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Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan.[2] It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. Set and filmed in India, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Kaun Banega Crorepati in the Hindi version) and exceeds people's expectations, thereby arousing the suspicions of the game show host and of law enforcement officials.

After its world premiere at Telluride Film Festival and subsequent screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and the London Film Festival,[3] Slumdog Millionaire initially had a limited North American release on 12 November 2008 by Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, to critical acclaim and awards success. It later had a nationwide grand release in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2009 and in the United States on 23 January 2009.[4] It premiered in Mumbai on 22 January 2009.[5] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on 31 March 2009.[6]

Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for ten Academy Awards in 2009 and won eight, the most for any film of 2008, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Original Song. It also won five Critics' Choice Awards, four Golden Globes, and seven BAFTA Awards, including Best Film. Slumdog Millionaire has stirred controversy concerning language use, its portrayals of Indians and Hinduism, and the welfare of its child actors.

Set in 2006, the film opens in Mumbai with a policeman torturing Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), a former street child from the Juhu slums. In the opening scene, a title card is presented: "Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it? (A) He cheated, (B) He's lucky, (C) He's a genius, (D) It is written." Jamal is a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (Kaun Banega Crorepati) hosted by Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor). He has already won 10,000,000 rupees (about US$200,000) and has made it to the final question, for 20,000,000 rupees, scheduled for the next day. Following up on a tip-off from Prem Kumar, the police now suspect Jamal of cheating, because the other possibilities — that he has a vast knowledge, or that he is very lucky — seem unlikely. For almost every question, Jamal had a life experience that enabled him to answer it.

Jamal then explains that, while at least the question about Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan was very simple, he knew the answers of most questions by chance, because of things that happened in his life, conveyed in a series of flashbacks documenting the details of his childhood. This includes scenes of him obtaining Bachchan's autograph, the death of his mother during anti-Muslim violence (rekindling memory of the 1993 anti-Muslim attacks in Mumbai in the slums),[7] and how he and his brother Salim befriended Latika (Rubina Ali). He refers to Salim and himself as Athos and Porthos, and Latika as the third of the The Three Musketeers, the name of whom they never knew.

In Jamal's flashback, the children are eventually discovered by Maman (Ankur Vikal) while they are living in the trash heaps. Maman is a gangster (a fact they do not actually know at the time they meet him) who pretends to run an orphanage in order to "collect" street children so that he can ultimately train them to beg for money. Salim is groomed to become a part of Maman’s operation and is asked to bring Jamal to Maman in order to be blinded (which would improve his income potential as a singing beggar). Salim protects his brother, and the three children try to escape, but only he and Jamal are able to do so, catching up to a train which is departing. Latika catches up and takes Salim's hand, but Salim purposely lets go, and she is left behind as the train accelerates away.

The brothers make a living, traveling on top of trains, selling goods, picking pockets, and cheating naive tourists at the Taj Mahal by pretending to be tour guides. Jamal eventually insists that they return to Mumbai since he wishes to locate Latika, which annoys Salim. They eventually find her, discovering that she had been raised by Maman to be a culturally talented prostitute whose virginity will fetch a high price. The brothers attempt to rescue her, but Maman intrudes, and in the resulting conflict Salim draws a gun and kills Maman. Salim then uses the fact that he killed Maman to obtain a job with Javed (Mahesh Manjrekar), a rival crime lord. Salim returns to the room where the three were staying and orders Jamal to leave. Jamal, knowing his brother is here to claim Latika as his own, attacks his brother violently before being overturned by Salim and confronted by a revolver as Salim threatens to kill him. Latika intervenes and tells Jamal to leave, breaking his heart and sacrificing herself to keep him safe. With Maman's men searching for Salim, Salim and Latika flee to an unknown location, leaving Jamal alone to fend for himself.

