English director-producer Danny Boyle would not make Slumdog Millionaire (2008) today. In an interview with The Guardian, the filmmaker admitted that it probably wouldn’t even get financed and that he would look for a young Indian filmmaker to direct it instead. (Also Read: James Gunn opens up about his favourite DC project and it's not Superman)

Danny reflected on his hit film Slumdog Millionaire and said, “Yeah, we wouldn’t be able to make that now. And that’s how it should be. It’s time to reflect on all that. We have to look at the cultural baggage we carry and the mark that we’ve left on the world.”

When asked if the production ‘amounted to a form of colonialism’, Danny denied it and said, “Well, only in the sense that everything is. At the time, it felt radical. We made the decision that only a handful of us would go to Mumbai. We’d work with a big Indian crew and try to make a film within the culture. But you’re still an outsider. It’s still a flawed method. That kind of cultural appropriation might be sanctioned at certain times. But at other times, it cannot be.” 

Danny also claimed that he was ‘proud’ of the film but wouldn't contemplate making it today because it ‘wouldn't even get financed’. He also claimed that if he were to be involved in the project, he'd still look for a ‘young Indian filmmaker’ to direct it. 

Slumdog Millionaire is a loose adaptation of Vikas Swarup's book Q&A. The film tells the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) from the slums of Mumbai who participates in the game show Kaun Banega Crorepati, hosted by Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor), and wins it. He is interrogated by the police (Irrfan Khan), who wonder how he got all the answers correct. Freida Pinto played Latika, the girl Jamal loves. 

It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 2009 and won 8 of them. But in India, Slumdog Millionaire received polarising reviews, with criticism for the way it portrayed the country. 

After the 2019 film Yesterday, Danny took a five-year hiatus and returned with the post-apocalyptic 28 Years Later, which he directed and produced. It is running in theatres. 

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