What's that scene where he calls a guy "Slumdog Millionaire"?

November 25, 2014 2:10 PM

Trying to remember this scene: There's some TV show or movie where a white person says, "Hey, you, Slumdog Millionaire!" to address an Indian man whose name he should know but can't remember. Or maybe he's talking to his colleague and says, "Ugh, you know, Slumdog Millionaire in the accounting department." Does anyone remember what this is from?
posted by lizzicide to Media & Arts (19 answers total)

If I had to guess, I try a Harold and Kumar movie.
posted by Obscure Reference at 2:12 PM on November 25, 2014

In the pilot episode of Community, Troy calls Abed "Slumdog Millionaire". Not sure if that's what you're thinking about -- you asked about a white person and Troy is black.
posted by Banknote of the year at 2:13 PM on November 25, 2014 [4 favorites]

I think this might've been The Newsroom. If it helps, I only saw about the first half of the first season.
posted by kagredon at 2:13 PM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]

Big Bang Theory!
posted by Sassyfras at 2:16 PM on November 25, 2014

Best answer: In the movie "Bad Words," Jason Bateman calls the little kid "Slumdog." Probably not what you're looking for, though?
posted by rabbitroom at 2:17 PM on November 25, 2014 [2 favorites]

scroll down for connections/references in quite a few shows.
posted by Sassyfras at 2:18 PM on November 25, 2014

I feel like it was also a joke in an early episode of Silicon Valley.
posted by Mchelly at 2:19 PM on November 25, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: It's entirely possible that I'm thinking of Community! I don't specifically remember the character as being white - I should have instead said that a non-Indian character said the line.

See, I was wondering if Newsroom might be it, but I couldn't find any proof of it online - And I sort of doubt it because The Newsroom's Neal Sampat is played by the actual actor from Slumdog, which would be too weird. But McAvoy does frequently misremember Neal's name, if I recall correctly. If someone could confirm this, that'd be great.

I did find it in the (NSFW language) red band trailer for Bad Words, and that sounds familiar enough that I think I was just misremembering the context of the scene. Thanks, rabbitroom!
posted by lizzicide at 2:20 PM on November 25, 2014

If it helps, there is another episode of Community where Chang says (in regards to Jeff & Abed) "Whoa, looks like the law firm of Seacrest and Slumdog’s takin' the day off." (Season 1 Ep. 16)

When I read your question I felt like I knew exactly what you were talking about but then couldn't find it! Still wrinkling my brain.
posted by majesty_snowbird at 2:25 PM on November 25, 2014

There's a scene in Community where Chang does this.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 2:29 PM on November 25, 2014

Best answer: See, I was wondering if Newsroom might be it, but I couldn't find any proof of it online

Season 2, episode 5 of the Newsroom. Olivia Munn's character yells "Yo, Slumdog" at Dev Patel.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 2:34 PM on November 25, 2014 [4 favorites]

I happened to watch the trailer for the French comedy Hollywoo last night, and the main character (a woman) calls a presumably Indian man Slumdog Millionaire.
posted by ocherdraco at 2:40 PM on November 25, 2014

In the Live Show episode of 30 Rock, Liz Lemon calls Jack's assistant Jonathan "chai boy " and tells him, "You'll never be a millionaire!".
posted by embrangled at 4:16 PM on November 25, 2014

There was an episode of Always Sunny where M. Night Shyamalan is filming a movie, and the gang use the phrase a few times.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 1:01 AM on November 26, 2014

I think there is also a scene like this in Parks and Rec. Can't remember the specific context/episode though.
posted by catatethebird at 7:22 AM on November 26, 2014

Kenny Powers calls a kid 'Slumdog' in the water-park episode of Eastbound and Down.
posted by box at 8:58 AM on November 26, 2014

I think this was something David Spade's character called Adhir Kalyan's character in the show "Rules of Engagement".
posted by reenum at 7:49 PM on November 26, 2014

I'd put my money on Parks and Rec. I can't remember anything from the show, but I definitely recall Aziz Ansari making a similar joke in his stand-up (perhaps on Conan?).
posted by alon at 7:08 AM on November 27, 2014

I remember this happening on 30 Rock. A Google search for "30 rock slumdog millionaire" turns up a clip, though I don't have video access now to check it.
posted by dfan at 11:02 AM on November 28, 2014