Not quite up to all the hype and perhaps not for everyone...

Rating: 9/10 (25 November 2010)

With eight Oscar wins (including one for Best Picture), you can't help but assume this will be one of the best films ever made. Well, although it is very good, it's hard for ANY film to live up to this much hype I was a bit disappointed as a result.
I began watching the film with my wife and oldest daughter, a short way into the film my wife left--saying the film was just too violent and depressing. Well, it IS both of these things and shows in awful detail what life can be like for the poor orphans of Mumbai. Vomiting, a kid jumping into a pool of excrement and evil thugs deliberately blinding kids--this movie WILL make you flinch and comes by the R-rating honestly. Now I am NOT suggesting they should have completely cleaned it all up--after all, this is a terrible sort of life and showing it any other way would be wrong. But, be forewarned--this is a very tough film to watch--especially in the first half hour.
I would talk more about the film except it has already been reviewed 10000000000 times--and adding my two-cents worth isn't going to add much that hasn't already been written. Extremely well acted and constructed--this is a fine film.
Perhaps the Oscar nominees that year were really bad. I dunno. All I do know is that this film probably has killed the Indian travel industry!!!