A Good Film By Danny Boyle - Worth Watching.

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2008)

Not really knowing what this was all about except that it was filmed entirely in Mumbai, India and that it had a Bollywood Actor in it, I was totally surprised with it content.
A Indian teenager, who lived in the slums in Mumbai (previously known as "Bombay") and works in a call centre as a servant, goes on to the famous game show, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," known in Hindi as "Kaun Banega Crorepati," which was initially hosted by superstar Amitabh Bachchan when it started in India and then later by an equally superstar, Shahrukh Khan, in the hope of winning his girl, who he has known since his childhood days.
The movie stars Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan, Mahesh Manjrekar and Ayush Mahesh Khedkar. This is directed by Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandon and the music score is by A.R. Rehman.
Filmed entirely in India and mostly in its financial and entertainment capital, Mumbai, most of the scenes are filmed in the slums and this really brings out the reality of how lives in those slum areas as Boyle captures it as it really is. This also shows the reality of how children, from such areas are sucked into crime, begging and at a later stage of their lives, particularly females, into possibility of prostitution. Dev Patel is very convincing in his role as the teenager who comes from the slums but more than that it is his younger version, played by Ayush Mahesh Khedkar, who really makes it all look natural when it comes to acting a child who lives in the slum. He portrays what a child is like in that area and more so when it concerns big movie stars of "Bollywood." Freida Pinto, could have done a bit more in her role, but none the less, she has done a good job. Anil Kapoor as the host of the game show, made one feel rather uncomfortable when sitting opposite him in the chair as compared to the British host of the game, Chris Tarrant and of the Indian version of the game  Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan, who made the contestants feel at ease. Irrfan Khan, who has done some good "Bollywood" movies, is good in this as well but it is Mahesh Manjrekar, in the role of "Javed," once upon a time a gangster in the slum, that is perfectly cast.
Watch out for Amitabh Bachchan's hand in this movie.
This is a movie that is definitely one of the best this year and is worth watching.