have been another mundane film.
Not that the film shows anything special, not that we are unaware of the plight of the street beggars and slums. Every time you a see a beggar on street you think about Jamal, Salim or Latika …that’s what the film does to you.
The other day there was a discussion on a news channel on Slum dog Millionaire, some people expressed it as‘poverty porn’, where ‘young girls’ being raped and young boys were being ‘blinded’. It was also stated that Danny has glorified the poverty of India. I agree there some scenes are so gross that you would not even like to imagine it in your wildest of dreams, you so want to kill ‘Mamman’ the villain. but isn’t that the truth of our society. There is no glorification, not even a bit of Indian poverty. This is what we are then why are we ashamed of it?
Danny has shown that he can portray India in much realistic way than any film maker ever did. While we are busy making disastrous comic capers that fall flat. Every frame is meticulously worked upon. The beginning of the film where the kids are playing is impeccable. Every single piece of background score matches the film like a piece of puzzle. The casting is so amazing that even for a minute you cannot take your eyes off the screen. Every thing is so in place that not even once Dev Patel’s Uk accent bothers you much. Danny has done his homework and he has done it well. Films entry in the Oscars doesn’t only prove the mettle of the Indian actors but also the technicians, musicians, lyricist. It’s the film that has made it possible for the India artist to reach the ultimate platform, “The Oscars”.
Slum dog has clearly emerged as a winner, the only discontentment that bogged heavy on my heart; while walking out of the theatre was that this film is not made by an Indian.