Slumdog Millionaire

Have you seen Slumdog Millionaire?

I watched the movie on our last day in India.

We were in a country full of people and stories and poverty so severe that many people spend their days digging through trash trying to find essentials for survival, all the while they believe with all of their heart that this task is their life's only purpose.

While in Delhi, we visited a new mall. The mall was very westernized; it was the most westernized of all the places that we visited. It mirrored any shopping mall in a large U.S. city. 

Slumdog Millionaire had premiered only days before in India, the country in which the film is based. We had Gold Class tickets to see the movie on the big screen at the theatre located in the mall. At the theater, we were escorted downstairs to the lounge where we ordered food from the menu and waited to enter our exclusive viewing room. Upon entering, we climbed into our oversized leather chairs, reclined the seats and wrapped up in a blanket to sip our drink and enjoy the movie. 

Little did I know about the intense drama I would soon be watching. Slumdog Millionaire is an accurate picture of the secret lives of many Indian children and adults. The only difference: the movie portrays everything to be much more clean and much less chaotic.

Sitting in the luxury of the theater, watching the horrendous actions take place on the screen, knowing that when we left the theater, I would be witnessing the very thing I was watching along the roadside was almost more than my mind could take. I knew that the film was well made and entertaining, but I could not bring myself to say or even think that the movie was good. Gut-wrenching, yes. True, yes. Heart breaking, yes. But good...no. To me, good is right. Good is just. Good brings a smile. 

I still cannot say that the movie is good. But it is accurate and it is real life and it is a movie I would encourage you to see. It gives a clear picture of a people and culture many people will never visit. 

Please go see Slumdog Millionaire, but when you watch it, know that it is not made solely for your entertainment. What you will see is real life for many, many people. Just because we cannot imagine it, does not mean that it doesn't happen. After you are exposed to the people of India, pray for them. Please pray for the countless people that live lives that we cannot not imagine living. And I will pray that God gives the people of India a place in your heart for all the days of your life, just as he has done for me.