By Amit Jumani

Movie : SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Grade : A+

Directed by : Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, The Beach)

Starring : Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Madhur Mittal, Irrfaan Khan, Mahesh Manjrekar.

Inspired by : Vikas Swarup’s Novel “Q&A”.

Short Story : Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is a tea boy in a call center in Mumbai. In search of his long lost love Lathika (Freida Pinto) he manages to get selected as a contestant in the Indian Version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”, hoping that she would see him on television and they would be re-united. Things take a drastic turn when Jamal is a question away from winning the top prize and is arrested under suspicion of cheating. During the interrogation Jamal gives an account of how he knew the quiz answers and what significance the questions had in his life.

Suspension of Belief : To say this film is good is an understatement, this film is probably one of the best films ever made in the history of cinema and maybe even one of the best films you will see in your lifetime, films just don’t get any better than this. This film coming from Danny Boyle, the British director of “Trainspotting” & “The Beach” is quite unusual because it’s basically a film with an entirely Indian soul masterfully crafted and handled by Boyle. Simon Beaufoy’s screenplay is brilliant, he will without doubt win each and every trophy for Best Adapted Screenplay this awards season, the screenplay is a text book for upcoming screenplay writers. The Cinematography is like a canvas painting, no one has ever shot Mumbai so beautifully. AR Rahman’s background music has taken him to a different league, he has garnered 3 Academy Award nominations for his work on the film. Every aspect of the filmmaking excels in every department. Danny Boyle has been successful in raking out fantastic performances from his cast which mainly comprises of novices. The SAG award received by the film for Best Ensemble Cast is truly deserved because the film does not lie on the shoulders of a single cast member but on all the performances combined. The one performance which deserves a special mention is of Ayush Mahesh Khedekar as the little Jamal, it’s quite a performance. This film is something special, even if you don’t watch movies watch this one, it’s not just a movie it’s an experience of a lifetime which cannot be missed. 10 Academy Award Nominations, need I say more?

What you didn’t know : Danny Boyle initially was to shoot the entire film in English but later realized that in order to keep things realistic, a lot of it had to be shot in Hindi.

Working Title : “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire “

Review by Amit Jumani – amitny@aol.com

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