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Review : Slumdog Millionaire
(Drama)

Anupama Chopra, Consulting Editor, Films, NDTV

Friday, January 23, 2009

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Cast: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan

Music: AR Rahman

Director: Danny Boyle

Producer: Producer

Writer: Slumdog-Millionaire

Forget the Oscar nominations, the Golden Globe wins, the rousing reception at dozens of film festivals and the approximately $60 million grossed so far. Slumdog Millionaire is inherently a Bollywood film. I mean that in the best sense of the word.

Slumdog is unapologetically life-affirming, fantastical and totally implausible.

For years, Bollywood directors have aspired to create a Hindi Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. That is a Hindi film that can shatter barriers of language, geography and sensibility and connect across the globe. Slumdog Millionaire is that film. Only its creator isn’t Indian, he's British.

Slumdog Millionaire is director Danny Boyle’s passionate love letter to the city of Mumbai. Danny and his cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle perfectly capture the grime, grotesqueness and frayed glory of our maximum city.

It’s a horrifying, Dickensian space in which children are casually orphaned, mutilated and prostituted. But it’s also a space in which an improbable love story, which has its origins in a totally Hindi film-like childhood romance, finds a happy ending.

Working from the novel by Vikas Swarup, Danny and his writer Simon Beaufoy have essentially turned the Bollywood film on its head.

So, instead of realistic emotions tethered to an unrealistic landscape and plot, we have an unrealistic plot tethered to a hyper-realistic landscape. Mantle’s camera pores over Mumbai, from its over-arching high-rises to its filthiest slums. But the story that takes place here is pure fairy tale.

So Jamal Malik, a chaiwalla at a call center, played by Dev Patel, is on the brink of winning the top prize on Kaun Banega Crorepati. The show’s arrogant and creepy host Prem Kumar, played terrifically by Anil Kapoor, has Jamal arrested because he is sure that Jamal is cheating. But as the police interrogate him, we go into a series of flashbacks and discover how and why the slumdog has all the right answers.

At one point in the film, the police inspector, who has been listening to Jamal’s story remarks "It is bizarrely plausible". Actually it’s not.

Would the Mumbai police, for all its corruption and brutality, torture a young boy only because he may have cheated on a quiz show. Would a famous talk show host publicly belittle a winning contestant only because he is poor? I don't think so.

There are many places in which the film stretches credulity to snapping point but Danny tells his story with such a propulsive momentum that you can’t stop watching or ask 'how can this happen'. The visuals are superb and even when the plot wobbles, the acting stays on target.

Three sets of actors play the three leads - Jamal, his brother Salim and the love of his life, Latika. The child actors Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubina Ali, are the lifebloods of Slumdog. They are excellent. Their section is the best part of the film.

Dev Patel has an endearing presence but a shaky accent and Frieda Pinto, playing Latika, seems more fashion model than slumdog.

Unfortunately, the two also have to exchange dialogue that might make Karan Johar cringe. At one point Jamal says to Latika, "Come away with me". She asks, "...and live on what?" to which he replies, "On love".

Eventually then, Slumdog Millionaire isn’t a great film but it is an immensely pleasurable one. As Veeru said in Sholay, "is story main emotion hai, drama hai, tragedy hai".

What more can you ask for? Slumdog Millionaire is a must-watch. I strongly recommend that you see it.

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User reviews

Posted by: Vijay ]
Hi Those who praises SDM, please go and see NAAN KADAVUL (I'am god)a new tamil film made on beggers and (physically and mentally challenged persons) whom we often come across in our day to day life,directed by Bala. You will come to know that oscar is nothing if a movie touches a heart and soul also the heartwarming BGM of our mastero ILLYARAJA.

Posted by: Deepak Kumar ]
The movie is just like a typical bollywoood movie made on the lines of poverty....... The movie is a typical bollywood with all necessary elements....Now that the westeners have appreciated it, they will find 100's of good bollywood movies already made...... As for as rahman music, The hollywood & entire world cinema have loved the music.... But the music is OK according to rahmans standard.. we indians know the kind of music he has churned out. Having appreciated the music, may be they should listen to all rahman s composition ..... they will get mesmerised by his earlier works... The worldwide succes has made an entry of indian films to world cinemas Hats off to slumdog team for making world take a note of Indian style of cinema....

