The Congress has dismissed charges that it was politicising the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire after party President Sonia Gandhi met the film’s child actors Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail on Thursday.
The children spent a day at the Congress office, posing for the shutterbugs and waving pictures of Sonia Gandhi. The Congress, which has already bought the rights of Slumdog Millionaire‘s hit song Jai Ho for Rs 1 crore, now plans to get the child actors to campaign for the party.
The question that was being asked on CNN-IBN’s show Face the Nation was: Is Congress exploiting Slumdog Millionaire for political gains?
On the panel of experts to try and answer that question were Editor-in-Chief of Outlook Vinod Mehta; MP and Congress Spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi; and member of BJP’s Election Strategy Sudheendra Kulkarni.
It seems that the Congress is worried that despite the song and the dance around it, the party might just end up being the best supporting actor in these elections.
Opening the discussion, Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, "This is a clear case of storm in a teacup and it is sensationalising a non-issue. As far as buying rights are concerned then it is a free country. Jai Ho is a beautiful nationalistic song and the others are ruefully scratching their heads because we bought it first. Regarding the children, they called up the Congress President who met them. Obviously times are busy and so they had to wait a little while."
The party in the past has reportedly indicated that films like Slumdog Millionaire have been made due to good governance in the country, which the Congress believes it has created in its five-year rule along with a great atmosphere in the country. Now it seems as if the party is planning to cash in on such films and say it is because of them.
"I have said that on one hand you have an achieving India which includes Chandrayaan, the 123 Agreement and several other achievements. And in this climate of civility provided by the Government you have certain other achievements, not by the Government but of which every other Indian is proud of. Slumdog Millionaire is one of those achievements and as Indians, we are proud to revel in them. So it is nothing to do with the Government achieving the Oscar. There is nothing political about it," Singhvi stated.
The song and the children associating with Sonia Gandhi may just boost Congress’ image as a pro-poor party and then the party would get to tom-tom their National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, loan waiver to the farmers and RTI, thereby proving that they are a Government of the people – an ideal situation in election times.
To this Sudheerendra Kulkarni said, "I don’t think the Congress has exploited anything by using this song. But it is a very bad and bizarre choice as an election campaign matter. As far as Congress being pro-poor goes, then let me remind all that in Dharavi way back in 1985 – on the occasion of the Congress’ centenary session – the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi announced a Dharavi Development Project. Now it is 2009 and the condition of people in Dharavi has worsened."
Many experts have said that if Congress is so pro-poor then slums should not have been in the country in the first place. They also want to know how much of a difference will a song like Jai Ho make. Observers say 70 per cent of India’s voters belong to the rural sector and that these people may not be able to relate to a movie like Slumdog Millionaire at all.
"It may make a marginal difference," said Vinod Mehta stated.
"After the film won an Oscar everyone wanted a slice of the Oscar pie. Even the Marxists congratulated the film and its makers. Now it makes for a good photo opportunity for these children to go to Sonia Gandhi’s house. I don’t know who gave them the pictures of Sonia, but this photo op had a feel good factor. But I would not blame the Congress for trying such things. I remember Harold Wilson in the late ’60s was re-elected the prime minister of Britain because England won the World Cup," he said, hastily adding, "Though I don’t think something like that will happen here."
However, Mehta had reservations about the children campaigning for the Congress.
"I am not happy about the fact that the Congress will use these kids for campaigning. The Child Rights Commission may have something to say about all this. The children are underage and they should not be allowed to do these things," he said.
THE SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE METAPHOR
Widening the ambit of the debate, the panelists looked at the issue from the point of view of the Slumdog Millionaire metaphor.
The Congress has said that it put poverty alleviation at its core with its several schemes while the BJP focused on infrastructure, IT and India Shining. So it seems that the Congress does have an edge in this poverty-to-riches idea.
"To say that the Congress stands for urban poverty alleviation is putting facts on the head. Between 1981 and 2001 the urban slum population has more than doubled. So who is responsible for this? Of the 28 crore urban population, more than quarter don’t have sanitation. Instead of having kids from Dharavi to call on Sonia the party should have gone to the slum to see the condition of sanitation. Is this poverty alleviation?" Kulkarni wanted to know.
But observers on the subject feel that by adopting the Slumdog Millionaire mascot, the party may just run the risk of voters calling it another gimmick by the Congress.
"We getting Jai Ho seems like an accusation. The Congress is using legitimate means to campaign. Anybody else could have also bought the song. We are not into doing drama by visiting gymnasiums. We also don’t use cheap words and tactics like Narendra Modi and Varun Gandhi. We don’t use non-legitimate aids and also do not violate the moral code of conduct," Singhvi reasoned.
He then went on say that Kulkarni’s words on poverty alleviation are "laughable."
"Has India not had a huge middle class jump since the ’50s or even the ’70s or the ’80s. India has drastically reduced the number of people below the poverty line. I could turn the same statistics against Mr Kulkarni and point out 20 parameters in which there have been huge improvements. The glass is either half full or empty," Singhvi added.
Reacting to Singhvi’s statements, Kulkarni said, "The entire country said jai ho to musician A R Rahman, but it is another thing to expect people to say jai ho to Rahulji, Soniaji or the Congress. Let me remind my Congress friend that the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission has been best implemented in Gujarat which is run by Narendra Modi. The fastest slum eradication programme is also in Gujarat."
Once the exchange between the two men quieted down, the debate then moved on to whether the entire episode illustrates a certain bankruptcy of ideas since the Congress just picked up a slogan from a pop culture in order to find a winning slogan.
To this Mehta said, "It is only in India that a film winning an Oscar becomes the subject of a slanging match between the BJP and the Congress. But if some spin doctors in the Congress want to use this song then it is their business. Whether they succeed or fail we will get to know on May 16 but this should not become a match between two national parties."