Producer: Christian Colson

Director: Danny Boyle

Writer: Simon Beaufoy

Stars: Anil Kapoor, Dev Patel, Frieda Pinto, Irrfan Khan, Mahesh Manjrekar

Creative Quotient
Based on Vikas Swarup’s novel Q & A, Danny Boyle’s take on Dharavi slum dwellers is as shocking as it is endearing. This is a rich tapestry of human experiences with several realistic and well-rounded charactes adding to its texture. But the running stich that holds all the motifs together is an 18-year-old slum boy, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel). Poised to win two crore rupees in television game show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire he’s held by the police as a cheater. How could he answer all those questions, is the charge. Investigating Inspector (Irrfan) discovers over an enlightening interview with Jamal as to how clue to each question is provided by troubled childhood circumstances of his childhood. Also woven in is a sweet little romance between Jamal and his childhood sweetheart Latika (Frieda) who’s now the moll of a gnagster (Mahesh Manjrekar) and the bigoted quiz master played adeptly by Anil Kapoor who runs down the golden boy on winning spree at every possible moment. Although predictable, this is an engaging plot that will certainly change your indifferent attitude towards the numerous street kids we accost in our daily lives in trains selling wares, begging at traffic signals and delinquent teenagers at garages. Simon Beaufoy’s screenplay pulsates with life - with it’s tragedies and triumphs. The creative content of the film is admirably high.

Technical Expertise
Director Danny astounds and excites the viewer with his aspirational narrative. Of the cast, young Dev Patel steals the show with his easy, unaffected performance. Frieda Pinto and Madhur Mittal (Jamal’s brother Salim) are the other big finds of the film. Anil Kapoor’s self-absorbed act of the anchor is thorougly convincing. Slumdog is a well-orchaestrated effort of the entire techincal team with Loveleen Tandan’s perfect set of actors, Anthony Dod Mantle’s searingly-composed frames and Chris Dickens’ crisp cuts. A R Rahman’s background score mixed most effectively by Resul Pookutty and the climax of the film is most aptly the now world-famous anthem Jai ho... A film that will shock, startle and warm the cockles of your heart.