Slumdog Millionaire Author To Work In Japan

[Mulboyne]

[floatr][/floatr]The Yomiuri has an interview with Vikas Swarup who wrote the book "Q&A" upon which the film "Slumdog Millionaire" was based. Swarup works for India's foreign service and reveals that he has been appointed consul general of India in Osaka. He will take up the post in summer and is set for a three year stay. He's in Tokyo right now because the film is released this weekend and his publisher, Kodansha, wanted him in town. While his book has been renamed "Slumdog Millionaire" in many markets - which he is not entirely happy about - it is called "Boku to 1 Rupee no Kami-sama" in Japan so Kodansha want him around to help make the connection explicit. While an April opening for the Oscar-winning film may seem especially tardy even by the standards of Japan's delayed release schedule, there are some mitigating circumstances. It was initially regarded as a low-budget art house film in the US and only had a limited release. As word-of-mouth began to build, a wider release began in late January but it was only the Oscar win at the end of February that put it firmly on the radar for Japan. The release date has been scheduled to capitalize on the Golden Week audience so expect some heavy TV coverage next week. SMAPxSMAP will feature the film on Monday.