Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle’s latest movie Slumdog Millionaire has been creating ripples among critics and at awards circuit. Savour this – it has already won awards at around 24 film festivals and award shows, including at the Golden Globe Awards, British Independent Film Awards and National Board of Review. It has also made the top 10 lists (for best movies of 2008) of a slew of film critics. Now that’s some movie one might be tempted to think. But is it that good? Let me deliberate on that.
Adapted from Vikas Swarup’s novel Q&A, and directed by one of the most sought after British directors working at present, Danny Boyle, who shot to dizzying heights with the amazing black comedy Trainspotting, and lived up to his fame with the terrifying zombie flick 28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire is a movie that is easy to rave about and difficult to avoid. With a fairy tale storyline that viewers are bound to find inspirational, the movie delivers for the simple reason that it is never didactic, and manages to pack a strong punch.
The movie starts of with a frightening torture scene. We see a young lad, hardly an adult, facing the wrath of brutal police interrogation. Soon, we are apprised of the situation. The guy is Jamal Malik, an 18-year old from the infamous slums of Mumbai, and he had already successfully reached the last question of Kaun Banega Crorepati (Indian version of Who Wants to be A Millionaire), when he is surreptitiously transferred to police custody on suspicions of cheating. As the police officer in charge of the case, played by Irfan Khan, aptly wonders, how is it possible for a ‘slumdog’ to have reached a stage which even highly educated and knowledgeable people find beyond their means. Thus starts two parallel narratives – his incredible tryst with KBC, and his tumultuous past. And in the process we learn, along with the police officer, how nearly each question has played a vital role in his life, and the real reason for his coming to the show – to win the girl he loves.
Jamal Malik’s life in the movie has been divided into three distinct age groups, with the eldest of the lot being played by Dev Patel, a fine find by the director. Two people play enormous roles in Jamal’s short life thus far, his elder brother Salim, and Latika, his childhood sweetheart. Here it ought to be mentioned that the greatest assets of the movie are its child actors – they haven’t just been exceedingly well cast, but have also put in extremely believable and mature performances.
Through Jamal’s turbulent life the viewers have been presented with the dark and seedy underbelly of Mumbai, the commercial capital of India. Where on one hand the city boasts of infinite riches, it also happens to be home to Dharavi, the largest slum in the world. Riots, beggary, prostitution and crime are just some of the horrendous aspects that Jamal has had to deal with during his days of growing up. From being part of a petty theft racket in Agra to working at an over-crowded call centre, from witnessing brutal slayings to organizing rescue missions, Jamal has seen ‘em all. It is safe to say that in his 18 years, the number of ups and downs that he has experienced could easily fill up three full lives. His string of heartbreaks starts when he watches his mother die in the riots. But it is his love for Latika that drives him forward and instils in him a willingness to survive. Of course, with the street smarts that he has been forced to imbibe through circumstances, survival comes to him naturally.
To reiterate what I mentioned earlier, this is very much a modern day fairy tale movie. The plot has a heavy Bollywood feel to it. The strong romance angle, that can be encapsulated with the popular phrase – boy meets girl, boy looses girl, boy wins girl, is the central motif of the movie. Indian viewers wouldn’t find the young hero’s triumph over all the odds thrown at him, without once loosing his self dignity, a very novel concept. Further, the juxtaposition of his character with that of Salim, his elder brother, who takes to crime and violence at his first opportunity, couldn’t be any more glaring; in fact that reminded me of the movie Parinda. And like all conscientious movies, Salim redeems himself at the end with an act of bravery and selflessness. Finally, it’s a classic tale of Good winning over the Evil.