Years later, Jamal has a position as a "chai wallah" (tea server) at a call center. When he is asked to cover for a co-worker for a couple of minutes, he searches the database for Salim and Latika and succeeds in getting in touch with Salim, who has become a high-ranking lieutenant in Javed’s organization. Jamal confronts a regretful Salim on tense terms. Jamal asks him where Latika is. Salim, annoyed and bewildered that his brother still cares about her, responds she's "long gone." Salim invites Jamal to live with him, and after Jamal follows him to Javed's house, he sees Latika (Freida Pinto) there, and she also notices him. He bluffs his way in, pretending initially to be a dishwasher and then later a chef. Jamal and Latika have an emotional reunion, but elation quickly turns to despair after Jamal discovers that Latika is with Javed. Upon discovering this, Jamal tries to persuade Latika to leave. She rebuffs his advances and insists that he forget about her and leave, but instead Jamal confesses his love for her and promises to wait for her every day at 5 p.m. at Mumbai's largest train station, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (C.S.T.), until she comes. One day, while Jamal waits there, Latika attempts to rendezvous with him, but she is recaptured by Salim and Javed's men. Javed slashes her cheek with a knife as Salim drives off, leaving a furious Jamal behind with a crowd of onlookers.

Jamal again loses contact with Latika when Javed moves to another house outside of Mumbai. In another attempt to find Latika, Jamal tries out for the popular game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, because he knows she'll be watching. He makes it to the final question, despite the hostile attitude of the host who feeds Jamal a wrong answer during a break. At the end of the show, Jamal has one question left to win two crore, or 20 million rupees (about 400,000 U.S. dollars), but the host calls the police and Jamal is taken into police custody, where he is tortured as the police attempt to learn how he, a simple "slumdog," could know the answers to so many questions. After Jamal tells his whole story, explaining how his life experiences coincidentally enabled him to know the answer to each question, the police inspector calls Jamal's explanation "bizarrely plausible" and, knowing he's not in it for the money, allows him to return to the show for the final question.

At Javed's safehouse, Latika watches the news coverage of Jamal's miraculous run on the show. Salim gives Latika his phone and the keys to his car. He urges her to run away and to "forgive him for what he has done." The final question asked of Jamal is to name the third musketeer in the story of The Three Musketeers. When Jamal uses his Phone-A-Friend lifeline to call Salim, Latika barely succeeds in answering the phone in time and they reconnect. She does not know the answer to the final question, but she tells Jamal that she is safe and (in unsubtitled Hindi) says "I am yours" before the phone connection cuts off. Jamal simply guesses the correct answer (Aramis) to the question of the one musketeer whose name they never learned, and wins the grand prize. Simultaneously, Salim is discovered to have helped Latika escape and allows himself to be killed in a bathtub full of money after shooting and killing Javed. Salim's last words are "God is great." Later that night, Jamal and Latika meet at the railway station and they share a kiss. It is then revealed that the correct answer to the opening question is "D) it is written," implying that it is destiny. During the closing credits, Jamal and Latika — along with dozens of bystanders and even the juvenile versions of themselves — dance in the C.S.T. train station to the song "Jai Ho," the title of which epitomizes victory.

Differences from the book Q & A

In the book, the story is told to his lawyer, rather than the police. The Bombay Hindu-Muslim riots play no role in the book, as the ethnic or religious heritage of the main character is uncertain. In the book, the central character is instead named 'Ram Mohammad Thomas' by the village elders, choosing a Hindu name, Muslim name, and Christian name to maintain the balance among all the religious communities after his mother abandons him at birth. Ram grows up in an orphanage, and his only 'brothers' are his fellow orphans; Salim is his best friend. He was adopted by a Christian priest as a youth, which is how he learns English, and then is nearly molested by a visiting priest. The priest scenes are not included in the film script, and the movie does not explain how Jamal learns fluent English. Latika is not his childhood friend in the book but rather a prostitute named Nita with whom Ram falls in love when he visits a brothel at age 17.

