AMITABH BACHCHAN - BACHCHAN SLAMS SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

BACHCHAN SLAMS SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Indian movie icon AMITABH BACHCHAN has criticised the makers of Golden Globe winning film SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE for portraying his nation as a "third world dirty underbelly".
The film tells the story of a former street child who wins the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Directed by Brit Danny Boyle and based on Indian diplomat Vikas Swarip's book, it has become an international sensation.
It picked up four Golden Globe awards on Sunday (11Jan09), is nominated for 11 British Academy awards (BAFTAS) and is expected to score big at the Oscars next month (Feb09).
But Bachchan, India's most famous actor, is unhappy with the way his country is represented.
The star writes on his blog "If (Slumdog Millionaire) projects India as (a) Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations.
"It's just that the (Slumdog Millionaire) idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative (Golden) Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not."