‘Slumdog Millionaire’: Hollywood, Meet India

I remember reading, when the Bollywoodized Jane Austen adaptation Bride and Prejudice came out a few years ago, that this would be North America’s introduction to India’s powerful film industry. The film certainly brought mega star Aishwarya Rai on to our radar, but any broader, longer-lasting crossover potential seemed to fizzle. Sure, The Darjeeling Limited gave us a taste of the country, and The Namesake touched on the experiences of the Indian diaspora, but for the most part we remained unexposed to the subcontinent’s endless cinematic possibilities.

Last night, watching “Slumdog Millionaire” sweep all four of the categories in which it had landed nominees at the Golden Globes—Best Screenplay, Best Score, Best Director and Best Drama—I wondered if that might finally change.

“We really weren’t expecting to be here in America at all at one time,” said screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, “so it’s just amazing to be here.” Composer A.R. Rahman thanked “one billion people in India,” while director Danny Boyle noted that everyone in Mumbai would be watching and celebrating. The camera cut back and forth between shots of Hollywood heavyweights—Meryl Streep, say, or Tom Hanks—looking appreciative, and the young cast of “Slumdog” literally jumping for joy. There was the sense that a group of relative outsiders were being given an unexpectedly, overwhelmingly warm welcome.

There’s still a few weeks to wait before we’ll see if it can land the ultimate welcome—a Best Picture win at the Oscars—but in the meantime, let’s hope that plenty of filmmakers, producers and distributors are taking note of the remarkable colors, sounds and stories brought out so evocatively in “Slumdog Millionaire” and of the numbers of skilled actors, composers, crew members and more, already waiting on the ground in India.

I don’t know about you, but I’d like to see more where that came from.

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