Latchatipati = Crorepati

In case you're wondering what the title means...

"latchathipathi" means "millionaire" in Tamil. I'm trying to make reference to the movie "Slumdog Millionaire," which was receiving huge publicity in India while I was there. I kept hearing about it constantly on the news. Some locals appeared impressed that I had already seen the movie in New York before I arrived ("It got released in America before it got released in India," I explained.) I think Indians are extremely proud of the achievement, especially that of A.R. Rahman--and yet ambivalent about the stark portrayal of corruption and poverty in their own country. Some Bollywood people were saying that it was a brilliant movie about India that no Indian would probably have had the guts to make.

The other volunteers really wanted to see it in an Indian movie theatre, so I tagged along on a Friday night because I just wanted to see what the theatre was like (the 4 of us were somehow able to cram into one rickshaw--I of course had to be the one to sit on someone's lap and fear for my life lest I tumble out as we weaved through rush-hour Chennai traffic). For the English version of "Slumdog," the auditorium was packed. Seats were reserved and assigned like at a Broadway show, and there was an intermission. But, no previews. And, for 150 rupees a seat, definitely cheaper than a Broadway show. I wish I had the chance to see a Hindi movie, though...