'Slumdog' was my first movie, and I had never been to India before - I was just a teenager in the U.K. with my headphones and my Nike shoes. What did I know about growing up in a slum?
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I think 'Slumdog' was probably the first big film that happened in India, but even that seemed like a one-off thing.
The film 'Slumdog Millionaire' portrays the spirit you feel in India. For those who haven't been there, the film says it all.
Part of me wonders what it would have been like to have had my first experience of India in a normal way, rather than through the eyes of a film.
Ironically, I grew up watching Indian movies as a kid in Russia. I am quite familiar with Bollywood. I grew up watching 'Disco Dancer;' I watched it some 20 times as a kid.
I grew up in a semi-slum area in Gavipuram, Guttahalli.
I've spent months living in Africa and India. So it's not like I was sheltered when I started living in America. But my family laughed when they heard I was going to be in 'Transformers.' I learned a lot and got to experience Michael Bay's mayhem. It was a very colorful experience.
When I was 16, I made some little 35mm documentaries about the poor in London. I went round Notting Hill, which was a real slum in the 1950s, shooting film.
When I was 17, I went to India for six weeks and had what, at the time, was a very challenging trip. You walk down the street and you see lepers and beggars, and there were several of us, a group of Americans. I remember we were just trying to park one night somewhere and people were just sleeping in the parking lot.
Movies are a big part of our Indian culture.
I was only 16 when I was selected for 'Madrasapattinam.' I celebrated my 17th birthday on the set of the film. That was the first time I had travelled to India, and it was a rollercoaster ride. I soon fell in love with the country.
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