Rebirth of India: Superior

Shakru can quite understand Rajkummar's question, because this book thoroughly exposes the social status quo in India, especially the dark side of the slums. This kind of subject matter is definitely extremely unpopular in India. Of course, the sales results are still very good. After all, they are two completely different forms of expression from movies. However, he is quite confident about the prospects of this movie adaptation, because the movie later won eight Oscars. It's Slumdog Millionaire.

I had the impression that this film was produced by a British company. Perhaps it was for this reason that no one in India dared to shoot this film, but he still wanted to give it a try.

But what disappointed him was that after discussing with Rajkumar for a long time, Rajkumar still did not agree. The reason for his refusal was also very simple, that is, Rajkumar was no longer a fledgling and unknown. At that time, he dared to film the bandit queen, which violated taboos, but now he dares not, or rather does not want to, because such a film will affect his reputation.

Although the negotiations were fruitless, Shakru did not give up. He planned to go to the UK to hire the director of the original film to direct the film. However, what disappointed him was that when he went to Vikas to negotiate the rights to adapt the script , but was told that the script had been bought by British Pathé International Film Company.

He secretly lamented that it was still too late for him to start, but what Shakru didn't expect was that a month later he would have the opportunity to participate in this movie again.

On this day, Murthy's secretary brought two Europeans to find Shakru. After introduction, Shakru learned that these two were Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Bewford. Yi. Their purpose of coming was the same as Johnnie To and Jackie Chan before them. They came to seek help from Shakru, a colleague and landowner, to solve the problem of shooting in India.

Of course, Shakru would not refuse this request, but he also took the opportunity to ask if he could invest in the film, because in his impression, it seemed that the film could only be released at A-rated due to financial problems in the later period.

Boyle did not dare to agree directly to this request, but he promised to discuss it with the investors, and then everyone began to study the specific shooting issues. Shakru first said: "Mr. Boyle, I don't think it's too big. I went all the way to Mumbai for filming, and I can also do it in New Delhi. There are also slums here, and I know some friends on the ground in New Delhi, so I can ensure that the filming order will not be affected.”

Boyle said hesitantly: "Mr. Pandit, in fact, we chose the Dhavi slum in Mumbai not only because it is the place described in the original book, but also because it is the second largest slum in the world and the largest in Asia. We think the slums are very representative, so can you please help us think of another solution, Mr. Pandit?”

Shakru made a phone call with Davod and talked about the situation here. Davod said happily: "It doesn't matter, it's just Mumbai. I have a very reliable friend there, especially in Davod." Harvey, he talks much better than the police, I asked him to take care of you." After the negotiation and another day of rest, Shakru accompanied Boyle and Simon screenwriter to Bombay.

Although he has been in India for more than ten years, this is his first time in Mumbai for Shakru, so he specially picked a window seat, hoping to see this legendary Indian city from the air. At 11:05 a.m., the plane slowly descended. He saw clearly, but he was also shocked, because what he saw was not the magnificent outline of a modern metropolis, but endless, dense slums as far as the eye could see.

Although Shakroor has long known that about 60% of the people in this big city of more than 140,000 people still live in slums, this is the first time he has seen such a huge scale of slums from the air. He can only use the word "shocking" in four words. Words to describe. After leaving the airport, I got into a taxi and drove on the "boulevard" leading to the city center, but there were still slums on both sides of the "boulevard". Throughout the entire Greater Mumbai area, you can see a large number of simple houses and slums along the way. There are also some newly built high-rise buildings in some areas, symbolizing India's desire to rise, but most of them are surrounded by a sea of ​​shabby houses. middle.

When they arrived at Dahavi, Davod's friend Deluca warmly entertained Shakru and his party, and arranged for two of his men to accompany them on a tour of Dahavi. Of course, Boyle also promised to pay for it afterwards. A venue fee.

In fact, there is not only one slum like Dahawi in Mumbai. There are more than two slums in Mumbai, large and small, but Dahawi is definitely the largest and most shocking one among them. First of all, the area here is 175 Kilometers and a population of over one million, the exact number of people cannot be calculated. Secondly, it is actually close to the financial center of Mumbai. On one side are modern high-rise buildings and on the other side are slums built on garbage dumps. It is difficult not to make people feel sad.

Walking into the streets of Dahavi, you may trip over the open sewers on the streets. The distance between the houses here is only 6 inches (about 15 centimeters), and some houses even house four generations of the family. Most of the houses in the slums are divided into upper and lower floors, separated by rough wooden boards. The height of both the ground floor and the attic is less than 15 meters. The alleys here are so intricate that you often get lost as soon as you turn around. Recycling waste and domestic garbage are piled in the alley, exuding a strong rancid smell. There are almost no public health facilities in the slums. On average, every 15 families share one water pipe. Most residents have no drainage system in their homes. Every 144 people share one toilet and no one is there to remove the garbage.

Seeing this, Boyle suddenly asked curiously: "I remember when I was checking information a few days ago, I saw that as early as 1995, the Indian government formulated a plan to transform Mumbai's slums within five years and provide We have provided housing for 90,000 residents and even proposed the slogan that in five years the world will forget Shanghai and only remember Mumbai in India. But it has been ten years now, why is it still like this?”

Shakru smiled bitterly and said: "Mr. Boyle, do you really take the words of these politicians seriously? That kind of slogan is just a blank check to attract votes during their election campaign."

ps: I'm going to take a day off tomorrow. My bridesmaid is getting married on the 2nd, so logically I have to go and help! To be continued.

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