I read with interest the article published in June 2009 issue of Indian
Pediatrics titled "Indian Slum children in Western cinema: Sensitive
portrayal of stark reality or crass exploitation?" Dr Vashishtha
deserves appreciation for making a nice critical analysis on such a
sensitive human issue. I wish to make following comments.
A British director’s work Slumdog millionaire,
bags 8 Oscar awards and we accuse him of glorifying Indian poverty! From
the movies name, the slums picturised in it, the child trafficking, the
beggar industry and other scenes like the horrifying treatment by the cops
are picked out from the movie and criticized in the name of "it’s not the
true Indian picture" Why this over sentimental reaction every time we see
Indian poverty on the big screen? Why are we only happy watching Karan
Johar’s depiction of larger than life Indians? Why we are satisfied
watching the rosier side of our country? Or is it that it hurts our ego to
be reminded of the naked truth? It’s like a neighbor pointing to the dirty
backyard of our bungalow and we don’t appreciate the criticism a bit! We
know its there, but we don’t care much to clean it; we have almost
adjusted to live with it but we don’t like to be reminded of it. Why?
Nowhere does the movie claim to be the whole and sole
depiction of India, it unfolds a story of a young boy called Jamal, who
happens to be from Mumbai slums. Coincidently, it is the largest slum in
world.. Where is our pride? Has the film director depicted anything that’s
not true? Well, it is a bitter truth that our country has the biggest gap
between the haves and have-nots, we happen to be a country of extremes and
paradox. On one hand, some of us make it to the fortune 500, the richest
persons in the world, on the other hand, we also top the list of people
living below poverty line struggling for survival. Where on earth shall we
get child trafficking, child labor, child prostitution and child beggar
industry more flourishing than in our country? Why this uproar then?
Merely picking out one slum child and standing for her child rights and
uttering rhetoric because she happens to be a star in a foreign movie
shows our hypocrisy. If we so earnestly care for children rights and their
exploitation, then look around, it’s happening all around us, in our city
just around the corner, may be even in our homes. If we want to start
cleaning then start with our own locality. It is time for self
introspection, not for shedding crocodile tears, mudslinging or
pseudo-idealism.