Production

Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy wrote Slumdog Millionaire based on the Boeke Prize-winning and Commonwealth Writers' Prize-nominated novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup.[8] To hone the script, Beaufoy made three research trips to India and interviewed street children, finding himself impressed with their attitudes. The screenwriter said of his goal for the script: "I wanted to get (across) the sense of this huge amount of fun, laughter, chat, and sense of community that is in these slums. What you pick up on is this mass of energy."

By the summer of 2006, British production companies Celador Films and Film4 Productions invited director Danny Boyle to read the script of Slumdog Millionaire. Boyle initially hesitated, since he was not interested in making a film about Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which was produced by Celador.[9] However, Boyle soon found out that the screenwriter was Beaufoy, who had written The Full Monty (1997), one of the director's favorite British films, and decided to revisit the script.[10] Boyle was impressed by how Beaufoy wove the multiple storylines from Swarup's book into one narrative, and the director decided to commit to the project. The film was projected to cost US$15 million, so Celador sought a U.S. distributor to share costs. Fox Searchlight Pictures made an initial offer that was reportedly in the $2 million range, but Warner Independent Pictures made a $5 million offer to win rights to the picture.[9]

Gail Stevens came on board to oversee casting globally. Stevens had worked with Boyle throughout his career and was well-known for discovering new talent. Meredith Tucker was appointed to cast out of the US. The film-makers then travelled to Mumbai in September 2007 with a partial crew and began hiring local cast and crew for production in Karjat. Originally appointed as one of the five casting directors in India, Loveleen Tandan has stated that she "suggested to Danny and Simon Beaufoy, the writer of Slumdog, that it was important to do some of it in Hindi to bring the film alive [...] They asked me to pen the Hindi dialogues which I, of course, instantly agreed to do. And as we drew closer to the shoot date, Danny asked me to step in as the co-director."[11] Boyle then decided to translate nearly a third of the film's English dialogue into Hindi. The director fibbed to Warner Independent's president that he wanted 10% of the dialogue in Hindi, and she approved of the change. Filming locations included shooting in Mumbai's megaslum and in shantytown parts of Juhu, so film-makers controlled the crowds by befriending onlookers.[9] Filming began on 5 November 2007.[12]

In addition to Swarup's original novel Q & A, the film was also inspired by Indian cinema.[13][14] Tandan has referred to Slumdog Millionaire as an homage to Hindi commercial cinema, noting that "Simon Beaufoy studied Salim-Javed's kind of cinema minutely."[13] Boyle has cited the influence of several Bollywood films set in Mumbai.[15] Satya (1998) (screenplay co-written by Saurabh Shukla, who plays Constable Srinivas in Slumdog Millionaire) and Company (2002) (based on the D-Company) both offered "slick, often mesmerizing portrayals of the Mumbai underworld" and displayed realistic "brutality and urban violence." Boyle has also stated that the chase in one of the opening scenes of Slumdog Millionaire was based on a "12-minute police chase through the crowded Dharavi slum" in Black Friday (2004) (adapted from S. Hussein Zaidi's book of the same name about the 1993 Bombay bombings).[14][16][17][18] Deewaar (1975), which Boyle described as being "absolutely key to Indian cinema," is a crime film based on the Bombay gangster Haji Mastan, portrayed by Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, whose autograph Jamal seeks at the beginning of Slumdog Millionaire.[14] Anil Kapoor noted that some scenes of the film "are like Deewaar, the story of two brothers of whom one is completely after money while the younger one is honest and not interested in money."[19] Boyle has cited other Indian films as influences in subsequent interviews.[20][21] The rags-to-riches, underdog theme underlying the film was also a recurring theme in classic Bollywood movies from the 1950s through to the 1980s, when "India worked to lift itself from hunger and poverty."[22] Other classic Bollywood tropes in the film include "the fantasy sequences" and the montage sequence where "the brothers jump off a train and suddenly they are seven years older".[21]

Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan, the host of last episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati (the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) aired prior to the release of this movie, was initially offered the role of the show's host in the film, but he ultimately turned it down (the role is played by another Bollywood star, Anil Kapoor).[23][24][25] Paul Smith, the executive producer of Slumdog Millionaire and the chairman of Celador Films, had previously owned the international rights to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?[26]

