Cry Fowl over Slumdog

Ive just recieved this mail as a forward. It talks about the fact that
US and other citizens started calling indians slumdogs and mumbai a
slum. Aadesh Srivastava was embarrassed by it.

Before you read the mail, i have to comment on it. First of all, we
indians are the one who do all the namecalling. We use mallus, gantis,
guggus, hippis (for any foriegners), biharis etc. as insults.Second,
mumbai is a slum. We are not proud of it but comparied to any other
commercial city in the world, mumbai is a mess. The smells, the
sounds, the sights all could ruin your day if you are not used to it.
The good thing is that I hope, as a result of bad publicity, they
decide to clean the city up rather than burn effigies of danny boyle
and criticise other on national newspapers.

Mr. Aadesh Srivastava, is it so easy for you to feel embarrased if
someone calls you a slumdog? If yes, all this while you should have
also been embarrassed of the filth in our cities and spoken about it
on news papers before. It looks like you find it easy piggybacking on
AR Rehmans success thanks to slumdog millionarre and undermining his
eithics for doing a film that makes india look like a slum.

In any way, this is hollywood - which shows russia as a land of
nuclear weapons, mexico as a land of drunkards high on takila, africa
as a land of slaves, japan as a land of little people jumping around
their cities, mars as a land of little green men... i could go on. My
point is just enjoy the movie and remember it till the next one hits
the theater.

This the article i was talking about:
They've started calling Indians 'slumdogs': Aadesh Srivastava

Mumbai, Feb 20 (IANS) Bollywood composer Aadesh Srivastava says he is
embarrassed to walk on the streets of the US after Oscar-nominated
'Slumdog Millionaire' because 'they have started calling Indians
slumdogs'.

'I'm so upset. They've started calling Indians 'slumdogs', just like
'coolie' was a 'slang' in Britain. Now in the US I feel slumdog is a
'gaali' (slang) for Indians. Mumbai has given me everything,'
Srivastava told.

'To see the city being shown as a place of dirt, filth and crime only
is very humiliating. Even I can make a film on child prostitution and
paedophilia. But it won't get Oscars because I am not a 'gora'
(white),' added the composer.

Based on Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup's novel 'Q & A', 'Slumdog
Millionaire' is about an impoverished teaboy who wins a quiz show.
Directed by British director Danny Boyle, the story is set in the
slums of Mumbai. While Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto and NRI Dev Patel
played main leads, A.R. Rahman composed the music for the movie. It
has got 10 Oscar nominations, out of which three are for Rahman.

The film was lauded in the West, but it has been criticised by some in
India for showing its ugly side by concentrating on grinding poverty.

'What right does the director have to show Mumbai as a slum? Now we
are considered a slum city in all parts of the world. Humlog kahin
mooh dikhane laayak nahin rahe (we're unable to show our face
anywhere),' said Srivastava, who watched the movie in Los Angeles this
week.

Srivastava applauds fellow composer Rahman's music in the movie, but
says he'd never be part of a film that makes India look like a slum.

'I'm so upset. It's a disgusting movie. Being an Indian it was doubly
humiliating to be watching the film with Americans. Even if Steven
Spielberg asked me to compose music for a film that makes fun of
India, I won't do it,' he said.

Being a diehard Amitabh Bachchan fan, Srivastava is appalled by the
way the Big B is shown in the film.

'I puked when I saw that kid smeared in shit asking for Bachchan
saab's autograph. What the f...k was that? Does Danny Boyle know what
Bachchan saab means to us Indians? Who would dare approach him like
that?

'We applaud people who come to our city and spit in our faces!' he said.