Dog's Bite better than Tiger's

You never get what you expect. This is the unwritten rule for anyone watching a movie or reading a book after getting the reviews of other people on it. This rule did prove to be true in two instances in my recent past.
I read the booker prize winning novel "The White Tiger" after listening to great reviews on its wonderful portrayal of what the critics called as "the stark reality in India". I did not of course expect a catalogue of the "glorious shining India" in the book, but what met the eyes was an overdone exaggeration of the darker side of our country. I do not deny certain facts in the book, like poverty and illiteracy prevailing in many parts of the nation but the portrayal of these was gory. I do not believe, for instance, in the women clawing at the men for their meagre earnings and feeding the cow before feeding the men. And the servant community is shown in such a poor light. This is the India of the 21st century and I see the chauffeurs, cooks and housemaids being given respect and proper rights and independence. The master community is shown to be perpetrating slavery of the worst kind. Mr. Adiga's exhibition, be it of the Dark or the Lit face of India, is in poor taste. In fact, the very theme of his book is against the Indian culture wherein a family, despite many an internal strife, tries to present a pleasant face to a visiting guest, to make his stay enjoyable. We do not write a letter to a visitor, prior to his visit, telling him that this is wrong and that is bad in our family. We know that each family has its own problems for there would be no excitement or interest in life without those. The same applies to Mr. Adiga's theme of a visiting foreigner with a populous country full of problems. It is simply not in the Indian tradition to give away our family ( Our Nation ) to an alien whose family ( nation ) is no better than ours.
Then, came the Golden-Globe winning, Oscar-nominated "Slum Dog Millionaire".
Here I had heard too many rave reviews on it and watched the movie, expecting a picturisation of "The White Tiger". But this movie, in my opinion, was mild; milder than what I had expected. The symptoms of boiling blood showed up a little in the scene where a lady "shows the True America" by gifting a 100 dollar bill even while she had not yet recovered from the shock of having the tyres of her car stolen. Well, their country is no better than ours and even worse things can happen there, for, with their so-called "sophisticated techniques" they could have stolen an entire car, before the blink of an eye, in America. And to think that America with its unhealthy culture should be shown in a good light on comparison with our ethical Motherland!! Not only America, but every country has thieving rogues, who are driven to do what they do, because of their poverty. So that particular portrayal would have truly hurt any Indian who might have liked the rest of the movie.
Barring that unpleasant scene, the rest of the movie was not intolerable. I will frankly accept that all those kinds of people portrayed- kidnappers, pimps, drug peddlers, common thieves, underground goons- exist in India. Nothing was exaggerated.
The actors have mostly done justice to their roles and Rahman's music is undeniably good. Still, a nagging persists in my mind that his "Vande Mataram" was a tad better than "Jai Ho".
Reality sans exaggeration is very difficult to portray as the thin border line is almost negligible and the story-writer himself is unaware of crossing it, if he does. The Englishman Danny Boyle has proved to be better than the Indian Aravind Adiga in portraying India, without as much exaggeration. A proud moment for the nation! :-/