Why Slumdog's hit paydirt!

In India, many wonder what's it with Slumdog Millionaire that's had it winning almost all the coveted awards? After all, its just a really good movie. Nothing extraordinary. What they can't fathom is the fascination for the movie in the Western world.

The answer of course, lies steeped in the concept of 'Sensory Adaptation' (or Neural Adaptation). In India, slums, beggars and the whole Mumbai backdrop is nothing out of the ordinary. In fact I bet, every Indian worth his salt has had his tryst with Sh*t! Falling into it may be rare, but cohabiting with it is commonplace. So any of what's considered normal in an Indian's daily life isn't met with any sense of surprise when its transported on-screen. The Indian senses have so adapted to the reality around, that, when that reality climbs on to a screen, no one gives it a second glance. In fact its the running around trees that works on silver screens in India. 'Cos that's something you would never see anywhere in India. Especially with the likes of the Ram Sena around.

But to the West, the whole slum-beggar-sh*t package is something that's incredulous. They haven't seen anything like it, ever in their lives. So on screen it works a magic like nothing else can. The Western senses get exposed to stimuli they have never encountered in their lives. What's the resultant response? A string of awards, of course!