All dogs go to heaven

So I shanghaied sparowhawk  into seeing "Slumdog Millionaire" with me tonight and I think I can say that it was an excellent idea; it's certainly an excellent movie. I mean, of course it's totally a movie in the grand old Hollywood glitter-in-the-eyes, love-conquers-all tradition, but I think what makes the movie work so well is its deliberately setting the story in a rather rougher setting than I think most audiences are used to seeing in the cinema. (Full disclosure: we saw it in Moorestown, and frankly I was annoyed at our fellow moviegoers, since their reactions made it clear that they haven't given much thought to the reality of life in the Mumbai slums. on the other hand, who can blame them in the narrow sense? and on the third hand, I'm sure the movie didn't show the worst of it, not by a long shot.) Anyway, it's awesome, go see it now! There's a Bollywood-style dance number in the credits! An awesome movie set in India + Bollywood! What more can you want? 

Full disclosure: I wanted to slap the twiggy blonde teenager in the restroom going "I can't believe people live like that" after the movie. Believe it, sweetheart! And if you think that's bad, let's talk about Zimbabwe or Somalia or any of the many other places I could name. Ugh. Seriously? People don't think about these things? I do. On the same note, Mel and I were laughing our heads off at the sequences with the tourists in the Taj Mahal, and no one else in the theater apparently found it funny. Hitting too close to home my rich subarbanites? Or have you just never been out of this benighted country? I'm such a snob, aren't I? Oh, tourists. Is it just Asia? Or are they the same everywhere? 

Final question: What are the odds that the book was inspired by Oliver Twist? I totally thought of that Manand dude as an Indian Fagin.