‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in Legal Trouble

Multi award-winning ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ might have earned much appreciation and applause abroad but the film has been caught in a rough weather at home. Acting at petition filed against the title of the film, the Mumbai Court has issued a notice against the Indian celebrities associated with the film.

A petition was filed by Tapeshwar Vishwakarma, general secretary of the Jhuggi Jhonpdi Sanyukta Sangharsh Samiti (a group promoting the rights of slum dwellers), last week. He had charged those associated with the film of abusing slum dwellers in the name of entertainment just to earn money and fame.

“Vishwakarma requested the court to protect the honour and respect of millions of slum dwellers across India,” his lawyer Shruti Singh said.

No charge, however, was filed against the film`s director Danny Boyle, who is a British citizen.

“Vishwakarma made it clear that he hardly expected anything positive from a British filmmaker as their ancestors described us as dogs. But what hurt him was that even Indians associated with the film hardly bothered to object to calling us a slumdog,” Shruti Singh said.

Speaking to a news channel, Vishwakarma said, “ The title of the film is against the basic human values. We do not have any problem with the film but why call people living in slums dogs”.