A Grand Movie with an Unrealistic Story

Rating: 7/10 (8 July 2015)

Slumdog Millionaire focuses on a slumdog Jamal played by Dev Patel who happens to win the grand prize in the show 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?'. The movie is set in Mumbai and the director seems to have done quite some research which is evident by the final product. It manages to give us a glimpse of the harsh, brutal life that these people have to live.
Despite the beautiful cinematography and visionary direction, there are quite a number of points in this movie that are completely unrealistic. First of all, poor people with limited education cannot speak perfect English, in fact, it is highly unlikely for them to even know a few English words. I guess most of the dialogs were in English to make the story accessible to a wider audience.
The acting by everyone is quite credible including a number of untrained street kids who were highly believable in their roles.
The Academy Award winning score by A.R. Rahman adds another dimension to this film and it manages to complement the tone of the movie perfectly.
The movie was made for a global audience and the prime objective was to show the blatant exploitation of poor children by egregious, unconscentious people who force them to beg and do other abhorrent errands. It managed to win the Academy Award for Best Picture but it is unlikely to be loved by Indians due to how they show us in a poor light.
All in all, this is a well directed romance that is in some ways like a typical Bollywood masala film. I would give it 7 stars due to my conflicting views on this movie.