A one bed-room condo unit!
If Jamal Malik, the lead protagonist in "Slumdog Millionaire" will use all the 20 million rupee grand prize to buy a flat in Mumbai, then he can only buy around 45 square meters, good enough for a one-bed room condominium unit.
Residential apartment prices in Mumbai range from INR400,000 to INR630,000 per sq. m. Using today's exchange range, that is about PhP386,222 - PhP608,300 or US$8,170 - US$12,870. That is very expensive. Imagine this, converted to peso Jamal's prize is around 19.3 million Philippine pesos, with that money you can definitely afford a 3BR luxury unit in Rockwell, Makati or Fort Bonifacio.
Mumbai's formal residential market is so expensive, it is among the top ten most expensive real estate markets in the world. The other cities in the top 10 are glitzy, economic and financial centers such as Monaco, Moscow, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York, London, Paris, Singapore and Rome.
Mumbai is probably the only country in the world where your multi-million dollar condominium is right next a slum area. Dharavi, the slum in 'Slumdog' where Jamil grew and lives, is home to more than one million people. It is one of the biggest urban slums in the world. The ridiculously expensive properties in Mumbai are due to several factors including archaic laws, inefficient land registration systems, lack of planning, lack of infrastructure, bureaucratic inefficiency and corruption, overpopulation and very rapid urbanization.
Slumdog Millionaire portrays India and Mumbai at a very bad light. Aside from showing elements of extreme poverty and inequality, it also shows hero worship of celebrities, child labor, child abuse, child exploitation, religious conflict, petty crime, grand crime, gangsterism, beggar syndicates, police brutality, torture, human rights abuse, corruption, prostitution, and discrimination based on work (and caste). It shows the triumph of the human spirit (and love) over these challenges. (There is also Bollywood dancing during credits.)
This movie will also make you think again before visiting India... Incredible India as their tourism campaign claims. It shows tourists victimized, robbed and swindled. People visiting Taj Mahal may likely think twice before leaving their shoes or slippers outside the temple.
Anyway, the move is great and is highly recommended. It is a documentary masquerading as a love story. It also explains why game shows are very popular in the Philippines and other developing countries.
Most Filipinos can probably relate to it. I can actually imagine a Filipino version of it... how about... Ang Haciendero ng Payatas.
haha, papanoorin ko plang sana. your post make the movie seem more interesting despite the sarcasm. totoo bang ni-rerecommend mo yan?? :P
ReplyDeletemmaya mya nga. ;))
Yes, it is really very good. pam- Best Picture talaga.
ReplyDeleteSPECIAL THANKS to the Global Property Guide YIELDS TEAM for the house price figures!!!
ReplyDeleteThree thumbs up to this movie. Good storyline but can just imagine how the residents think about the movie with their extreme poverty exposed to the world!
ReplyDeletehey prinz! I liked the movie too! napansin mo ba kamukha ni christopher de leon yung host ng game show???hahaha ako lang ata tawa ng tawa sa sine kasi ako lang ang from a third world country.:-/
ReplyDelete"It is a documentary masquerading as a love story"
ReplyDeleteIndeed. love it. have to agree with your other points, but i dunno why, but i keep thinking that it's a story that can be set here in the Philippines as well. The slums, the corruption, the gangs, the syndicates pretty resemble what we have here. Sad.