Meet Your Destiny

Rating: 8/10 (26 November 2016)

Released in 2008 and directed by Danny Boyle & Loveleen Tandan, "Slumdog Millionaire" is a drama/adventure about two orphaned brothers & a girl growing up in the slums of Mumbai, India. The story is framed through the television show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Where one of the brothers, Jamal (Dev Patel), is a contestant. Madhur Mittal appears as Jamal's brother, Salim, who resorts to crime while Freida Pinto plays, Latika, the girl Jamal loves.
If you're not used to the horrors of overpopulation and poverty in modern India you're in for a culture shock as this movie shows India in all its glory and shame. A friend of mine lives in Hyderabad and he regularly sends me pics of orphaned kids living on garbage, etc., just like in the movie; of course he does his small part to try to save them.
The big question of the film is: How does Jamal, a teen who grew up in one of the worst slums on earth, possibly know the answers to the questions on the TV show? The charismatic-but-somewhat-sinister host (Anil Kapoor) thinks it's dubious, so he delivers Jamal over to a detective (Irrfan Khan) and his cronies (Saurabh Shukla) to find out how he's cheating. If Jamal's not cheating then how does he know the answers? The movie shows you.
This is a hip, kinetic film with a potent message that you might not fully grasp upon your first viewing. Pay close attention to the interrogation & conclusions of the detective. Notice Jamal's integrity, persevering faith and idealist love for Latika. Faith, hope and love conquer all.
The film runs 120 minutes and was shot in Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh, India.
GRADE: A-