Danny Boyle has explained why he thinks there would be no chance of him making Slumdog Millionaire in present times.
The 2008 British drama made international stars out of Dev Patel and Freida Pinto while the movie itself was a box office hit and won an impressive eight Oscars - including Best Director for Boyle, 68.
But now the famed director has explained that he would be unable to make the hit film in today's politicised climate - and admits there are traces of 'colonialism' about his film.
He told The Guardian, "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."
Slumdog Millionaire was based on the 2005 novel Q&A by Indian novelist and diplomat Vikas Swarup, 63, and the movie was filmed in India.
Asked if his production amounted to 'colonialism', Boyle said, "Well, only in the sense that everything is. At the time it felt radical."
He explained, "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."
Insisting he is still proud of his work, the director added, "You wouldn't even contemplate doing something like that today. It wouldn't even get financed. Even if I was involved, I'd be looking for a young Indian film-maker to shoot it."
The 2008 British drama made international stars out of Dev Patel and Freida Pinto while the movie itself was a box office hit and won an impressive eight Oscars - including Best Director for Boyle, 68.
But now the famed director has explained that he would be unable to make the hit film in today's politicised climate - and admits there are traces of 'colonialism' about his film.
He told The Guardian, "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."
Slumdog Millionaire was based on the 2005 novel Q&A by Indian novelist and diplomat Vikas Swarup, 63, and the movie was filmed in India.
Asked if his production amounted to 'colonialism', Boyle said, "Well, only in the sense that everything is. At the time it felt radical."
He explained, "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."
Insisting he is still proud of his work, the director added, "You wouldn't even contemplate doing something like that today. It wouldn't even get financed. Even if I was involved, I'd be looking for a young Indian film-maker to shoot it."