Posted by: suzzane ]
it is beatiful and must watch movie

Posted by: wtf review ]
Slumdog Millionaire isn’t a great film

Posted by: ulka amin ]
like everybody, i m not going to join the bendwagon & praise the movie blindly. i have a strong dislike about 2 things in particuler.the police brutality to the poor kid and the rude host of the gameshow.it was tatally unprofessional behavior for a game show host.Now that the movie maker has made millions of $ i hope he will spend some to improve the slums & the poverty.

Posted by: Amith Dsilva ]
its the best movie...than what to say...all have given their reviews..mytoo same.. but excellent

Posted by: Janaki ]
The review by Anupama Chopra was too good.The movie was talked about much and I haven't seen it as yet.The editor has given a beautiful glimpse of it.I was touched by the line"would a famous talk show host publicly belittle a winning contestant only because he is poor?"Thanks to N.D.T.V. for making me enjoy the review.

Posted by: Vijay Chauhan, London ]
A superb movie. You have to confess though that the fascination of foreign directors with the slums of Bombay is at times over emphasised with the grim side of life. But then again a story line unless inflated with extremes of poverty, pain, emotion and joy does not make a good film. Full marks should go to the writer of the story or should I say the novelist. Poor fellow was not even invited to London. What a shame. Without his intricate story writing skill - this film would not exist. A must watch for every film lover, no matter who you are. Quite likely that this film will be hitting an OSCAR Jackpot this yer.

Posted by: seenu ]
Award given just for the sake of British directors.

Posted by: Shivram Jwala ]
Nice movie. One do not get any chance to get bored. You will enjoy.

Posted by: Manik Roda ]
i think slumdog millionaire is excellent film .Danny boyle is mind blowing.Music is brilliant specially 'Jai Ho' by Alla rekha Rehman & Gular lyrics are mind blowing. If I would have to rate this film I would rate it 5/5.

Posted by: Sambit ]
Scenes of poverty and squalour may appear romantic to Westerners and to our snooty elite but for ordinary Indians they are nothing new. They are an everyday reality. However, one wonders what sort of mind can find such images aesthetically pleasing. Party-hopping socialites (for example, Shobhaa De after all her bombast of "enough is enough" after the Mumbai attack, went and watched a pirated copy!) who are distanced from such reality may find this film an "eye-opener" but for us it IS just poverty-porn. Leaving that aside, I have eight other objections to the film. 1) The director seems to RELISH showing violence. Some of it (like the police-torture) is quite needless. And why was the boy arrested in the first place? On what charge? Was it realistic? 2) How can a boy growing up in slums speak such accented English? Even if one assumes that the language he actually uses to communicate with the game-show host and the police officer is Hindi (granting the director the creative license to use a language better suited for international audiences), there are 2 instances where it is stretched too far: (a) when the boy becomes a ‘guide’ for foreign tourists at the Taj Mahal & (b) when he becomes a substitute-operator at the call-centre. 3) When the boy uses his ‘lifeline’ during the game-show, his friend discovers that she has forgotten her mobile and has to run back for it. This is plain Bollywood masala! Did the director HAVE to make it so melodramatic? 4) How did the boy know who invented the revolver just by watching his brother use it? How does his friend know about Benjamin Franklin? 5) “Darshan Do Ghanshyam” is NOT written by Surdas. It is written by Gopal Singh Nepali for the movie Narsi Bhagat (1957). This song is also credited as traditional and originally written by 15th century poet Narsi Mehta, whose life that film is based on. 6) After winning the game-show, the boy sits on the railway platform and nobody recognizes him! Considering the popularity of

Posted by: ramya ]
After all the hype I was finally able to watch the movie..No doubt most of the movie is REALISTIC,there are some things which are hard to digest.How could a street kid learn such good English?How could a chaiwallah learn operating computer?Wonder how these flaws went unnoticed by the audience/jury of Golden Globe? I also have to add that the child actors are a pleasure to watch.They are the show stealers..

