Film: Slumdog Millionaire
Critic Rating: 3/5
Banner: Celador Films
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Imran Hasnee, Mahesh Manjrekar, Shruti Seth, Saurabh Shukla, Raj Zutshi, Jeneva Talwar, Ankur Vikal
Music: A R Rahman
Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy
Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle
Director: Danny Boyle
Producers: Christian Colson, Tessa Ross, Paul Smith
Release Date: 23/01/2009
The much publicized, acclaimed and laurelled 'Slumdog Millionaire' has hit the screens of Hyderabad today. The film got the punch after winning Golden Globe Award also getting 10 Oscar Nominations. It's indisputable to say that the film allured entire western audiences. But how far it can appeal for Indian movie lovers? Let us peep into the details.
Story
A hard hitting and realistic tale, the story is about Jamal Malik (Dev) who is on the verge of becoming a millionaire from an ordinary slum boy as he has reached the final stage of the 'Who wants to be a millionaire?' show being hosted by Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor). As he gets closer to his goal, the story goes behind and shows his days from childhood and how he is able to answer each question posed to him. There is a reason why Jamal is at the show, he wants to locate his long lost childhood sweetheart Latika (Freida) who is forcibly taken away by his own brother Salim (Madhur) and given to local don Javed Khan (Mahesh Manjrekar). On the other hand, there is an allegation of cheating heaped on Jamal and he is busy trying to explain his answers to inspector (Irrfan) and constable Srinivas (Saurabh Shukla). So does Jamal get out of those charges? Does he manage to win the show? And most importantly, does he locate his girl for whom he has been pining so much? Watch the movie to know more.
Performance
Dev Patel was decent and carried out his role with aplomb; he was shrewd where necessary and silent when needed.
Freida was the perfect choice given her natural beauty and her magical eyes, Madhur was effective with his brief presence, Anil Kapoor was masterly, Irrfan Khan was matured, Saurabh was suitable and Mahesh was regular.
Child artiste Vikas Swarup has proved to be the best.
The others did not have much say and did their bit mechanically. The story was simple but it was presented in a very captivating manner, the dialogues were realistic, music and background score was relevant to the situations, editing was neat, script was written well, screenplay was sensible. Cinematography deserves a pat on the shoulder. The other departments were up to the mark.
Most Appreciable Aspects:
Canning the slum areas so convincingly and naturally
Performances of child artistes
Last question faced by Jamal Malik
Title Song
Debatable Things:
Depiction of darker side of Indian slum so terribly
Conviction In the content
Why the director concluded it saying 'it's written'? Why can't he say 'he is lucky'?
Analysis:
It's a movie that sounds mundane for Indian audiences as they have got exposed to better story lines and better narrations so far. But it has run on a new platform where Indian movies seldom do. Let us discuss how it appealed for western audiences and how for Indians. As almost every Indian knows the most famous TV Show 'Koun Banega Crorepathi', they can get connected easily. It's the story of a slum boy who happens to be on the hot seat of that show miraculously. He wins 20 million rs in that show and makes big news in entire nation. How the uneducated slum boy could win that show with his general knowledge? That forms the interesting narration all over. His practical exposure and knowledge that comes to him since childhood luckily form the set of questions in front of him when he faces that show. Ultimately he wins the maximum amount from that show. But there is no big social responsibility that is linked up in the climax. There is no surprise element or the aspect that boosts up the graph of the movie in climax. Hence it appeals to be a normal flick for Indian movie lovers. Beside all this, the love line in the movie is also nothing new for Indian audiences and it goes without saying in any movie. The adrenaline hasn't boosted up even in climax as there is no suspense part.
But for westerners, they hardly get exposed to this kind of stuff. They can easily get sympathetic when the pathetic India is shown for them from the angles of filthy slums, brothel lanes and Mumbaikar gangsters. Rehman's Indo-western style of background score appealed for them in novel way. And moreover, the sensitive love concept from the side of lead role also makes them connect better.
The film is neither extraordinary nor great. It's a good narration with an average content where direction and screenplay grooved well. But still, the film got the great international recognition- because 'It's written'.
(SiraSri can be reached at [email protected])