Cast

• Dev Patel as Jamal Malik, the protagonist, a Muslim boy born and raised in the poverty of Mumbai.[27] Boyle considered hundreds of young male actors, and he found that Bollywood leads were generally "strong, handsome hero-types." Boyle's daughter pointed Dev Patel out from the British television ensemble drama Skins, of which he was a cast member.[9][12]
  • Ayush Mahesh Khedekar as Younger Jamal
  • Tanay Chheda as Early Teenage Jamal
• Freida Pinto as Latika, the girl with whom Jamal is in love. Pinto was an Indian model who had not starred in a feature film before.[9] Regarding the "one of a kind" scarf she wears, designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb says, "I wanted to bookend the journey—to tie her childhood yellow dress to her final look."[28]
  • Rubina Ali as Younger Latika. Rubina is a child from the Mumbai slums in real life.[29]
  • Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar as Early Teenage Latika
  • Madhur Mittal as Salim, Jamal's elder brother.
    • Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail as Younger Salim. Azharuddin is a child from the Mumbai slums in real life.[29]
    • Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala as Early Teenage Salim
    • Anil Kapoor as Prem Kumar, the game show host. Boyle initially wanted Indian actor Shahrukh Khan to play the role, but things didn't work out. Khan is the real life host of the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Kapoor has also starred as a guest on the show with Amitabh Bachchan and won Rs 5,000,000. [30]
    • Irrfan Khan as the Police Inspector
    • Saurabh Shukla as Constable Srinivas
    • Mahesh Manjrekar as Javed
    • Ankur Vikal as Maman
    • Rajendranath Zutshi as the Millionaire show producer
    • Sanchita Choudhary as Jamal's mother
    • Shah Rukh Munshi as a slum kid. Shah Rukh is a child from the Mumbai slums in real life.[22]
    • Mozhim Shakim Sheikh Qureshi as a crippled slum kid. Mozhim Shakim is a child from the Mumbai slums in real life.[29]
    • Janet de Vigne as the German tourist at the Taj Mahal.
    • Devesh Rawal as the boy in costume as the God Rama, painted blue.

    Release and box office performance

    In August 2007 Warner Independent Pictures acquired the North American rights and Pathé the international rights to distribute Slumdog Millionaire theatrically.[12] However, in May 2008, Warner Independent Pictures was shut down, with all of its projects being transferred to Warner Bros., its parent studio. Warner Bros. doubted the commercial prospects of Slumdog Millionaire and suggested that it would go straight to DVD without a U.S. theatrical release.[31] In August 2008, the studio began searching for buyers for various productions, to relieve its overload of end-of-the-year films.[32] Halfway through the month, Warner Bros. entered into a pact with Fox Searchlight Pictures to share distribution of the film, with Fox Searchlight buying 50% of Warner Bros.'s interest in the movie and handling U.S. distribution.[33]

    Following the film's success at the 81st Academy Awards, the film topped the worldwide box office (barring North America), grossing $16 million from 34 markets in the week following the Academy Awards.[34] Worldwide, the film has currently grossed 326,000,000 (aprox).[1]

    North America

    Slumdog Millionaire was first shown at the Telluride Film Festival on 30 August 2008, where it was positively received by audiences, generating "strong buzz".[35] The film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2008, where it was "the first widely acknowledged popular success" of the festival,[36] winning the People's Choice Award.[37] Slumdog Millionaire debuted with a limited North American release on 12 November 2008, followed by a nationwide release in the United States on 23 January 2009.[38]