Posted by: Akshaya ]
Slum dog millionaire! A movie that put Indian cinema in the limelight. All this fame and glory was bestowed on us by exposing the ‘Real Mumbai’. Mumbai, one of the biggest metropolitan cities in India, and the business magnet of India. The movie depicts the life style, the people and their differences just the way it is, the reality! Isn’t this an irony? Is this the way we would want the world to know India? Frankly, the success of this movie is not an occasion to celebrate the success of Indian cinemas but to wake up to the reality and do something about it. Our government takes all measures to stabilize the stock market, improvise infrastructures to ensure that India gets into the list of developed countries. Kudos for all their efforts, but they fail to realize that there are few things that need more attention than this. What about the people who live below the poverty line? Aren’t they citizens as well? Don’t they have the right to live life the way we do? Is this what we call a fair play? If the government is going to shut their ears and eyes to this then there is no point in trusting them with the powers they enjoy. There will not be another 26/11 or any such similar incident that can possibly happen to force them to act concerned when it comes to this issue. It is now or never! If we consider ourselves to be a true Indian, we should look beyond the pride that slum dog millionaire brought to India and save the nation from going to the dogs. Jai Hind!

Posted by: Pradeep ]
Are you saying that there are no better movies made in India??

Posted by: Gopan ]
A relative of mine, settled in Canada, once told me that he was helpless when his child was learning her lesson, reciting "Britons are rich, Indians are poor". The text book had the picture of a neatly dressed man with the caption "Britons are rich" and a poor man with dirty and torn clothes with a bowl in hand with the caption "Indians are poor". This typically shows the western attitude towards India. The Slum Dog Millionare, by a British director, gathers the awards only because it shows India in shit. It suits the western taste of India. Rehman had better music in other films and not received the recognition that he receives now. The film is not worthy of the awards that are being received. The awards are for serving the western interest.

Posted by: MS ]
I personaly think that movie is overhyped....since it is dircted by British director and won nomination in Oscars, all reviewers have become more than generous.... It's a good movie but I believe that there were much better movies released in Bollywood this year...one of those was "Welcome to Sajjanpur", which has raised more social issues than this in much better way....I would rate Shyaam Benegal's art piece much much higher than this movie.

Posted by: Murlikrishna Rao ]
Its an excellent movie & since i have seen that part of mumbai in very close quarters ...it almost smells of the city ....as for the implausible part....lets remember that its a story..but what it clearly brings out is the fact that even in slums ...life goes on with its share of hope/despair & redemption....Kudos to Danny Boyle

Posted by: Vijay ]
A superb film - saw it a month ago in London.

Posted by: Rakhi ]
It's a wonder we are harping on a film made by a westerner showing our country and its people in such a bad light. Its shamful that all the so called "informed critics" have ignored this asepct and are totally besotted by the awards pouring in. Some of the scenes are so ugly (Children on a running train and getting beaten up brutely, being blinded for beggary) which would make anyone cringe. It's a pity that nobody has given an unbiased opinion.

Posted by: vivek raj ]
slumdog is a great entertainer movie.i would suggest people to watch this movie.because this movie talks the poverty,and the harsh reality faced by million of the people.this movie shows the entire world what indians are capable when they put their mind and soul to achieve,what they have set to achieve.the movie also tell us one can dream big and put effort to realize the dream.i love this movie because this movie brought the real recognition what our country deserves.so i urge to all the movie lover must watch this movie.and i hope this movie is able to bring oscar and prestige back home.Anupma thanks for good review for this movie.

Posted by: Gaurav Khattar ]
i was moved by the dark and real portrayal of the kind of lives millions of kids in india live.....the hope, triumph and the way out of misery shown......especially, the character jamal is too good.....i am sure there are many kids like him in india.....we have read real stories of real slum kids who have experienced it all......and made it big out of the slums of dharavi, mumbai......thoroughly enjoyed and just simply loved the magic of the film - "Slumdog Crorepati" - acting of Dev Patel and Freida Pinto is commendable ........undeniably, "Slumdog Crorepati" is a great film.....a must-watch for all.....

Posted by: Prakash ]
Final Question: Why is 'Slumdog Millionare' getting such praise and acclaim? A. Because it is a good film; B. Because it has good music; C. Because it has good story; D. Because it is Written. Correct Answer: It is Written! There can be no other reason why this film should be considered even a good film let alone worthy of all this 'glory'. If an Indian had made the same film it would have been laughed at and given a rating of 1.5 or 2. Nothing more! It is even more unbelievable than other bollywood blockbusters. And about the much acclaimed music....well...where is it?! I only hope all the people who are making pots of money out of this film actually contribute some of it to help the people in the slums. Then it might even be worth it!! Prakash

Posted by: dr nirmit ]
it isnt d g8t film...why dont dey released in india along with world ??? it is widely seen by indians coz only of golden glob n oscar news..but if dey relesed along with western market..the review of this movie in india would b different..i think producers n director done r8t decsion by releasing india letely.......

