#35. Skoop : Activist Files Lawsuit Over 'Slumdog' Film's Name

VOA News
22 January 2009

The widely-praised film Slumdog Millionaire - a rags-to-riches tale of a boy from an Indian slum - is drawing criticism from actual slum dwellers, who say its title is insulting.An Indian activist who represents a group of slum dwellers, Tapeshwar Vishwakarma, is taking their issue with the Oscar-nominated movie to court.

He filed a lawsuit against the film's Indian music composer, A.R. Rahman, and one of its stars, Anil Kapoor, for depicting slum dwellers in a bad light and violating their human rights.

The activist's lawyer says his client did not expect much from the film's British director, Danny Boyle, but that what hurt him was that the Indian people associated with the film did not object to the name.

The film's creators say the word "slumdog" was not meant to be offensive.

The first hearing in the case is scheduled for February 5.

Slumdog Millionaire has already won a string of awards and is nominated for 10 Academy Awards.

The film tells the story of a teenager from the slums of Mumbai who rises to fame in a television game show.