Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionare is not *that* great movie that people are saying it. Of course, it is a very good story with good dialogues. But overall the film is just OK-OK. I am saying this for those who haven't watched the movie. You must have heard much about it - from your friends, at the TV and on the Oscars (for which Rahman won an award). And after hearing much about it, I am sure you have too many expectations for the movie. Don't expect that much from it; it promises entertainment, if expectations are not very high.

Having said that, the movie is just good, nothing more. The story is at Jamal Malik, who is playing Who Wants To Be A Millionare (Kaun Banega Crorepati) with Anil Kapoor. Anil asks Jamal to introduce himself. Jamal says he's an assistant at a call centre. Now Anil asks what's an assistant. Jamal tells he serves tea to all. Anil laughs and says, "A chai wala!"; and he thinks how will a chai-wala win the big mind-game.

So Anil starts asking him questions. Jamal gives correct answers to the first few questions and Anil gets surprised on Jamal knowing the answers. Jamal gives all the correct answers ('how' will be answered later!). And on the last question, Anil had told Jamal privately that the answer is option no. D, but still Jamal says the answer is option no. B, which is correct and Jamal wins a million dollars.

At this, Anil gets surprised. He thinks how Jamal knew the correct answer; after all, Anil had told him the wrong option. So police catches Jamal and asks him how he knew all the answers. Jamal tells them that all the questions were related to his life. For example, the first question was, "Who was the lead actor in Deewaar?" (it was Amitabh Bachchan). When Jamal was a child, Amitabh came to his place for shooting that film. Jamal had taken his autograph also. That's why he knew the answers.

Cops ask more to Jamal. He tells also about his girlfriend, Latika (see the photo below).

Now the police asks Jamal that why he wanted to be a millionaire, was he not happy with his earlier life of a chai-wala. Jamal tells that his brother (Salim) had kidnapped Latika, and he couldn't find her. He went to the show because he thought Latika would see him on TV and will talk to him.

So at the end, after he becomes a millionaire, he gets his love back and leads a happy life!

From an interview with its director, Danny Boyle, here's a question you might find interesting (well, I found interesting):

The Amitabh Bachchan character, is that a real Indian movie star?

Oh, he’s massive. He’s the most, apart from Gandhi, he’s probably the most famous name in India. And he’s a magnificent actor. He has starred in hundreds of films, hundreds. So, when you mention his name it is like mentioning… It’s very difficult to find an equivalent in the West. There isn’t one. You’d have to put together Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise and Michael Phelps. You’d have to put them together and say it’s that level of royalty. Absolute royalty. He’s a God to people. Outside his house in Bombay, people wait for days and days and days to catch a glimpse of him as he leaves.

Well, Amitabh (ji) is a great actor, and he has been seen in hundreds of films, but I don't agree on what he said about Gandhi. Gandhi gave us freedom, that's why we were able to watch movies of Amitabh. If there was no freedom, how could there be Amitabh? I am tired of every outsider disobeying M.K. Gandhi.

And from another interview, here's a controversial question:

And speaking of that kiss -- that must have been a little controversial for them, right? Aren't they really not allowed to do that in public?

Danny Boyle: That's right. It's very tough for actresses, especially in public because we were shooting in a public place and there's no control there. There's always hundreds and hundreds of people watching, so I had to ask Freida about it very carefully and she was very gracious; she agreed to do it. Because not all their actresses would have agreed to do it -- I think it's sort of like nudity here; how some people will do it and some people won't. It's quite a big thing there, but she understood it was necessary for the story and I tried to convince her that it would be seen in a very gracious and beautiful way. It wouldn't look cheap or tawdry or anything like that. And I felt like it was done in the best taste possible.

(Do I need to say anything, huh? :D).

I have heard in news that people (especially slums) got angry with the word 'Slumdog'. Is it true? I don't know much about it.

The best scenes in this film are by Anil Kapoor, he has given life to this movie. Otherwise, it would have been nothing more than another flop! And the best songs are by A.R. Rahman, who needs no introduction. His music is always new, refreshing and stylish. At the Oscars, he grabbed the award for Jai Ho, on which I wrote here. Irrfaan Khan is seen in a new character this time. He is usually doing comedy roles, but with this film, he has proved that he can do serious roles too.

Now because the film has gotten many awards, I think people expect much from it. That's why I said "don't expect too much from it" in the first para. The movie is just good, and if you don't wear your thinking cap while watching movies, you'll certainly enjoy this. I can't give it more than three stars.

Movie Rating - 3/5 (Good) ***

Music Rating - 4/5 (Excellent!)

Finally, if you're a die-hard Anil Kapoor fan, you'll love this movie. It's one of the best of Anil. He promises you complete entertainment. Hope you like it!