"City of God" with less blood

Rating: 9/10 (4 December 2008)

This is a story set in the slums of Mumbai, about two orphaned brothers who grow up on the streets. Like "City of God" (set in the slums of Rio De Janeiro), one of the boys is good (Jamal) and one is bad (Salim). They both love the same woman (Latika). Each brother watches out for each other as they grow up, but it's clear that Salim is a ruthlessly violent character.
The story begins with Jamal playing for the top prize on an Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionairre". Before he can play for the top prize, the show ends & he is asked to return the following day to finish the game. However, the game show host suspects the boy is cheating & has the police take him away for questioning. The police brutally interrogate Jamal, but he does not break down & confess, but, re-counts his upbringing on the Mumbai streets to show how he was able to gather the knowledge to correctly answer the questions on the show. In the process, the story of his life unfolds.
This is an excellent movie. While it is clearly an Indian cast and setting, the language is English. It's a very clever fusion of Hollywood & Bollywood. The cinematography was stunning, the music was great, the characters very engaging, the plot was excellent, with an ending that tied up everything beautifully.
I highly recommend this movie.