Slumdog turned into Anoopdog
Is it a coincidence that I saw Slumdog Millionaire last night (review coming soon) and today morning I turn on the television to watch American Idol Season 8. Frankly, I do not understand western music. I am not into rock or western classical music of any sort. So, it is difficult for me to judge if a singer is good or bad. They all sound the same, unless they are totally off-key.
Coming back to the point, Anoop Desai is the only guy from Indian origin to have made it to the top 36 of American Idol Season 8. He is a calm and composed guy and the judges love him.
I am not sure what kind of effect slumdog millionaire had on Indians and the rest of the world, but I did not find it amusing at all when Ryan Seacrest, the host of this show, actually referred to Anoop as Anoopdog!! 
Is that funny? NO!
We Indians are aware of the economic situation in India and the kind of lives people in our slums live. Yes, the lives of some of us are bad enough to be better than that of even a dog. But, things have come a long way ever since we became an independent country and we are positive things will improve! They will. They have to. With brains and attitude like ours, we can not be far behind!
But, labeling a fellow Indian as a dog!????
Mr. Ryan, you certainly have a lot of explaining to do. Apparently, it was Anoop who decided to call himself that!! Well what more can I say to that! Looks like its fashionable to be called “dawwwg”!!! Hmmmpffffff
I agree with that statement of yours that we have come a long way and who is he to call us names….but probably we also need to have a deeper look at ourselves…. Even now atleast half the graduates coming out of India dream of going into US somehow, even now anything crap Indian movie/hero/music/figure associated with Oscar suddenly becomes a craze …I heard AR Rehman’s music in SDM yesterday and it was good but certainly not his best compilations ….still we are raving about AR Rehman now because he can be among the few Indians to have got an oscar…why this fascination of being recognized by the west to know that who’s the best … hell with them I love each and every bollywood movie….i can make fun of it because of its lack of content, script maybe even logic but we sure are the biggest film industry in the world, with actors far more superior than the west and I sure don’t need an oscar to tell me that Amitabh is/was/will be the best the world has ever produced
I agree with you dear..but do also make a note of the fact it is us who are responsible for this situation of ours… That guy had called anoop as anoopdog but did you hear even him saying,”hey, tat’s not funny!”..we need to stand up ourselves to make sure no1 gets away that easy..sometimes, many of us are shy and hesitant..so we don’t stand up and give away easily. But its time we learn..if you want to make sure no1 messes with you, stand up and make it clear. It’s not bad when foreigners say derogatory stuff..wat is worse is when we just accept it..
I completely agree with Snehee. That is 2nd question we are
Indian or African. First is question of individualism. I as individual should be called ‘dog’ or not. Even if you are living a life of ‘dog’ and contesting for competition like this is it write just for TRP or racism sake we do such stunts.
Looking at current market condition actually they should look at their lives first than other part of the world.
A guy who is second generation of Indian migrant might not feel the Indian Patriotism as hearty as one born and brought up in India. But I think his American up bringing only stopped him to stand for himself.
There is a famous rapper here in America named Snoop Dogg, so maybe he’s playing off how close Anoop sounds to Snoop. Ryan Seacrest is not smart enough to make the connection to Slumdog Millionaire.
Also, the tryouts were taped 8 months before they aired (they did a tryout in my town in like April or May and it aired earlier this month), so that might have been taped before anyone in America had even heard of Slumdog.
I’m assuming today was the first time you’ve seen this season, or else you would’ve known that it was Anoop HIMSELF who came up with the term “Anoop Dog.” He did so during his very first audition.
http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2009/02/american-idol-audition-of-the-day-anoop-desai/
One of the judges is notorious for calling everyone “dawg” (also spelled dog or dogg) because it’s considered a “hip” slang term for the word friend, so that’s how Anoop came up with it. So when anyone else says it, it’s not LITERALLY calling him a dog, and it’s not intentionally meant to be an insult.
