Seeing Bollywood Through Hollywood's Eyes

Indian cinema has long been trying to break into the world mainstream for a very long time. Back in the middle of the last century when "Mother India" was released and feted at the Oscars, it seemed to many at the time that perhaps Indian cinema was finally getting the attention it deserved. After all that was the time when directors who became legends including Guru Dutt, Shyam Benegal, and so many others were at the height of their moviemaking prowess. However the love affair with India was a hit or miss proposition and it wasn't long after that Indian movies began taking a backseat to other cultural cinemas as well. It's not because there are no worthy Indian movies out there, but I think it's because a lot of what is out there is so skewed or fantastical in its depiction of India that no one wants to see it because they can't relate to it or understand the context.

Now, Hollywood director Danny Boyle who has crafted films such as "Trainspotting", "28 Days Later" and the sci-fi drama "Sunshine" has now directed a movie set in India titled "Slumdog Millionaire". The basic premise seems to fall along the lines of the typical Indian movie. A young man from the slums of India gets his chance at fame and fortune when he wins a shot on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and manages to win. However the authorities are suspicious of how a man from the slums could win and decide to beat him until he reveals how he 'cheated'. The young man then returns to the show to prove he has the capability to win on his own but also to find the young woman he loves. I'm sure there may be some who will read this brief synopsis and shrug thinking that this isn't so different from so many other movies that are out there in India but where the difference comes in is how the subject is approached.

Many times in Indian cinema the stories are promising but end up being loaded with so much fluff that in the end the audience tends to forget what the story was that they had originally come to see. Danny Boyle mentioned that though he was open to the idea of casting Indian actors (famous actors mind you) he felt that they were too 'well-built' and 'toned' to accurately portray someone from the slums of Bombay. Therein lies the problem with Indian cinema at times. The characters are so miscast in most Bollywood films that the first aspect (in my estimation) to believing the story is thrown out the window because you'll never believe that a guy as muscular as Arnold Schwarzenegger could be a poor and sickly kid with nothing to eat. I guess a joke that would be so obvious to the pun writers in that case would be that he eats only iron. Bad one I know but those are the types of jokes you can expect.

If the audience doesn't believe the character is at least a little realistic, the audience will be less likely to take any interest in the story. Often times you don't think of the character but rather the actor portraying the character. I don't mean to typecast people but at least help sell the character. By casting relative unknowns in the roles of his movies Boyle manages to sustain interest in the story because we see the character for who they are supposed to be rather than the Bollywood hero they so often portray. The other aspect that helps 'sell' the reality of the storyline is staying true (at least a little bit) to real life. Sure we all sing or hum but how often do you have a choreographed chorus line dancing with you in the streets? I'm pretty sure that it's not often but that's what is expected in Indian cinema because that's what the majority of the audience wants.

That's the other basic problem plaguing Indian cinema is that their target audience expects to get their money's worth by seeing a movie that will last at least three hours and be full of songs that they will be singing long after the leave the theatres. The problem is that there are so many storylines that many Bollywood writers borrow to bulk up their movies that in the end the movie is an amalgamation of thirty different movies and ten different genres. The end result is a hodgepodge film that is neither here nor their. I'm sure there will be those who complain against Danny Boyle and his depiction of India in his film. They will claim that he is highlighting the slums and not the 'real India'. Well having been there before I can honestly say that the slums are a part of the real India as well. Sure it's not the only part of India but no one can deny that it is at least a part of the country. If Indians begin to embrace that fact then perhaps they can start embracing reality in their films as well.