My rant on Slumdog Millionaire

I wrote this 9 days ago in response to an American friend's email about Slumdog Millionaire. An Indian friend of mine told me to post it here. I feel a little apprehensive about it as I don't want it to offend anyone.

I love that it takes a white man to make a movie in the slums of India for an American audience to finally be interested in an Indian movie. This is not a Bollywood movie. This movie was made for an American audience. It was a good movie, but it wasn't great! I'm so tired of hearing people talk about it as if it is the most amazing movie released in years. Name one Bollywood Indian actor in it...oh yeah ANIL KAPOOR...COME ON...this guy hasn't been an A list Indian actor in forever. I love that for some odd reason Shah Rukh Khan (the largest Bollywood star currently) presented at the Golden Globes. What exactly is his tie to this film?? Nothing! Now he is finally invited to the American award shows and the Hollywood Foreign Press pays attention. WHY have they never given a Lifetime Achievement Award to Amitabh Bachchan? And why is it no American you meet has ever heard of Amitabh Bachchan? Do you know HOW MANY movies Bollywood produces and in how many different languages?! And why is it that Oprah talks about the Oscar nominees in 2 of her shows...the first one right after the Golden Globes and in that first episode after SLUMDOG WON ALL THOSE AWARDS she never once mentions it and then in the second show she "skypes" the actors and director in from Mumbai and says "You sound like you're on the moon." India is FULL OF SUPER BRIGHT PEOPLE IN THE TECH SECTOR AND IN ENGINEERING...Oprah's people couldn't figure out a better connection?! And Oprah...Skype has been around FOR YEARS! Why are you acting like it was just invented? Do you actually think that we the tv viewer want to turn on the tv to watch you talk to someone on another tv in their home? And then Oprah said she was in DC recently and was in an elevator with some Indian people and didn't know what to say so she turned to them and asked "Have you seen Slumdog Millionaire?" REALLY OPRAH...you couldn't think of ANYTHING else to say to the brown people of color standing in the elevator a few feet from you while you were in DC (PROBABLY FOR THE INAUGURATION OF THE FIRST US PRESIDENT OF COLOR) that you have to give the typical American response.

Postscript: I heard that Oprah had Freida Pinto and Dev Patel on her show last week after the Oscars. I have the show on my DVR and haven't had a chance to watch it yet so I can't comment on it here yet. I recently read on Sepia Mutiny that Dev Patel and Freida Pinto were on The Tyra Banks Show teaching Tyra a Bollywood dance. Was the dance number at the end of the movie really great? I don't have any professional dance training and I can dance more Bollywood than this. The traditionalist in me is annoyed by how Indian things are being watered down by Americans and then adopted as "Indian". Can someone please explain to me what a "chai latte" is cause this doesn't exist in India. And why any cup of chai would cost almost $4?