Heart-Breaking tale of a gutsy SlumKing- exceptional

Rating: 8/10 (12 December 2008)

Slumdog Millionaire was one of the best movies of this year. Danny Boyle was extremely smart while selecting the cast, theme and music director for this film. It has the art aspect for the West to appreciate the slums of Mumbai, the poverty, corruption, sex all excellently handled. Then there is a love story which would appeal to all audiences around the world. Lastly to put a cherry on the cake there is amazing musical score by A.R Rehman whose talent South Asians absolutely salute If one thinks about the movie a few days after watching it, the story seems pretty customary; a poverty stricken boy from the slums of Mumbai manages to score twenty-million rupees on a television game show purely by case of luck. However what makes this movie exceptional is Danny Boyle's narration of "why" this boy manages to win the money, and "how"- By connecting pieces of his life together and finding the answers through introspection. He is a complicated character with disturbed relations with his brother, and a long lost love from the slums he is still searching for. In the end the movie leaves a lot of messages about youth, innocence, vulnerability, keeping your shoes in a bag and taking them inside the Taj Mahal to avoid theft, not trusting every mineral water bottle seal in restaurants etc. But the one that strikes out is the value of money, and how petty the whole charade is. This boy has no regrets about his life, in fact in their younger versions they show how living in the slums is also a lifestyle, and it doesn't mean people are unhappy if they live there. It's our way of thinking that luxuries are intrinsic to survival that makes their condition look pitiable. Moreover it also makes one realize that money is worth nothing without happiness, even if that happiness vests in one person, one object, or a relation. On the acting department, Dev Patel has done a great job. I was surprised to see him so nervous and slightly immature on his interviews especially with David Letterman, but since he's only eighteen, and just tasted the glamor I'll give him benefit of the doubt. Frieda Pinto does a good job as Latika, although my favorite version of Latika is when she is youngest and befriending baby Jamal. Pinto looks older than Jamal in the movie which she also is in real life. Madhur Mittal as Salim does a fantastic job and has a Mithun touch to his looks and acting. He is superb in his role. The main flaws in this movie are in Anil Kapoor's character. Hosts of such shows have been Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan and never have they made fun of a guest, mocked them openly and humiliated them. So I don't understand why Anil Kapoor's character was shown to be soo cocky. One other thing I did not like was how Latika had been made a complete prostitute/slut who if imagination may run wild would have slept with 50 people before finally meeting Jamal, and despite everything he treats her like they just met and nothing ever happened. With someone whose gone through soo much, himself and her included, things take a while to get to normal and settle. If she was as in love with him as he was why didn't she ever bother looking for him like he did? why did she go anywhere money called at her? Well these questions crossed my mind but may vary for everyone. Overall the flashbacks in the first half of the movie were superb. Hats off to the little actors who played their characters exceptionally well. The music made it all more entertaining and groping. There was no need for the dance sequence at the end, it almost ruined it. Maybe because none of the leads could dance, or maybe because it didn't do justice to bollywood dances which are superbly choreographed and extremely well performed. Overall, great movie, sort off artsy just believe the story and you won't be disappointed.