Slumdog Millionaire has all the elements that have been the backbone of Salim–Javed scripted films, that we thought have been milked to the hilt, but not for one moment does the film feel hackneyed or the emotions contrived and it is entirely due to the treatment and approach of both Danny Boyle and Co director Loveleen Tondon.
On the verge of winning 20 million rupees on the game show ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ with just one question to go, the Slumdog, 18 year old Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is arrested by the Mumbai Police for investigation, taken by surprise as to how an orphan from the slums can do so well in a show where far more educated and knowledgeable people have been bamboozled .Now Jamal has been labeled a cheat and he has to prove otherwise.
As the interrogation begins, he recounts the incidents from his childhood as he recalls experiences through the Bombay slums of Juhu to the child orphanage to the Indian hinterland and back again to now Mumbai, working in a restaurant and later as a chaiwallah in a call center and explains how he knew the answers.
The questions that he is thrown across in the show have had some link to the events that have shaped his life uptill now. But its not that he is always helped by these coincidental experiences in his life, Jamal uses his sharp mind, logic and eidetic memory to sail through the quiz. The most special moments being when he has to answer as to who has the record for the maximum first class centuries.
And all through this; the story unfolds of childhood love, lost brother, abject penury but also of survival, street smartness, optimism and hope.
The great thing about Slumdog Millionaire is its unapologetic portrayal of the slums of Bombay, probably helped by the fact that the Danny Boyle is British and shot it as an outsider without any compunction while showcasing the city’s underbelly. Most of the film is set in Bombay and there is no shot of Marine Drive overpass, instead there are compelling, varied and churning vignettes of Bombay. Every scene is rich in detail with subtle allegories, with screenplay by Simon Beaufoy.
Just for the casting, the team, especially Loveleen should be applauded. Be it the child actors,Freida Pinto,Anil Kapoor,Irrfan Khan, Madhur Mittal,Mahesh Manjrekar or Saurabh Shukla,all are very good. Each performance is honest and in perfect symphony with the need of the script. And as if the visuals were not enough to captivate and hold attention, the music and background score (A R Rahman) envelopes you into a thoroughly enjoyable cinematic experience.Slumdog Millionaire is a vibrant film and it possesses universal appeal because of its earthiness and the believability attained by its characters.Slumdog millionaire portrays cinematic excellence and the awards that are being showered upon it are thoroughly deserved and its Oscar recognition is inevitable.