Posted by: bharti ]
Slumdog is necessary viewing. The reason it irks some people is because they feel guilty that they perphaps have not done anything about the slums or the kids. If India and Indians want to be viewed as progressive, they have to first address the problems of those worse off than themselves, rather than hiding the problems

Posted by: Utsav ]
The first line of this review is the most true thing on the internet. What crossed my mind after watching this movie, was that if a movie like this can be crazed over by so many Americans and can receive such Oscar buzz, how can all the movies that have went to the foreign film category from India lose out. It has nothing special, would have been just like any other Oye Lucky! type movie, had the movie been released in India alone. It delves off into mere fantasy in the end and doesn't hold any real push. Also, the call for it to be an Indian movie defies the fact that it is not a Bollywood movie, but a hollywood one. So there is nothing specially Indian about it, nor any reason to waste 120 mins of your life, have you something special to do.

Posted by: sena ]
Good movie,of indian standard,but really unfortunate that we are shown in such a bad sprit,imagine if we were in good shape this movie would not have bagged nomination for oscar.i do appericiate all crew,but would like to say something that if anil kapoor was replaced with someone better like sharukh khan,it would be good to watch,coz anil kapoor did not have screen presence.

Posted by: asen koluituara ]
freaked out,no match for masala movie.i lovedddddddd watching patel coming out of the open loo.

Posted by: sushmita sen ]
FANTASTIC MOVIE,REALLY LOVED IT,THE ACTORS WERE TOO GOOD AND KIDOS TO ALL CREW.I WISH IF THE ANCHOR ROLE WAS GIVEN TO SOMONE WHO IS MUCH APPEALING THAN MR ANIL KAPOOR,COZ HE DID NEVER SUIT THE ROLE,NEITHER HIS SUIT.IRFAN HAD DONE A GOOD JOB.I WISH AR REHMAN ALL THE BEST AND MAY GOD GRANTS ALL OSCAR FOR THIS MOVIE.

Posted by: santosh ]
this movie is okay,but truth hurt,s as per posting o big b,s blog.I agree with him,the main slum dog of this movie is anil kapoor,as he looks old,and excately from dharavi,and he resembels one,but alas,he did not have much to perform,other than just tit n bits in movie,but being old and now not in demand,he prefer,s to be in lime lights,sad to say he is no way been on good footage in movie,just an anchor,i would have prefer either sharukh,or big b for the same.To bring ur kind notice,anil kapoor is just a shadow,behind the director,and he is just a side kick,who wants,to take the lime light,by standign near the director as a spot boy.i do congratulate,mr ar rehman,and other crews for their good work,and wish them all the best for oscar nomination.

Posted by: Newton ]
Dev Patel has an endearing presence but a shaky accent and Frieda Pinto, playing Latika, seems more fashion model than slumdog. Freida Pinto has won the Palm Springs film festival breakthrough actress award and is nominated for BAFTA best supporting actress. And yes, it was difficult for Dev Patel to have a natural indian accent but he did try.

Posted by: Leonard ]
A great movie indeed..a pot boiler from the star till the end..amazing that a British director is able to make such aintelligent movie based in India and our indian directors are busy making Chandno Chowk to China...........

Posted by: G ]
The movie is hyped. It is good in parts and DOES NOT deserve the accolades.

Posted by: Rahul Sharma ]
I do not see anything special about this movie. I do not see why this movie would get nominated for anything except good music. Do you get nominations merely for showing poverty, & struggle (plus romance)? If this movie was made by an Indian production house no one would have looked at it. The story line was nothing more then normal. Don't you think the way Tare Zameen Par was made that deserves an Oscar? A child's mind, struggle and relationship with parents were beautifully depicted in that movie. Oscars and Golden Globes are nothing more then awards in US and Indian public should not get overly excited by those. Let's stop benchmarking those awards as our standards.

Posted by: Sri ]
I hate the movie. It is unrealistic. One sided.. abominable. Unimaginative at times.