I agree with Ron here, it seems to have been inspired from Snoop Dogg (Remember, Singh is Kinng remix version from that crappy movie? ) rather than slumdog.
this comment will be posted with name ‘Nishit Desai’ , not ‘Nishit’
It isn’t funny at all
the problem with u Indians is that for fame we accept anything…sigh!!!
Even last year there was an Indian who had reached to the last few rounds of American Idol…
I agree with Ron. Snoop Dogg probably was the inspiration. Though I also agree with Noobie. We as a nation have this morbid fascination to the west. I also don’t really understand one other thing. People forget achievers in this nation and go ga-ga over others of Indian origin. One must really wake up and understand that they don’t want to be Indians and are not. They have a brown skin, and probably have parents/ grandparents who at time were in India. Some point of time, they probably were ashamed of being labelled “of Indian origin” or “brown” as the case is most of the time. If they accept all the credits given here, it is probably because they are being polite or trying to not be rude in the international media.
Agree with you, Nova…. We have really come a long way from what we were in 1950s…
First, for me the movie represents lots of masala…so why take it to heart?
The only derogatory scene I felt was of the American Couple who say “we will show you what real America is like….” That I felt was a lil over the top…However…it’s all just a movie !
We too show the British in negative hues..and keep harping about what sorts of atyachaar they had been doing on Indians before and even after Independence…Even Americans for that matter are shown as a drug and sex addicted society…So again..what’s the big deal?
Second, I feel many Indians have taken offense coz a lot of what has been shown is True ! Though the middle class has arrived – we still are a developing country..a lot of our villages are still w/o water, electricity and roads…
Also, like Noobie said – we are still a “west” crazy society…
Unless we wake up and DO something rather than just sitting in our plush homes/offices…things would take ages to change…and we shall keep feeling bad about what the world thinks about India and Indians…
Third, I actually think that this is a way for the West to get back at us…we having taken away sooo many of their jobs…Maybe they want to get even by just showing what a Freaking Society we really are…and not some Intelligent, educated, s/w coders country…:)
“Slumdog” is a colloquial term for underdog. I dont think if anyone is called an underdog, he/she would be offended. The movie is called Slumdog as the hero is from a Slum and not expected to win (underdog) Who wants to be a millionaire.
Similarly, Anoop Desai is the only Indian to reach in Top 36 in American Idol 8 and the judge probably felt that he is an underdog too. Since he is not from a slum, he reffered to him as Anoopdog.
So there was nothing offensive in the comment.
I guess it is a weird co-incidence.. but it is too weird to be digested.
Was browsing google to check anything about Anoop and stumbled with this site. Was surprised to see Slumdog and Anoopdog in the same page though. Just watched Slumdog Millionaire yesterday. Really nice movie. I’m a Filipina, worked for a call center, and see poverty in my own country everyday. Yeah…could relate to all the comments here… As for Anoop…nah…really wish he wins…love him since I watched his audition for AI8.!!!!
I am going to say something that might seem Weird and controversial.. People in the US treat their Dogs like their children(except of course when it comes to putting it down when it gets really sick), so well, maybe “Dog” in their world doesnt necessarily mean insult.
I agree with comments – We Indians do accept anything just for the FAME(at least it seems so most times). We do seem like a west crazy society, especially when we take on things that are totally mismatched with what is relevant to our lives in India and what we are. On the other hand lets also be fair and ask- what could second generation Indians who have settled outside do? Especially when their attitudes and mentality doesnt match up with the Indians in India or the West they live in. I think we should take what we see within the context and circumstances that the person is in.
Yea, the name AnoopDogg hasn’t been derived from Slumdog Millionaire…he kept the name for himself coz he has more of an RnB influence in his music…and the word ‘dawg’ is a commonly used way to address a person to another in tht culture…
Also Anoop is not the only Indian originated singer to have made it into the Top 36 or even into the final 12 for that matter…
Check out Sanjaya Malakar from season 6…he made to the top 7….he wasnt as popular as Anoop though…
Nice blog btw