Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Cast: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan
Director: Danny Boyle
Running Time: 120 mins
Slumdog Millionaire revolves around Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) a former street child from the slums of Dharavi who enters as a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire in the hope of finding his lifelong love Latika (Freida Pinto). After Jamal arrives at the final question of the show in hopes of winning the grand total of Rs.20 million show host Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor) is convinced that Jamal is cheating after which Jamal is taken into custody and tortured.
Jamal then explains to the police officers how he had known the answers for those questions drawing from particular experiences form his days growing up in the slums. Jamal also tries to free Latika from the clutches of a crime lord named Javed whom his brother Salim also works for.
The film has received plenty of plaudits and awards with four Golden Globes including the Best Picture award and ten Academy Award nominations out of which it is favourite to win the Film of the year award. The film is certainly gr ipping and intense portraying the darker side of India and some of its culture, not forgetting to add the typically western stereotype on poor Indians.
Forgetting the obvious questions like why does Jamal talk in Hindi when a boy and talk in perfectly sound English when he’s older despite not having received the slightest hint of education the film, is certainly a triumphant feel good type of melodrama that we haven’t seen in a very long time.
The film begins with an intense torture scene in which Jamal is being repeatedly asked about how he has cheated on the show.
Thereafter the film explodes with some remarkable directing from Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) in which he depicts the slums of India and the lives of Jamal and Salim growing up in the harsh surroundings amidst Hindu-Muslim tensions and increasing crime. The soundtrack should also be especially mentioned winning the Golden Globe for Best Original Score and earning the film three Academy Award Nominations.
However, having said all that, the film loses some of its intensity towards the end of the film transforming itself into a glorified sop story. The film is certainly a must-see for all and is one of my favourites for the yea,r but is in no way as big as the hype created around it.
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