'Slumdog Millionaire' Sign of Indian Times

I met Amitabh Bachchan once at an Asian American Hotel Owners Association convention of about 1,600 people. If the name means nothing to you, that's because you're not from India. To Indians, he's like Elvis. Women were practically swooning over him, and his security detail was at least a dozen large Indian men surrounding him. (Photo of Bachchan in his prime.)

The event was oversold by about 800 people because wives, sisters and cousins who normally would never attend the conference swarmed to see him.

I mention this because in the film Slumdog Millionaire, there's a pivotal scene showing the main character's drive to achieve his dreams in seeing Bachchan, who had flown into his slum for a tour. The child, who is locked in an outhouse by his spiteful brother, exits by jumping into the unmentionable morass below. He
holds his photo of the movie/musical star over his head to keep it clean, and runs to him, parting the crowd with his stench, and reaching out to Bachchan for an autograph. Bachchan graciously signs the photo and hands it back.

In India, to be born in a lower class, or, God forbid, as a Muslim, is to be treated like the waste left behind in an outhouse. The film is about Jamal, a survivor who becomes a "chaiwalla" or tea server at a call center, and manages to get on the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Despite a lack of education other than the ability to read and street smarts, he rises to nearly the top of the show -- then is accused of cheating.

The film doesn't hit a single off-key note, and leaves the audience cheering for Jamal in the end. It's a wonderful film, full of the horrors and beauty of India simultaneously, and is a window into the growth of the middle class and the beginning of hope for those at the bottom. It's a favorite for the Best Picture Oscar, and I'd be surprised if it didn't win.