Everyone loves the story of the underdog, and their road to success. Slumdog Millionaire is so much more than just that.
Based on the bestselling novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup, Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal Malik, an orphan from the slums of Mumbai. Jamal tells the story of his life in a series of flashbacks while on India’s version of “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.” When the show breaks, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating. Jamal protests his innocence which is played beautifully by actor Dev Patel. The flashbacks look upon Jamal’s life, growing up with brother Salem and Latika the girl he loved and lost. Desperate to rekindle his love with Latika, he goes on the show, in hope that she would be watching.
The film had Danny Boyle written all over it, and the pace of the 2 hour movie, had the audience on the edge of their seat till the credits rolled up on the screen. There was not a dry eye in sight; the film took us on a journey of Jamals life in the slums, and just how he managed to answer the tough questions on the TV game show. The film carried many similarities to Boyle’s critically acclaimed movie Trainspotting.
Bollywood superstar Anil Kapoor plays a very dark and somewhat patronising game show host as he fires the questions. His performance, however brief, kept the audience in suspense and added some light comedy to the dark underbelly of the film.
From the very opening scene of the movie, I found the hairs on the back of my neck standing tall. The music by award winning composer A. R. Rahman was overwhelming and drew the audience in to the vibrant city of Mumbai. In parts of the film I felt as if I was in amongst the action, thanks to the ingenious direction of Danny Boyle, who I was very honoured to meet at the London Premier.
Jamal Malik played by British Actor, Dev Patel, gave an incredible performance. His true sense of vulnerability and naivety made the character so believable. Boyle picked up the British born actor when his daughter suggested Dev for the lead after watching him in channel four’s teen drama, Skins. This role was very different to skins, and was a great challenge for Patel.
Newcomer Frieda Pinto played the love interest of the film, Latika. Although the film wasn’t really a love story, there were elements of romance and the chemistry between Pinto and Patel was pure magic on the big screen. “Dev was so much fun to work with” said Frieda, “there was never a dull moment on set.”
Overall the film will have you gripped from the very start as Jamal is being torched and interrogated by the police on how he managed to answer so many questions correctly on the show. Did he cheat? Is he a genius? Is it destiny? After all what does a slumdog know...?