    After debuting on a Wednesday, the film grossed an impressive $360,018 in 10 theaters in its first weekend, a strong average of $36,002 per theater.[39][40] In its second weekend, it expanded to 32 theaters and made $947,795, or an average of $29,619 per theater, representing a drop of only 18%.[39] In the 10 original theatres that it was released in, viewership went up 16%, and this is attributed to strong word-of-mouth.[41] The film expanded into wide release on 25 December 2008 at 614 theaters and grossed $5,647,007 over the extended Christmas weekend.[38] Following its success at the 81st Academy Awards, the film's takings increased by 43%,[42] the most for any film since Titanic.[43] In the weekend of 27 February to 1 March, the film reached its widest release at 2,943 theaters.[1] As of 31 March 2009, the film has grossed $139,341,484 at the North American box office.[1]

    Europe

    The film released in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2009, and opened at #2 at the UK box office.[44] The film reached #1 in its second weekend and set a UK box office record, as the film's takings increased by 47%. This is the "biggest ever increase for a UK saturation release," breaking "the record previously held by Billy Elliot's 13%." This record-breaking "ticket surge" in the second weekend came after Slumdog Millionaire won four Golden Globes and received eleven BAFTA nominations. The film grossed £6.1 million in its first eleven days of release in the UK.[45] The takings increased by another 7% the following weekend, bringing the film's gross up to £10.24 million for its first seventeen days in the UK,[46][47] and up to £14.2 million in its third week.[48]

    As of 20 February 2009, the film's UK box office gross was £22,973,110,[49] making it "the eighth biggest hit at UK cinemas of the past 12 months."[50] As of 2 March 2009, following its success at the 81st Academy Awards where it won eight Oscars, the film has returned to #1 at the UK box office, grossing £26 million as of 2 March 2009.[51]

    The film's success at the Academy Awards led to it seeing large increases in takings elsewhere in Europe the following week. Its biggest single country increase was in Italy, where it was up 556% from the previous week. The takings in France and Spain also increased by 61% and 73% respectively. During the same week, the film debuted in other European countries with successful openings: in Croatia it grossed $170,419 from 10 screens, making it the biggest opening there in the last four months; and in Poland it opened in second place with a gross of $715,677. The film was released in Sweden on 6 March 2009 and in Germany on 19 March 2009.[34]

    Asia-Pacific

    In India, the premiere of Slumdog Millionaire took place in Mumbai on 22 January 2009 and was attended by major personalities of the Indian film industry, with more than a hundred attending this event.[52] A dubbed Hindi version, Slumdog Crorepati (स्लमडॉग करोड़पति), was also released in India in addition to the original version of the film.[53] Originally titled Slumdog Millionaire: Kaun Banega Crorepati, the name was shortened for legal reasons. Loveleen Tandan, who supervised the dubbing, stated: "All the actors from the original English including Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan and Ankur Vikal dubbed the film. We got a boy from Chembur Pradeep Motwani to dub for the male lead Dev Patel. I didn't want any exaggerated dubbing. I wanted a young unspoilt voice."[54]

    Fox Searchlight released 351 prints of the film across India for its full release there on 23 January 2009.[55] It earned Rs. 2,35,45,665 in its first week at the Indian box office,[56] or $2.2 million according to Fox Searchlight. Though not as successful as major Bollywood releases in India during its first week, this was the highest weekend gross for any Fox film and the third highest for any Western release in the country, trailing only Spider-Man 3 and Casino Royale.[55] In its second week, the film's gross rose to Rs. 3,04,70,752 at the Indian box office.[56]

    A few analysts have offered their opinions about the film's performance at the Indian box office. Trade analyst Komal Nahta commented, "There was a problem with the title itself. Slumdog is not a familiar word for majority Indians." In addition, trade analyst Amod Mehr has stated that with the exception of Anil Kapoor, the film lacks recognizable stars and that "the film ... is not ideally suited for Indian sentiment." A cinema owner commented that "to hear slum boys speaking perfect English doesn't seem right but when they are speaking in Hindi, the film seems much more believable." The dubbed Hindi version, Slumdog Crorepati, did better at the box office, and additional copies of that version were released.[57] Following the film's success at the 81st Academy Awards, the film's takings in India increased by 470% the following week, bringing its total up to $6.3 million that week.[34] As of 15 March 2009, Slumdog Crorepati has grossed Rs. 15,86,13,802 at the Indian box office.[58]

    The film's success at the Academy Awards led to it seeing large increases in takings elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia, the takings increased by 53%, bringing the film up to second place there. In Hong Kong, the film debuted taking $1 million in its opening weekend, making it the second biggest opening of the year there. The film was released in Japan on 18 April 2009, South Korea on 19 March 2009, China on 26 March 2009, Vietnam on 10 April 2009[34], and 11 April 2009 in Philippines.

