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Starring:
Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan,
Mahesh Manjrekar
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Slumdog Millionaire is an adaptation of the novel Q & A
written by the Indian author Vikas Swarup. It is Slumdog
Millionaire in English and Slumdog Crorepati in Hindi,
directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and
co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan.
The protagonist Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from
the slums of Mumbai, is just one question away from
winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's smash
hit TV show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"
Jamal
picaresque childhood, lived out on the poorest fringes
of the city doesn't tarnish his good-hearted nature. But
his brother Salim hunders for wealth and power. Tensions
and rivalries between the brothers intensify as they
grow into young adults, until a betrayal forces the
three friends apart, and Jamal loses Latika, just as he
realises he truly loves her.
When Jamal (played by Dev Patel) finds her again, things
have changed irrevocable. Salim is working for a violent
gangster - and this gang lord has married Latika.(now
Freida Pinto) Jamal puts everything on the line to free
the love of his life, only to lose her, and his brother
again.
Despite himself, gradually the hostile Inspector is
drawn into Jamal story - and starts to believe that this
slum dog is actually telling the truth. In a final
exchange we learn the real reason behind Jamal's
decision to appear on the show in the first place.
Finally convinced, the Inspector releases him to go back
onto the show, to answer the final question.
Cast:
Jamal (boy child)- Ayush Mahesh Khedekar
Jamal (adolescent) - Tanay Chheda
Jamal Malik – Dev Patel
Latika (girl child) - Rubina Ali
Latika (adolescent) – Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar)
Latika – Freida Pinto
Salim (boy child) – Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail
Salim (adolescent) – Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala
Salim Malik – Madhur Mittal
Prem Kumar (Game Show Host) - Anil Kapoor
Police Inspector - Irrfan Khan
Constable Srinivas - Saurabh Shukla
Javed (the don) - Mahesh Manjrekar
Jamal’s mother - Sanchita Choudhary
Maman (child beggars’ boss) - Ankur Vikal
Slum kids - Shah Rukh Munshi, Mozhim Shakim Sheikh
Qureshi,
Boy in Rama’s costume – Devesh Rawal
German Tourist at Taj Mahal - Janet de Vigne
TV show director - Rajendranath Zutshi
Vision Mixer - Jeneva Talwar
TV Reporter - Rhea Lawyer
Newsreaders - Tanya Singh, Anand Tiwari, Faezeh Jalali,
Meghana Jhalani, Anju Singh
Call Centre Manager - Saurabh Agarwal
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Arrested on suspicion of cheating, he tells the police the
incredible story of his life on the streets, and of the
girl he loved and lost. But what is a kid with no interest
in money doing on the show? And how is it he knows all the
answers?
Its the
moment of truth in the studio. Before a hushed studio
audience and standing under the blazing studio lights,
18 year old Mumbai slum kid Jamal Malik faces his final
question - and the chance to become a millionaire.
The show's host Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor) has little
sympathy for this rags-to-riches contestant. Having clawed
his own way up from the streets. Prem doesn't like the
prospect of sharing the Millionaire limelight, and refuses
to believe that a kid from the slums could know all the
answers.
When the show runs out of time and breaks for the night,
Prem already has the police waiting outside the studio to
arrest Jamal, who he is sure must be cheating.
Interrogating the contestant through the night, the
Inspector of Police (Irrfan Khan) finds that Jamal is as
confused as anyone else by how far he has come in the
contest. They revisit the questions one by one; Jamal
explains how he came to know each answer. As he does so,
the extraordinary story of his young life begins to
emerge.
Jamal is a story of modern India. Growing up in the slums
of Mumbai, as a young boy his mother is killed in a
religious uprising. Jamal finds himself living by his wits
on the streets with Salim, his older brother, and Latika,
an orphaned girl Jamal comes to care for, and as they grow
older, to love.
Overnight the story of Jamal's dream run on the show and
his subsequent arrest has turned him into a media
sensation. On the other side of the city, Salim and Latika
see Jamal on the news.
Shocked into conscience, Salim
sets Latika free from her violent husband's imprisonment,
knowing fully well that this seals his own fate. Latika
drives across the city to the studio, while Jamal returns
to the hot seat for the final question, but Latika is
caught up in Mumbai's gridlocked traffic.
As the whole of India watches, breathless, Jamal asks if
he can phone a friend for the answer to the final question
which would make him a millionaire, he dials the only
number he knows- his brother's mobile phone. The phone,
which his brother Salim gave to Latika for her escape
rings... and Latika answers the call. The lovers are, at
last, together.
Slumdog Crorepati has swear words and portrayal of the
filthiness of the slums which of course is a reality. The
film does not have any technical brilliance or creative
excellence, could be since the director chose to be
realistic and has used the typical bollywood style of
story telling. It has what many bollywood hit films have –
victory of the underdog - a feel good factor!
- Amar Jeet
Credits & Crew
Studio - Celador Films, Film4
Producer - Christian Colson
Director - Danny Boyle
Co-director (India) - Loveleen Tandan
Written by Simon Beaufoy
Music by A.R. Rahman
Cinematography - Anthony Dod Mantle
Editing - Chris Dickens
Supporting Cast:
Sunil Kumar Agrawal, Jira Banjara, Sheikh Wali, Himanshu
Tyagi, Sharib Hashmi, Virendra Chatterjee, Feroz Abbas
Khan, Virender Kumar, Tiger, Chirag Parmar ... Young
Arvind , Nazneen Shaikh, Farzana Ansari, Anupam Shyam,
Salim Chaus, Singh Shera, Harvinder Kaur, Narendra Singh
Bhati, Satya Mudgal, Kinder Singh, Christine Matovich
Singh, Thomas Lehmkuhl, Siddesh Patil, Najma Shaikh,
Saeeda Shaikh, Alka Satpute, Tabassum Khan, Sitaram
Panchal, Nigel Caesar, Ajit Pandey, Kedar Thapar, Amit
Leonard, Rajesh Kumar, Sagar Ghopalkar, Pradeep Solanki,
Abdul Hamid Sheikh, Dheeraj Waghela, Arfi Lamba, Taira
Colah, Varun Bagri, Ankur Tewari, Anjum Sharma, Deepali
Dalvi, Anisha Nagar, Farrah Shaikh, Mamta Sharma, Neha
M. Khatarawalla
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