Once in a while you get to watch a movie like Slumdog Millionaire. A well-crafted, well-written tale of destiny and triumph, Danny Boyle and Laveena Tandon take us through three timelines simultaneously in Jamal Malik’s journey from Dharavi’s slums to the Hot Seat of the Indian version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”. Encountering a wave of colorful characters along the way and events that leave lasting imprints on his mind, Jamal eventually plays the game with one purpose – and it’s not winning.
Laced with a wonderful engaging soundtrack by A R Rehman, many scenes of young Jamal are presented with such charm and down-to-earth honesty that you start rooting for the protagonist early on. A few Bollywood actors fill in some of the supporting roles, notable Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan and Mahesh Manjrekar, to bring added vibrancy to a movie set against and for the undying spirit of a city that’s seen it all.
Unfortunately, and in a bad choice by the makers, they have made the movie predominantly in the English language. Those familiar with the city, country or the culture will find it absurd that a boy from the slums speaks with a British accent, let alone that most of the other characters are conversing in English (the cop & his “havaldar” or the “bhai”). This glaring issue aside, the movie succeeds on all accounts as a wonderful celebration of hope, destiny and definitely of Cinema.
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