    Critical reception

    Awards and honors

    Slumdog Millionaire is highly acclaimed, named in the top ten lists of various newspapers.[59] On 22 February 2009 the film won eight out of ten Academy Awards for which it was nominated, including the Best Picture and Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song (two songs were nominated from the film; "Jai Ho" won the award), losing only Best Sound Editing to The Dark Knight. It is only the eighth film ever to win eight Academy Awards[60] and the eleventh Best Picture Oscar winner without a single acting nomination.[61]

    The film also won all four of the Golden Globe Awards for which it was nominated, including Best Drama Film; five of the six Critics' Choice Awards for which it was nominated; and seven of the eleven BAFTA Awards for which it was nominated, including Best Film.

    Reactions from the Western world

    Slumdog Millionaire has been critically acclaimed in the Western world. As of 16 April 2009, Rotten Tomatoes has given the film a 94% rating with 193 fresh and thirteen rotten reviews. The average score is 8.2/10.[62] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 86, based on 36 reviews.[63] Movie City News shows that the film appeared in 123 different top ten lists, out of 286 different critics lists surveyed, the 3rd most mentions on a top ten list of any film released in 2008.[64]

    Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film four out of four stars, stating that it is, "a breathless, exciting story, heartbreaking and exhilarating."[65] Wall Street Journal critic Joe Morgenstern refers to Slumdog Millionaire as, "the film world's first globalized masterpiece."[66] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post argues that, "this modern-day "rags-to-rajah" fable won the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year, and it's easy to see why. With its timely setting of a swiftly globalizing India and, more specifically, the country's own version of the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" TV show, combined with timeless melodrama and a hardworking orphan who withstands all manner of setbacks, "Slumdog Millionaire" plays like Charles Dickens for the 21st century."[67] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times describes the film as "a Hollywood-style romantic melodrama that delivers major studio satisfactions in an ultra-modern way" and "a story of star-crossed romance that the original Warner brothers would have embraced, shamelessly pulling out stops that you wouldn't think anyone would have the nerve to attempt anymore."[68] Anthony Lane of the New Yorker stated, "There is a mismatch here. Boyle and his team, headed by the director of photography, Anthony Dod Mantle, clearly believe that a city like Mumbai, with its shifting skyline and a population of more than fifteen million, is as ripe for storytelling as Dickens’s London [...] At the same time, the story they chose is sheer fantasy, not in its glancing details but in its emotional momentum. How else could Boyle get away with assembling his cast for a Bollywood dance number, at a railroad station, over the closing credits? You can either chide the film, at this point, for relinquishing any claim to realism or you can go with the flow—surely the wiser choice."[69] Several other reviewers have described Slumdog Millionaire as a Bollywood-style "Masala" movie,[70] due to the way the film combines "familiar raw ingredients into a feverish masala"[71] and culminates in "the romantic leads finding each other."[72]

    Other critics offered more mixed reviews. For example, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, stating that "despite the extravagant drama and some demonstrations of the savagery meted out to India's street children, this is a cheerfully undemanding and unreflective film with a vision of India that, if not touristy exactly, is certainly an outsider's view; it depends for its full enjoyment on not being taken too seriously." He also pointed out that the film is co-produced by Celador Films, who own the rights to the original Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and claimed that “it functions as a feature-length product placement for the programme.”[73][74] A few critics also panned it. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle states that, "Slumdog Millionaire has a problem in its storytelling. The movie unfolds in a start-and-stop way that kills suspense, leans heavily on flashbacks and robs the movie of most of its velocity.... [T]he whole construction is tied to a gimmicky narrative strategy that keeps Slumdog Millionaire from really hitting its stride until the last 30 minutes. By then, it's just a little too late."[75] Eric Hynes of IndieWIRE called it "bombastic", "a noisy, sub-Dickens update on the romantic tramp's tale" and "a goofy picaresque to rival Forrest Gump" in its morality and romanticism.[76]

    Reactions from India and the Indian diaspora

    Slumdog Millionaire has been a subject of discussion among a variety of people in India and the Indian diaspora.

