Bollywood star blasts 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan has blasted Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire for its portrayal of India.

Writing on his blog, Bachchan said that the Golden Globe-winning movie depicted India as a "Third World dirty underbelly" and suggested that it wouldn't have been critically praised had it been directed by an Indian filmmaker.

"If Slumdog Millionaire projects India as Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations," he said.

Bachchan is a significant figure in the film, with protagonist Jamal at one point fighting through a crowd in an effort to get his autograph.

He added: "It's just that the Slumdog Millionaire idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not."

Slumdog's screenwriter Simon Beaufoy objected to Bachchan's comments, telling The Daily Telegraph: "I'm puzzled that he would say that. Of course there is brutal stuff in there, but he can't say any of that doesn't happen. None of it is made up, it's all there on the streets for people to see.

"I depicted the place as I found it, really. I wandered around the slums for weeks, talking to people. It was very important to me to spend time there because you can't just parachute in as the middle-class white guy and say, 'Line up the slum kids.'"

Slumdog Millionaire yesterday swept the BAFTA nominations with nods in 11 categories.

> Click here for our interview with Slumdog star Freida Pinto