WHAT’S THE BUZZ ABOUT SLUMDOG?

And the Oscar goes to...Slumdog Millionaire. The movie also won seven other Oscars, including Best Director and Best Music. As an Indian, I am naturally proud that a film with Indian actors and set in my home city of Mumbai has won so many accolades. I am proud - and also mystified.

First a brief outline of the plot. The story revolves around Jamal, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who takes part in a television quiz contest, India's version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" He is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees. After the show, he is arrested on suspicion of cheating. It seems incredible to the police and the show's sponsors that a semi-literate young man who lives in a shantytown and works as a minimum wage waiter in a rundown restaurant, could have acquired so much general knowledge. In order to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up - and how his experiences helped him to find answers to the show's quiz questions.

As can be seen from the above, it's a fairly interesting tale, but nothing extraordinary. It certainly does not appear to have any qualities that would appeal to an international audience. Yet the movie has already netted over a 100 million dollars. Before you scoff and say big deal, let me point out that the entire movie was produced on a miniscule budget of 15 million dollars, which would not even pay the salary of a single big Hollywood star. The actors are rank amateurs, first timers who even Indian audiences had never heard of until the film was released. The performances are competent, but hardly outstanding. This is borne out by the fact that there were no acting nominations among the 10 that Slumdog Millionaire received. There are no special effects and no big locations. In fact, most of the movie takes place in one of Mumbai's poverty ridden shantytowns, which is as depressing a place as one can imagine. In short, it has none of the ingredients requisite as a formula for Oscar success.

So why all the buzz? What produced the magic? In addition to the Oscars, Slumdog Millionaire also picked up major awards at the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and BAFTA. Sure it depicts a slice of life that many Westerners are unaware of, but that alone cannot explain its runaway success. It is not a stylish film, but rather gritty in its realism. That tosses for a loop the theory that in these depressing economic times, audiences tend to escape reality in a feel good movie. Slumdog Millionaire will not send you out with a warm glow. It will leave you shaken and stirred. There is a horrifying scene where young slum kids, less than 10 years old, are intentionally maimed and disfigured; and then sent out into the city's streets to beg. In another shocker, one of the young men is shown pushing through a pile of excrement to get the autograph of his favorite movie star.

And yet, the movie has struck a chord in the hearts of thousands of moviegoers in India, England and the United States. Perhaps at a time when people, even in developed countries, are losing jobs and struggling to make ends meet, it provides a sort of cold comfort to realize that there are others who are far worse off than them - count their blessings, so to speak. Perhaps it gives them a smug sense of superiority. Perhaps...the truth is that there is no rational explanation for the Slumdog phenomenon.

So is this going to be the wave of the future in Hollywood and Bollywood? Will low budget films with controversial themes become the new mantra? I don't think so. I think Slumdog Millionaire is a one-off success story. After the hype and the euphoria have died down, so will the movie. Bob Hope expressed it best in this song:

Oh well, it was swell while it lasted

We did have fun; and no harm done.