But what sets the movie apart from the majority of Hindi movies with a similar skeleton is the searing honesty of the director, his exceptional ability in characterization, and his wonderful storytelling skills. The darker sides of Mumbai are at once incisive and heart-wrenching. Boyle could have taken the cynical route; he could also have revelled at the poverty and turned the film into the cinematic equivalent of ‘slum tourism’. Instead, he has filled the movie to its brim with hope and life. The imagery is vivid and the depictions uncomfortably graphic, but you’ll really feel alive while watching this movie – and that, I believe, is the biggest reason behind the movie’s enormous success. I can think of only a handful of Hindi movies, like Satya, Gardish and Parinda, that managed to paint such a remarkably detailed picture of Mumbai beyond its swanky offices and shining limousines.
The screenplay is one of the strongest aspects of the movie. The dialogues are very well written and the narrative kept under a tight leash, thus ensuring that the movie never ventures into the territory of maudlin and soppy melodramas. Instead, there is a kinetic feel to the actions, thus managing to keep the viewers glued to what is transpiring on the screen. The editing, too, has played an enormous part in this process. The amazing cinematography and camera work are for all to see. The striking images, the terrific pan-aerial shots, and the incredible eye for details, have made the theme of the movie that much more palpable and engaging. A. R. Rehman’s score might not be as imperious as the hype suggests, but at certain junctures it does manage to reach thumping levels. And in all these discussions it is very easy to overlook a laudatory performance – Anil Kapoor’s marvellous turn as the sleazy, wisecracking game show host. The veteran actor does deserve a big pat in his back.
So what is my personal verdict on Slumdog Millionaire? Yes, it has its fair share of coincidences and plot developments that are very much filmic. Yes, it is also very much an underdog movie with an unsurprisingly happy ending. But it is not your run-of-the-mill feel-good opera. It is also uncompromising in its detailing and fiercely relentless in its execution. Thus, though never an extraordinary work of art, it nonetheless manages to be a very satisfying and wholesome watch. The fact that it has entered into such good books of a number of famous film critics and award ceremonies should make those associated with it that much more proud and happy.
A trailer of one of the most acclaimed films of 2008
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Waiting to see the film. I found the soundtrack terrific with Mausam & Escape, O saya and Dreams on fire ruling my playlist…
Having seen the trailer for this movie and heard a lot about it this week because of the Golden Globe Awards, I would really like to see this. It looks like a great story, and one of those great movies that have come out of India in the last few years.
Very well done on Story, Casting, Background Music, Photography, Editing.. but only thing I felt is dragged in the middle, for 1 and half hour this would be the best movie.
A very enjoyable movie, not the best I have ever seen but much better than average. Being English it did give me some insights into real poverty, it is always good to have a mix between feel-good, humour, grief and poignancy.
One of Boyle’s best.
@Srikanth - I’m sure you’ll find the movie worth the wait.
@Tony - Though shot in India and with a majorly Indian crew, at the end of the day this can’t be called an Indian movie.
@Santhosh - Ditto. I too felt 1.5 hrs would have been the perfect duration for the movie.
@RocketRon - Certainly one of Boyle’s best, though of the 4 movies of his that I’ve watched (Beach being the 4th), this would figure below Trainspotting & 28 Days Later. The best part of the movie is the incredibly energetic first third of the movie.
A really enjoyable film, it captured the desperate conditions of mumbai with a good mix of humour a love interest and hope… if you liked this, salaam bombay is also worth a watch…
Great review. Sounds exciting!
I’ve been waiting for the release. Saving this film for the theaters
@Simon - Yeah, Salaam Bombay does call for a watch, though haven’t watched it yet.
@Samakshi - A very ethical decision I must say
I agree with you when you say that this is not an Indian film at the end of the day. Most of us seem to forget that. I know for a fact that a generation of people in India are awaiting the release of the film, without even knowing that it isn’t really an Indian film. While India ought to be proud, may be we should leave more credit for British Cinema to take.. The news channels too are falling into the same frame of mind.
My Best Wishes are with Slumdog Millionaire to perform in the Oscar as well. I can feel the joy of the people here, after the Movie won 4 Golden Globe awards and specially for Rahman ! If SM wins the Academy Awards, I’m sure, It will atleast have something to cherish for Indians
!!