    Controversies

    Slumdog Millionaire has stirred controversy on a few topics including its portrayals of Indians and Hinduism and the welfare of its child actors.

    Soundtrack

    The Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman, who planned the score for over two months and completed it in two weeks.[77] Rahman won the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and won two out of three nominations for the Academy Awards, including one for Best Original Score and one for Best Original Song. The song "O... Saya" got a nomination shared with M.I.A., and the song "Jai Ho" won the Oscar, which A. R. Rahman shared with lyricist Gulzar. The soundtrack was released on M.I.A.'s record label N.E.E.T. On Radio Sargam, film critic Goher Iqbal Punn termed the soundtrack Rahman's "magnum opus" which will acquaint "the entire world" with his artistry.[78]

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One of the best movies of last year!

Whenever I think back about 2008, I will always think about The Dark
Knight. I love that movie, it blew me away, but then there was this
hidden gem, that I didn't see till this year. Where to begin? There is
so much to say about this film but I am at a loss for words. How do I
describe the way it made me feel? It's a drama, a romance, an adventure
with action, a story of survival and social injustice. It will tug at
your heartstrings and stimulate your mind. Shocking images of poverty
and violence will assault your senses, but a story of enduring love and
perseverance will counter the scenes of sorrow and deprivation. Top
notch directing and acting, excellent cinematography, and most of all
great storytelling make this a cinematic experience not soon to be
forgotten. Told in a series of flashbacks, we see the events that
shaped the life of our protagonist and enabled him to answer the
questions as they were presented to him. Good character development
brings us close to the ones we feel for as well as the villains we
loathe. This film is a masterpiece. A work of genius. To put it simply,
it's awesome. Of course it will have it's detractors, and some viewers
will undoubtedly find reasons not to like it. That will be their loss.
It did win several Oscar nominations including Best Picture, and in my
opinion it deserves it. To say I highly recommend this would be an
understatement.

deathlok_lover from United States - 11 June 2009

Bolyes behavior towards the 2 children makes this movie trash to me

The main actors as children – are a important part of the story.I can't enjoy any part of the movie knowing these precious children are
in harms way.To just dump them back in the slums is where HE belongs.HE has put them in danger with their fame – then dumped them back in
the slums. They deserve a safe existence and good education-NOW.I want the truth – where is the "proof" the film set up trusts – and if
they did spend the money to protect and educate them now thru college.All praise and glory he thinks he deserves – makes him – nothing but
the most horrible (can't even call him a "human being")of the worst CREATURE to ever exist.

