Slumdog: poverty porn or proud poetry

There is suddenly a lot of interest in what Indians, and those from Mumbai in particular, think of the winner of 8 Academy Awards Slumdog Millionaire.

TimesOnline has a roundup of reactions from India:

Slumdog Millionaire is neither poverty porn nor slum tourism…
(Nikhat Kazmi writing in The Times of India)

This isn't the 'real' India. This is India as seen through the eyes of a Westerner who's selling desi [local] squalor packaged as savvy slick entertainment... (Subhash K Jha writing for the Indo-Asian News Service)

One look at 'Slumdog Millionaire' and you know that its spirit and soul is flagrantly, proudly India: the Empire has been finally, overwhelmingly trounced. It's not about poverty pornography. (Shubhra Gupta in the Indian Express)

Slumdog Millionaire: the Indian press reaction

Two posts from Global Voices are enlightening on this divided opinion:

This film has sparked debates about how it shows life in India's slums, and the attraction it holds for foreigners.

Video: Slumdog Millionaire and the Indian Slums

Whether people like the movie or not, the fact is that Slumdog Millionaire has started a conversation in India about poverty, entrepreneurship and Indian films. Hopefully that conversation will yield results.

India: Reactions to Slumdog Millionaire

These posts look at a range of Indian bloggers and their thoughts on Slumdog Millionire. Please join the conversation.