I saw Slumdog Millionaire today. Boyle has really done a good job with this movie. While the movie deals with the gory details of the underbelly of Mumbai, it doesnt really leave you with a sick feeling. The story feels like a commentary and at the end you just feel good about the whole movie. Very well done I must say.
The music score by Rehman is amazing, the actors who played junior Jamal and Salim were the real stars. They were simply too good. Freida Pinto had just 15 mins of screen presence. I think she was overhyped.
“Boyle could have taken the cynical route; he could also have revelled at the poverty and turned the film into the cinematic equivalent of ‘slum tourism’. Instead, he has filled the movie to its brim with hope and life.” - Thank god you said that. Thank god.
There is an instant aversion to the slum depiction nowadays for no reason I could believe. Phew
His camera does worse than ’slum tourism’. His camera has taken us on the ‘Impoverished India’ tourism. Does it even take a moment to breathe, or for us to breathe.
But I dont know how anybody is finding the movie offensive. For a movie to be offensive, it has to be effective first. This is patchwork.
Well i have seen the movie i leave the choice to the people who have seen the movie as indians, i have only one question for all those who praise the film, what do the people of other countries think about india when they see the film?
The film has show the pathetic side of our country and only the pathetic side. Is this what our country is all about? According to me let them give as many oscars as they want i just hate the thinking of the director for under rating our country.
I’m not against the Oscar but not in this way! I hope we deserve more than this:)
My request to all those left reeling at the dark underbelly of India in Slumdog Millionaire thinking this is an unfair and one-sided representation of India, it would help to remember that, unfortunately, is a reality for a major proportion of India. And hence on that same argument, depicting lives of only the rich and wealthy too are a one-sided representation of India. Accept the images shown in the movie because they are as real as they can get, and reality can not be hidden under layers of sugar-coating. If you have issues with that, get down onto the streets and try alleviating the situation instead of cribbing about it. The world knows that is infinitely bigger than what has been shown in Slumdog. If you watch non-blockbuster international movies you’ll find movies depicting the darker aspects of even the so-called developed countries of the world.
So judge the movie not for the fact that it has shown poverty, but for its artistic content. If you justify that the movie has failed on that front I’m all ears. But if you didn’t like the movie for its ‘polarizing’ imageries and content, please go back to your Karan Johar and other such trash Bollywood movies, cos quite clearly you’re in it just for fast and make-believe entertainment.
Just a case of brouhaha over nothing. I don’t think the film was great personally. Yes, if I wanted to watch a masala film with slightly better script than what most of our directors are capable of, I’d rate it quite highly, Unfortunately, I had the wrong expectations and as a result didn’t like it as much as I thought I’d have.
Besides a few instances of good acting, it was pretty mundane. But depiction of “reality” is not one of my issues with the film.
What I fail to understand is why are we Indians exercising our bragging right over a film we can’t claim to be our own. Or lash out against it for the realistic portrayal of the dark underbelly of Mumbai. Whenever someone (inc one of us) makes a realistic film that questions our own ideologies, we think it’s our birthright to argue with unconvincing arguments like “this is not the truth”, or “this shows us in bad light”, etc. We prefer sweeping such things under the rug. If anyone feels that this is trash purely because it shows an embarassing/demeaning aspect of our country, I only have two words for him/her - grow up.
I still applaud the director’s intent, which was never to make a point with the film. It was simply to make a good entertaining film. I don’t know whether he fully succeeded on the second count, but what would be really good is if people (including many of Indian directors who have never made a single decent film in their entire lives) just shut up instead of talking nonsense. It’s like Anu Malik (a mediocre, plagiarizing Indian music director) judging singers’ talents who could teach him a thing or two about music.
Also we need to stop feeling ecstatic over an “Indian” film winning awards. This year’s nominations are very questionable anyway, and like Roy says, this is a Global film