The greatness of art does not lie in its esoteric form; it lies in its ability to reach out and communicate far and wide.

Art must aim to be inclusive; rather than exclusive. And there lies the success of Slumdog Millionaire; despite being dark and real, it is quite entertaining. Good background music, tight screenplay, fine balance of reality and fantasy and great performances.

Along with a great product; it is also great marketing. The sort of hype that has been generated for this film (sans any major star cast) has brought it to the league of big budget films in India.

In a lot of ways, the film is like the city it portrays – Mumbai – full of dirt and grime, yet teeming with enterprise. Crime infested to the core, yet resplendent with hope. A paradox in itself – very Mumbai (or can I call it Bombay one last time).

OK, coming back to why it is fantastic marketing. I think it’s the way Boyle has managed to position his work. He notched up nominations at the big league, and along the way, created a huge buzz for his content.

He realized that there is a bigger audience and decided to dub his film in Hindi and Tamil. The film got unprecedented media coverage (helped also by the Oscar nominations); and opened to packed houses across multiplexes in the country.

In short, a great application at zero (pre release hype), first (distribution) and second (use) moments of truth. Another example of some great, comprehensive marketing across consumer touch points.

Slumdog Millionaire has finally put India on the global map, as it swept away four Golden Globes, however our superstar SRK was supposed to be an important part of the flick, he was the original choice of director Danny Boyle to play the host of Who Wants to be the Millionaire show, which was later played by Anil Kapoor. However SRK does not regret missing out on the movie, he says, ” No. I know Danny felt bad about it. But he is such a good human being. And his love for India is something very special. After I saw the film, I thought Anil had done a fabulous job and deserves every bit of the success.” SRK even refused some biggies like Lagaan, Munnabhai and more recen 3 Idiots, ask him about it and he says, “There shouldn’t be any afterthought once a decision is made. Nobody could have done a better job than Sanjay Dutt in Munnabhai… Yes, I was keen to do Lagaan, but Ashutosh and I didn’t get a producer at that time. I wasn’t into production then. And I didn’t do 3 Idiots which Aamir is doing now. Looks like Aamir was destined to do both the roles. He is brilliant, no doubt. Everything isn’t made for me alone. God has given me enough, I’d better be happy and contented. “ Do you think SRK would have been better than Anil Kapoor in Slumdog Millionaire?