I watched the movie, which was nominated for 10 Oscars and I asked myself .Was this the greatest Indian movie made? Well the answer is no. I am no film critic but I surely know there are movies (Bollywood movies) that are better than SM in many aspects, but yet they are not nominated for Oscars. Anil Kapoor says that every Indian should be proud that this "Indian" movie has made it to the Oscars. I beg to differ. We look at the west for appreciation for our movies and winning an Oscar seems to be ultimate goal. But the fact is the movies made in India cater to the sensibilities of Indian audiences. Our culture is different from the west and our filmmakers should not be looking at the west for appreciation.
I remember a scene in the movie Munnabahi . Circuit asks a foreign tourist why don't you go visit Taj Mahal or other tourist attraction he says "I want to see poor people, hungry people". The fascination of Indian poverty/slum in the west is immense and because the USP of this film is poverty, no wonder the film is doing so well. Without the subject of poverty the film would have no recognition in the west. I accept India is plagued by poverty and significant number of people are living below the poverty line .I am not trying to be an escapist but glorifying poverty to make financial gains is also not right. This film tries to reinforce the stereotype about India, poverty, child labour, beggary, and prostitution. This film is like a check list about the stereotypes mentioned. Yes there is the aspect of, a rag to riches story, of hope but these are overshadowed by other aspects.
So should we never make films about poverty? No, movies have to be made. People have to be aware of the problems we face in our country but we don't have to make movies to please the western audience. Movies have to be made with certain sensibilities towards the poor. I don't think we need to glamorize poverty.