artscapesg from United States - 9 June 2009

Not very realistic, though very well shot

I watched this movie when it debuted at the box office but didn't
bother writing a review till now. The movie was entertaining on all
fronts, just all this critical acclaim isn't rightfully earned. A lot
of things shown in the movie are just very unrealistic, I know this
because I am Indian myself. First things first, performances were very refreshing. Of course I knew
most of the actors as I've seen them on screen while growing up. (Anil
Kapoor/Saurabh Sukhla/Mahesh Manjrekar/Irffan Khan, all of them were
good. Dev Patel as Jamal did a fine job, he is not a thorough looker,
but that is what the role demanded. Freida Pinto as Latika was good
too, though she needs to polish her acting skills more. Madhur Mittal
as Salim was outstanding, I haven't really seen him before but he sure
has command over acting. All the kids were absolutely amazing, they
acted so natural without having acting classes or whatsoever. Superb!
Out of all the younger actors, in my opinion Tanay Chheda stood out as
the strongest. Music was of course outstanding, because the music has been done by
maestro A.R.Rahman, I have always been a fan of him, though this is not
his best work, I'm glad he got an Oscar for his composition, and made
his name a trademark in the market of international music. Jai Ho and
Ringa Ringa are absolutely foot-tappable numbers.Now the bad points… I understand the kids later grew up at places
where tourism is a big thing, so they learned English. But it is
certainly not realistic that the police cops were also talking in
English to Jamal when he was being questioned, not just them… almost
everybody was talking English. It would have been much better if they
would have just talked in Hindi with included subtitles for viewers.
Instead of letting the protagonists talk in English because it looks
better than subtitles, that made it totally fake.Second thing… Kaun Banega Crorepati? (Or Who wants to be a
millionaire?) was never a Live thing on TV, sure, of course I
understand that they can make it live because someone has reached the
last 3 questions, but they should have somehow narrated that in the
story, just demands a little creativity. Thirdly, Salims character should have been written better. It still
remains unclear/confusing why he changed in the last moment. It would
have been better if Danny would have let Salim converse with Jamal
first (On the phone even..) that he realised his mistakes and is about
to make up for everything.These three things caused me to cut three points off the total mark for
Slumdog Millionaire. The hype isn't really needed, its a fine product,
but not flawless.:) Overall : Watch Slumdog Millionaire if you love good cinema! Thumbs
up!

rajandey from Netherlands - 9 June 2009

'…a bold and brilliant achievement…'

Danny Boyle has made his name as a director who alters between genres.
From gritty drug dramas, to deep space horror quests, he's truly a man
who delivers in all aspects of cinema.Slumdog Millionaire follows the life of Mumbian slumdog Jamal. A street
kid that all his life experience are the answers to the questions of
the Indian version of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'.The whole concept of the movie is brilliantly original and how the
movie plays out is ultimately rewarding. It's a mix mash of many
different moods. At times it's a thriller, others it's a tense drama;
but overall it's a romance that visits true depths of excellence.The direction is on-par with all of Danny Boyles work. It's sharp,
inspired and full of breathtaking cinematography. The imagery is
dynamic and whole thing looks wonderful.Never mind the young cast, there's plenty of talent here from the two
leads. Not exactly Oscar worthy, but they do deliver a much likable
quality to the picture.The movie looks very real and at times it's quite disturbing, but
shamefully it never captures the heart aching quality that could have
made this one of the years greatest.Slumdog Millionaire above all is just really entertaining. The entire
thing is so epic and captivating and never lets you go once your in.Some of the music choice does let down movie down though? The producers
probably thought it was necessary to throw a load of modernised
Bollywood tones in there, just because the movie is filmed in India.
There's also lots of irrelevancy (massive dance sequence at the end)
but this is a bold and brilliant achievement.Overall: Slumdog Millionaire is a goldmine of emotions and a master of
genres. A brilliant and at times breathtaking movie that is both epic
and memorable. Not the perfect Oscar draw but any fans of cinema will
find it very rewarding.

DVDreview2009 (gas911@hotmail.co.uk) from United Kingdom - 7 June 2009

So Overblown

After all of the hype and awards for Slumdog Millionaire, I expected
more. The film is really quite average in every way. It has three
things going for it: 1) Freida Pinto is drop-dead gorgeous, 2) the
ending 'music video' at the train station is fun and invigorating, and
3) Freida Pinto is drop-dead gorgeous. That's about it.From beginning to end, the story zig-zags around like a snake in a
traffic jam. Sensible dialog is lacking much of the time, character
development seems like an afterthought, and the film is often
ploddingly slow and boring.The plight of the poor in Mumbai is a topic worth exploring, but
Slumdog does a poor job of it. There is little depth to the storyline,
aside from the outhouse scene. I have to admit — that looked pretty
deep to me!

comquest from Atlanta, GA - 7 June 2009

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