Shahrukh slams Slumdog Millionaire critics

Mumbai (ANI): Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan, slamming critics of Oscar nominated Slumdog Millionaire has said that the film presents to the world a 'visually appealing' India. Khan said that there is no reason for people to become cynical if a film made on Indian uniqueness has made a mark in the world.

"I think it's really nice that it will open doors for people to understand that there is a lot of visual appeal to India. I hear a lot of people saying that India has been shown in bad light. But then my logic to everyone is that why is it that somebody comes from outside and makes a film like Gandhi and Slumdog. It becomes internally acceptable. All we can say about it is that it is showing India in a poor light," said Khan while speaking to reporters here last evening.

He added that the music of Slumdog Millionaire is a hit across the globe and that he does not regret declining Anil Kapoor's role in the film.Incidentally, the film in which Kapoor played the role of a cynical quiz master was shot when Khan was already hosting 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' (KBC).

Many critics including Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan have said that British filmmaker Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, a hard-hitting but exuberant tale of life in a Mumbai slum, is being lauded because it has a Westerner at the helm.

The movie's international success has been tempered by objections in India to the name, which some slum dwellers find offensive, its depiction of the lives of impoverished Indians and the treatment of the cast. Its director, Danny Boyle, has faced accusations from some parts of the Indian media that his film was 'poverty porn'. Boyle has said he was trying to capture Mumbai's 'lust for life'.

Dozens of residents of Mumbai where Slumdog Millionaire was partly shot have staged protests hurling insults and hitting pictures of its cast and crew with slippers. Slum residents of other Indian states have also staged similar protests.

The low budget film, which has scooped several international awards including the BAFTA film awards on Sunday, triumphed at the Golden Globes last month with four honours including best drama and won ten Oscar nominations.

Shahrukh Khan also took the opportunity to slam the self-styled 'moral policing' elements who object to open display in public of affection on Valentine's Day. "We should see Valentine's as a day of friendship and love and not as a western culture attack on the Indian culture. I would say all youngsters should give roses to all the people they love in a good way," said Khan.

The Bollywood heartthrob, who had called for a news conference to clear the controversy surrounding his forthcoming film, Billu Barber against which hairdressers had raised objections to the word 'barber' terming it as 'derogatory', said that he has read the original book as well as the script and really liked the film.