I saw this movie, 'Slumdog Millionaire', a couple of weeks back and was talking about it to everyone, asking them to watch it. Now it is getting so famous and I thought I should express my feelings in writing - say..for my own record! I have got this habit of forgetting the stories of the movies, I watch, very fast. If someone asks about it, a month or so later, I go blank. But this movie is going to stay in my memory, like 'A Few Good Men', 'Rain Man', 'Finding Forrester', etc., at least, the first 3/4th part of the movie!
The movie's main story is about an 18 year old boy - a muslim and an orphan, who grew up in the Mumbai slum and wins Two Crore rupees in the 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' show. After he answers correctly for all the questions, but one, which will get him the prize money, the anchor of the show, Anil Kapoor, who is in place of our Amitabh Bachchan, gets uneasy about this boy and thinks, he is stealing his show without proper credentials. He arranges with the police to check the boy - in the police way - if he is a cheat or has got microchips (!) in his body! Irfan Khan who is the police officer, does his job thoroughly. The boy tells him how he knew the answers for the questions. They show his life in flashback. Every stage of his life, from childhood, taught him the answers to the questions, he says.
I was engrossed thoroughly in the story, with a heavy heart. The boy, Dev Patel has acted very well. His expressions are very good. The younger Patel also has acted very well. Sanchita Chouwdary, who acts as his mother, looks beautiful, though in a small role. The life of the people in the Dharavi slum, was never shown so truthfully, in anyother earlier film. It is difficult for me to write about them in detail, though I know these things happen in reality. The director of the movie, Danny Boyle makes us feel ashamed of ourselves for knowingly letting the goondas and politicians (feel both are alike!) rule the underprivileged people and churn out more characters like themselves for the future to ruin our country.
One thing, I was unable to digest is, the actors speak flauless English. They show the mother of the hero, makes sure, her two sons go to the local school, when they were small. They were in uniform also. Later on, the hero works for sometime, in a call centre in place of his friend. Is that enough for the accentless English?
The movie is directed so well, that we need a brave heart to watch. But suddenly, the director must have thought that an Indian story should have a PROPER CLIMAX and added some songs in the end. The heroine joins and hero and dances in the railway platform! The song which we hear, when the credits are rolling, is good. A.R. Rahman is nominated for the 'Golden Globe' award for the music for this film. This film is nominated for 3 more categories of this award.
Though the impact of the story dies after the dance scene, the movie will definitely remain in our minds, for a long time. A well made bollywoody film, by an English Director!
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