Top 5 reasons why Slumdog Millionaire doesnt work - yes, really!

1. Dev Patel was a miscast -
I truly believe Dev Patel was not his best in any of the scenes. Be it his accent, his jaw dropping vacant expression - nothing clicked with me. On the other hand the adult Salim brought a certain rough flavour that Dev Patel did not bring. That was needed considering we were talking about a street smart kid.

2. Important question- where was Freida driving to- towards the end? Any answers? In concept, yes - somewhere towards Jamal. But Jamal was busy with the crorepati program. Where was she going?

3.They dont teach 3 Musketeers in a school. Atleast not the school I went to. Its more of something that you would have by your bedside as a late night read rather than as a textbook in your school bag.

4. Why would Americans arrive in their own car in India only to be robbed is beyond me? Did they get their own car from America? Its more likely to be a tourist taxi. Is it that difficult to rob a car of its parts in India? Do you actually need to net a tourist in order to do that?

And finally- No Mr. Boyle, "slumdogs" in India dont suddenly start speaking in English when they are adults- Perhaps they can never speak English or can speak a smattering of it. Definitely not British English. Thats clearly a mockery of what the production house think of India.Perhaps its also a statement of the market this movie was expected to capture- definitely not the Indian market.

One also wonders- is SM a hit with the masses and the critics of the world because of the "harsh" realities it portrays? or is SM a hit because of the rags to riches story- sort of like the fairytale that one always imagines life to be?
For me, it portrayed India to be all about slums, poverty and call centres. That doesnt work- not because it is wrong to portray these, but because India is more than this. Perhaps its time one of our desi directors showed the world what we are about. But would the world care? For them, India is still a developing country and being able to talk in English still a surprise.
So poverty is not a shock - the developed India might be.