Slumdog slumping in India

Slumdog Millionaire might be raking in the awards stateside, but Indian audiences weren’t too impressed during the film’s opening weekend: On Friday, a day after Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, the movie filled just 25% of the seats for its debut in theaters across India, the country of its setting…. Theaters showing ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

Slumdog Millionaire might be raking in the awards stateside, but Indian audiences weren't too impressed during the film's opening weekend:

Slumdog Millionaire might be raking in the awards stateside, but Indian audiences weren’t too impressed during the film’s opening weekend:

On Friday, a day after Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, the movie filled just 25% of the seats for its debut in theaters across India, the country of its setting…. Theaters showing the movie averaged 50% of capacity on Saturday, which was an improvement over the opening day but hardly a 21-gun salute.

Some Indian moviegoers might have agreed with Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan that the British-directed film’s depiction of India’s urban poverty verged on voyeurism, though the film has gotten mostly positive reviews from Indian critics. A more likely culprit may be that the film’s leads, the British actor Dev Patel and model Frieda Pinto, are essentially unknown to the Indian public. 

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

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