Nobody saw it coming - the low budget, rags to riches story about the boy from the slums who strikes it rich through a series of fascinating coincidences that make him the winner of the popular game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". Slumdog Fever seems to have taken over the world, from its sweep at the Academy Awards to the controversy behind the treatment of the stars.
No doubt, the success of the movie has altered forever the lives of those who were part of it. The kid stars were launched into instant celebrity status and are even now being wooed as political influencers in the upcoming national election. Frieda Pinto, the doe-eyed beauty who played the protagonist's love interest is being considered as the next Bond Girl. Even the PussyCat Dolls managed to get a hit by knocking a song off the soundtrack.
The social implications of the win eclipse even the success of the film. Think of how the the global audience has evolved for a movie whose dialogue is 40% in another language to have conveyed such a strong message. Educators are learning to apply lessons from the movie to their classrooms, to better engage their students. And of course, a light has shone once again on India, either as a cause or effect of the popularity of the movie.
For these and so many other good reasons, we can expect to see a new genre of film present itself in front of the Hollywood audience.
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