A taste of bollywood...

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2008)

The first thing I want to mention is that I'm an Indian, an average Indian moviegoer. I never felt the need to mention this in any of my previous reviews. But, this is very important here as the opinion about the movie seems to change drastically depending on your perspective. I have been reading raving reviews about the movie from all over the world and the movie itself is bagging several acclaimed international awards. But for me, it is a "typical Bollywood movie". No doubt it is a good movie, excelling both in the acting and technical departments, but typical bollywood. This is exactly the language used by an average bollywood filmmaker. A boy meets girl, falls in love, gets separated, in between some bad guys, drama added and finally they reunite. This is Slumdog Millionaire. As an Indian, I'm very happy that this movie won so many plaudits. That means people all over the world are understanding the language of bollywood. But at the same time it makes me sad that many Indian movies that are many many notches above slumdog not even got close to the recognition this movie got. May be because the dialog is in English. It was annoying for me to listen Mumbai dwellers talking in English. But I think non-Indian audience will not feel a thing or may even feel more connected to the characters in English, in the same way as me preferring a French or German movie with English dialog than in native language. Or may be because the story was told by a British director. The language is bollywood but the accent British. Whatever may be the reason, slumdog's success is good news to Indian cinema. But, if you keep the Indian aspect aside, as a movie, I don't see slomdog as anything superlative. It is "a simple love story told in the language of bollywood with English dialog". Good job by Danny Boyle to cut the crap and retain the essence of bollywood story telling. Music and background score by Rahman is fabulous. Performances by Dev Patel, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto and the whole cast are well up to the mark. Special mention of childhood Jamal and Salim is necessary as they excel. And cinematography by Dod Mantle captures the essence of Mumbai slums which is the canvas on which the whole movie is painted. But all said and done, the movie dose not have the soul to take it to the next level. It is an average film which is well executed. For showing the world a new language of story telling, Slumdog may be a nomination worthy movie but not win worthy. Again, this is the perspective of an average Indian movie goer who has seen much complex and compelling stories told in the same language. So, for the viewers around the world, enjoy a taste of bollywood but remember we have much more delicious flavors. Indian viewers, have a glimpse of a bollywood film from a foreign director. All in all, Slumdog surely is a worthy watch for everyone.