Deserving of not a Million but Billion applauses!

Rating: 9/10 (2 January 2009)

There are movies and there are movies. Some entertain while some are cinematically brilliant but lack mass appeal. And then there are some like 'Slumdog Millionaire' that transcend all barriers and manage to do both.
At its very core 'Slumdog Millionaire' is a magnificent love story, which seems like a fairytale, yet it is so damn realistic and believable. We have all dreamt of the perfect romance, the kind which blossoms and gets better over time like wine. Slumdog Millionaire is living that dream on celluloid for two hours. It's about the perseverance of the protagonist, a Mumbai slum kid named Jamal portrayed brilliantly by the two child actors and Dev Patel, to unite with the love of his life  Latika, whom he met, fell in love and was separated from in the direst of circumstances.
Filmed entirely in India, it captures the life, the spirit, the greatness and the follies of the nation and its people in a way, which perhaps no other foreign film has been able to. In fact the excellent production values achieved by this US-UK and Indian joint venture is something that will put many popular Indian film-makers to shame. Of course, it goes without saying that this venture would not shine without the A Grade effort of the Indian crew right from the assistant director to the lower level technicians. The soundtrack composed by A.R. Rehman is a major highlight of the movie. His brilliance in this foreign venture stands out proving that Indian artists can match the best of the best in the business. Each of Rahman's composition has the effect of cocaine injected into your blood stream.
The British director, Danny Boyle is clearly the captain of the ship. Slumdog has some clear and refined shades of his other highly acclaimed movie  Trainspotting. But here Boyle outdoes that effort by perfectly understanding the essence of this Indian story, bringing out its soul, thereby brilliantly executing it. In fact, Indian film maker Madhur Bhandarkar would do well to learn a lesson or two on how not to stereo-type and play the same record again and again.
Coming back to the film, the game show, 'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire' hosted by Anil Kapoor is the pivot around which the story revolves. Jamal, a chaiwala in a call center is on the verge of winning the grand prize in this popular show. But how could a chaiwala, a slum boy possibly do that? His euphoria is short lived as he is arrested on suspicion of cheating and interrogated by the police inspector played by Irrfan Khan. The story goes back and forth, with Jamaal revealing his adventurous journey with his elder brother Salim and Latika, the love of his life. The riveting tale starts from the slums of Mumbai. With a glib charm it gives us an engrossing depiction of their turbulent lives which take unanticipated turns time and again. It is commendable how brilliantly plots like the massacre of Muslims and the organized child- begging business are woven into the story. As is often the case to gain audience's sympathy for the characters, the film-makers do not resort to any emotional manipulation even in the most intense scenes. Instead, they establish a strong and resilient central character of Jamal backed up by equally powerful characters of Salim and Latika. Whenever they are in a spot of bother the viewer is rooting for them with all his heart just like in a football match when one supports a minnow against the league champion.
Slumdog millionaire will uplift you to a feel good pedestal where you are less cynical and in a more positive life state. That there is a thing called DESTINY will force even the cynic to think about once he watches this. Of course, destiny always doesn't have to be as over the top as shown in Slumdog but it does exist in everybody's life and that the elements of the universe conspire for you to achieve your's.
Maybe in that envelope for the 2009 Oscars there is a card where it is written : BEST MOTION PICTURE  Slumdog Millionaire.