The critical and commercial success of the film “Slumdog Millionaire” led to more tourists going to the slum areas of Mumbai, India and seeing first-hand the situation of the people living there.

The movie, which is nominated for ten Oscars including Best Picture, tackles a poor orphan’s success on India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” The actors themselves live in slum areas in Mumbai.

The residents of Dharavi, one of the poorest and most populated slum neighborhoods, noticed an increase of visitors from other countries – averaging ten to twenty tourists a day on guided tours.

The one benefiting from this is Reality Tours and Travel, who estimated an increase of visitors after the release of the film. The film’s publicity helped advertise the place for tourists.

Despite this, several groups have criticized this phenomenon, stating that “poverty porn” is being marketed here. However, Reality Tours founder Chris Way said dismissed the accusations, saying that about 80 percent of profits after-tax are being donated to local charity groups.

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