Winner of numerous awards and the epicenter of multiple controversies, Danny Boyle's 2008 film, Slumdog Millionaire, has fueled numerous debates regarding its depictions of India and the slum, its references to Bollywood, its global circulation and success, and its reception by critics and audiences alike. This edited collection proposes to compile a selection of essays addressing the multiple aspects of Slumdog Millionaire, including but not limited to the following themes:
1. Slumdog's aesthetics and its representations of poverty
2. The use of allegory in Slumdog
3. Slumdog's connections to Bollywood
4. Slumdog's stars and child actors
5. The global success of Slumdog
6. Indian responses and reactions to Slumdog
7. Slumdog's game-show narrative
8. Slumdog synergy
9. Literary Slumdogs
10. Slumdog's soundtrack

Particular topics of interest include: Bollywood's reactions to the Slumdog phenomenon, e.g., Farah Khan's "Tees Maar Khan" (2010); the subsequent launching of its actors' careers in Hollywood and Western media, e.g., those of Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, and Irrfan Khan; the A.R. Rahman "Jai Ho" world tour, as well as Rahman's soundtrack for the film; connections between the film and related works of literature, e.g., Vikas Swarup's Q&A, Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger.

Essays should generally be in the range of 10-20 pages in length. A major publisher has already expressed interest in this collection and the book proposal process is underway. If you are interested in submitting an essay for consideration in this collection, please send a 300-word abstract by June 15 to Dr. Ajay Gehlawat at gehlawat@sonoma.edu. Once all abstracts have been reviewed, individual authors whose essays seem most relevant to this collection will be contacted. Completed essays will be due by September 15, 2011. Please contact Dr. Gehlawat at gehlawat@sonoma.edu for general questions or additional details.