MUMBAI SLUMS INSPIRE B-BOYS + SCRIPT

Open the following link to watch the video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obVQPeL6_y0

SCRIPT

Mumbai slums inspire b-boys - video

At home, his family call him Pankaj, but to his friends, he’s B-boy Sin. The 18-year-old student is passionate about American Hip Hop and breakdance. He dances whenever he can, but it’s not easy in his cramped house in Mumbai’s most crowded slum. Several times a week he heads into the city to find a better space. "My house is very small and I don’t have much room to practice there so I come up here. And this is where my friends are too and we can practice together." His dance crew meets at the ruins of this old hilltop fort to show off their routines. They call themselves the SlumGods. Unlike the famous movie Slumdog Millionaire, these break-boys or b-boys want to show there’s more to slum life than poverty and a desire to escape.

Akku , founder of SlumGods breakdancing crew : "Before we started to teach them breaking, some of the boys used to drink, get into fights and steal. But now, they are totally committed to breaking." The crew boasts dozens of core members from shantytowns across Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore. For many it’s more than just a hobby but a chance to compete for cash and glory in competitions and even Bollywood films.

Ashish Kanoujiya , professional breakdancer and dance competition judge : "The boys from the slums work very hard and we can see how much they practice to improve. Some might say ‘oh, they’re from the slums’, but for us b-boys, it really doesn’t matter at all." India's slums are a long way from the ghettos of The Bronx where breakdancing was born in the 1970s. But like their American counterparts, for these Indian youngsters it's a cheap and funky form of exercise and fun -- and a break away from the pressures of daily life.

Additional notes:

Breakdancing is a way for Indian youngsters to earn money and fame, to move up the social ladder.

They call themselves “slumgods rather than slumdogs because they are proud of (they take pride in) who they are.

People are prejudiced against youths from the slums. They look down on them (they despise them)