Slumdog Millionaire had shown too many details.

Slumdog Millionaire had shown too many details.

The film Slumdog Millionaire had shown too many details in respect of life in a slum in Mumbai. If the aesthetic value and the cinematic value of the film is analyzed it will be found that some of the scenes were impressive while some could be edited.

There were scenes shown where the boy who won more than million rupees award in a quiz contest in television show came to know that Big B had come to their city. Big B obviously was a great icon of the 70s and 80s and childhood hero of many slumdwellers all across the country. But the scene where he left the latrine and ran to get an autograph of the legend hardly had cinematic value. It was crude reality shown without proper cinematic techniques.

Even the children being beaten up by antisocial elements in the slums in the film cause annoyance than amusement for the viewers. Violence can be related to real-life situations, but when it is shown in a one-sided manner the viewers hardly enjoy them. On the other hand the interrogation procedure conducted by Irfan Khan was more realistic and meaningful. It is quite obvious when a slumdweller wins such a huge amount of money in quiz contest which requires lot of knowledge in the eyes of the police the owner of the amount are always brought under scanner.

If the films of storytellers of the past are reviewed it will be found that legendary directors edited those materials in films which could have created adverse impact on the viewers. For example in Shyam Benegal’s Ankur, the son of Shabana Azmi threw a pebble on the river to show that realization and revolt commenced in the village. The entire revolt was not shown in details.

Editing forms a very important tool in the hands of legendary filmmakers and in that respect directors like Satyajit Ray showed the next generation that too many details are required for conveying powerful messages in films. He showed just a slice of cake being taken away by the British General in the film Shatranj Ki Khiladi to show territories within India being annexed by British East India Company which started from the estate of Avadh.

Besides, Govind Nihalini also finished the film Aakrosh on an intellectual note. Nasirruddin Shah asked his Senior Counsel played by Amrish Puri that if he was killed in future would it appear to him similar to a road accident. Amrish Puri said yes and the film ended there.

Slumdug Millionaire has all the attributes of a realistic film, including powerful script, innovative camera work, meaningful dialogues, but too many details could have been avoided by the director of the film.