Blog Topic #4

I am currently watching the movie, Slumdog Millionaire. The movie focuses on how a uneducated "slumdog" is able to answer the most difficult questions on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" When I was about 8 years old, I thought "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" was one of the coolest shows ever and really wanted to be on it. It never occurred to me that it was a popular game show in many countries. It started in the UK which is not really that interesting. Still, it is a huge surprise for me that India has a variant of the show, considering that 80% of India lives on less than $2 a day. This inspired me to find out what countries have a variation of "Millionaire" with a focus on South Asia.

 The previous image is the Logo for the Sri Lankan version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_variants_in_Who_Wants_to_Be_a_Millionaire%3F
The previous link is a Wikipedia page that shows what countries have/had a variation of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" It also shows the title of the show, the amount of prize money, and years aired. The list has over eighty variations of "Millionaire" on it, but I would like to focus on South Asia. Pakistan had a run of the show from 2003-2004. India has aired the show since 2000, and Sri Lanka recently started one this past September. Bangladesh is beginning to air the show this month.
The amount of money given by each show really stands out to me. The Pakistani show gave 10,000,000 Pakistani rupees. One US dollar exchanges for 85.5 Pakistani rupees. Winning on this show would earn you about $117,000 in America. Sri Lankan "Millionaire" gives 2,000,000 Sri Lankan rupees which translates to about $18,000. Now finally, the variation of the game from the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" which is a real game offers 20,000,000 rupees which is $440,000 in America.
 The amount of money given away by show variations previously mentioned give a great idea of what life is like in South Asia. A lot of money for people in those countries barely compares to a lot of money here in America. They live in slums and are able to survive on much less than we could ever imagine. It is great that they are able to have the chance to win a fortune. However, a movie like "Slumdog Millionaire" makes you wonder if all citizens get that opportunity.