Posted by: siri ]
oh its really pathetic for me to see the educated one's speaking all this.its an insult for indians that a foreigner comes to our country and shows all the slums ,poverty and we we appreciating it. are we so blind that unless a foreigner comes and make a movie we dont get to know about our country.and if v r so very intersted to show wht our country is then lets make a movie abt our soilders who fought restlessly for 4days on 26/11. if v seriously want to speak about indian problems then make a movie of how our indain politics is wht can be done so that it can change. make a movie that questions why there is so many vaccant post in uniform jobs.. and our indian directors are capable to nough to make movies. we dont want any foreigners suggestions and comments about our country indians please wake up and start thinking that this movie is insulting our country.

Posted by: nidhi magon ]
Excellent Movie to watch

Posted by: Mudit Sood ]
Slumdog Millionaire opens the rotten face of India, does it? Does it show the so called “dirty underbelly” of India? Slumdog word is racist as alleged by a chap from Bihar. But really?? If I had one word to describe these comments it would have been a *beep*!! By no means this movie is aimed at showing the chronic poverty of our nation. Many reviewers have criticized this movie for showing only the dirty reality of the country instead of displaying all those swanky buildings, glittering malls etc. Slumdog Millionaire narrates a story of 2 siblings & a girl, who rise from the dirty slum life and move into different directions of life. The older brother (”Salim“-played by Madhur Mittal) ends up working for a gangster, the girl (”Latika“-played by Frieda Pinto) ends up as a show girl with the same gangsters and the hero of the movie the younger brother (”Jamal“-played by Dev Patel) ends up living a rather straight life as a tea server in a call center. Jamal reaches the “hot seat” of Kaun Banega Crorepati hosted by an arrogant quizmaster Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor) who don’t want him to win the game. He calls the police to get Jamal Malik arrested on the charges of fraud at the end of day 1 of the show. At the police station Jamal is tortured first by the sound thrashing from Constable Srinivas (Saurabh Shukla) and then he is subjected to electric shock, all to make him speak about how a tea serving slumdweller can give the correct answers. The movie revolves around the dingy slums of Dharavi. The heaps and heaps of garbage, dogs with flees, young Jamal jumping in a pit full of shit (*sic*), hindu-muslim riots, pimps, gangsters, rough language is some of the few characteristics of the film which together with the superb cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle makes it an ultra realistic movie. Kudos to the director Danny Boyle and co-director Loveleen Tandon for the impressive direction and superb camera takes which shows the minutest of the details of the dirty slu

Posted by: Naz ]
``S-Millionaire isn’t a great film but it is an immensely pleasurable one. As Veeru said in Sholay, "is story main emotion ,drama ...tragedy``- . what `DRAMA `` We have to search in DARAAVI?-

Posted by: Namrata GILL ]
I have had the pleasure of watching the movie twice already!!! I believe every indian shud be watching this movie. PPl think it highlights the poverty and harsh realities faced by millions of our fellow indians and the under belly of India... I believe it shows ppl all over the world wat indians are capable of wen they put their mind to doing something!!! We can overcome massive hurdles in our way and we are resilient in our spirit!!!!It is a movie that gives us hope that despite hurdles and being someone from less priviliged background one can dream big and make those dreams come true!!! And poverty in India is a reality and why shud we hide it??? I love this movie and am so very happy that it has actually brought India the recognition it so deserves!!! Movies made by ppl like Karan Johar are great too but they are entertainers only .. an eascape from harsh realities and they have a place in our life but they will never get us the recognition that we so rightly deserve!!! I strongly recommend the movie....

Posted by: Srini ]
Dev Patel has shaky accent, Freida is more a fashion model than a slumdog; it isn't a great film, but it is a must watch!

Posted by: Anita ]
Slumdog is no insult to the poor; it's a love story, an expression of worship to them. The film is wonderfully optimistic, funny, and positive with a great spirit and great energy running through it all the way to the end. Its a movie about hope, great unexpected changes in life even at the most difficult moments. Danny Boyle has done a great job. Boyle comes from a society where there is no feeling of hierarchy, but where poor and rich are considered equal. Anyone who wants to pick on the film for depicting the poor, simply don't view the poor as equals, as humans, but a people that have to be hidden and not spoken about, not brought to attention, not filmed - and to be ignored completely. In Slumdog they are intelligent and resourceful, get their luck in life and find avenues to deal with their situation. Why on earth should they not be honored and presented to the world?

Posted by: L.Saldanha ]
Have always enjoyed your movie reviews Anupama, so also in this case.