Theater

Slumprov Millionaire

American Indian

by Charles Mudede

It's a strange place to see it, but it certainly is there in this improvised comedy: the truth about Slumdog Millionaire. The movie concerns a young Mumbai slumdweller who enters a game show—not to win money, but to be seen on the popular program by the love of his life. Based on the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup, Slumdog Millionaire presents us with a story that seems Indian, but in fact is something else. The story is as American as you can get. This truth is revealed by the ease with which Quiet Monkey Fight adapts the narrative for improv.

As in the movie, Slumprov stars a contestant in a game show who must answer questions to win a big prize. Between answering these questions, we see important episodes from his life, each leading up to a question from the quiz show. The improvisers input random information into this structure (names, events, desires and goals), and the rest is a piece of cake. It's funny to see just how easy it is to run all of these random elements through the transparent structure of the story. And this is what makes it so American. Like the hamburger or Coca-Cola, the plot has no cultural friction or obstacles. It is empty, smooth, and universal. As you can open a McDonald's anywhere in the world, you can set this plot into motion in any cultural context.

When the announcer asked me for my mother's maiden name (he wanted to use it for the main character's surname), I hesitated because it's Marangwanda. Fearing the cultural friction it would cause, I gave him instead her first name, a standard Tracy. I regret that now. I was being a coward.