a counterfeit feel-good movie

Rating: 4/10 (25 November 2008)

This is far from a great film. Aside from being largely incoherent, it's just hard to fathom why this movie was made. It's more or less an Indian version of "Quiz Show" directed by an English guy. This strikes me as the kind of film that people who claim to be "worldly" will say is the "BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR OMG IT'S GREAT".
I'm not against making modern fairy tales, but my major qualm with this film is setting a fairy tale against the backdrop of a capitalistic, Western game show, transplanted in India where they have their own rich culture that should be celebrated. This whole movie is centered around the idea that money is power, yet Boyle tries to disguise this with an over-the-top love story. It just reeks of bullsh*t.
I'd rather watch a straight up Bollywood musical than this drivel. No thank you.