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| Poster artwork for the drama film Slumdog Millionaire. |
Mumbai’s Millionaire by Linh
Director Danny Boyle seems to enjoy challenges and is
daring enough to take risks. His film Slumdog
Millionaire, shows his willingness to surrender all his control to the
unpredictability of Mumbai and its people, which gives his film a very
refreshing look and feel. He was even using hand-held cameras to capture the
beauty of the people living in the slums, its sights, sounds and the soul of
Mumbai.
Boyle’s direction is very different to his hit film Trainspotting
with its mind-numbing surrealism, and he brings Slumdog Millionaire to a new level of euphoric pleasure. Boyle and
his co-director Loveleen Tandan worked with a crew consisting mostly of locals
and even included non-actors such as those who lived in the slums of Mumbai.
Tandan’s distinct knowledge and understanding of the people, culture and
surroundings help bring uncompromised authenticity to Slumdog Millionaire.
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DESTINY
DUO:
Jamal (Dev Patel) believes he is destined to be with Latika (Freida Pinto) in
the film Slumdog Millionaire. Image:
Fox Searchlight Pictures, Celador Films.
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Slumdog
Millionaire is based on Vikas Swarup’s novel Q & A and tells how 18 year old
Jamal Malik, who was born and raised in the slums of Mumbai in India, has made
it onto the television show Who Wants To
Be A Millionaire? to win 20 million rupees. When Jamal and his brother
Salim were young, they become orphaned after witnessing their mother’s death
and during their escape from the slums, they meet an orphaned girl named
Latika, to whom Jamal is instantly attracted. He believes they are destined to
be together and continues to pursue her despite the obstacles keeping them
apart.
The film opens with a Police Inspector torturing and
interrogating Jamal about how he managed to win 10 million rupees on a TV game
show, when he’s merely an uneducated boy from the slums. Jamal explains with
numerous flashbacks, how every experience of pain, joy and love throughout his
life provides a correct answer to each question on the show. The Police
Inspector releases Jamal so he can appear on the show to try and double his
winnings.
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JAMAL'S
JACKPOT: Jamal (Dev Patel) is in awe as game show host Prem Kumar
(Anil Kapoor) congratulates him in the film Slumdog
Millionaire. Image: Foxsearchlight Pictures, Celador Films.
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Eighteen year old Dev Patel makes his feature film debut
in Slumdog Millionaire after making
regular appearances on the provocative teenage drama television series Skins. Patel is adept at playing the
goofy and naïve Jamal Malik, whose childlike wonderment and trusting manner
endears him to the viewer.
Freida Pinto also makes her film debut in Slumdog Millionaire and is superb as the
childhood sweetheart, Latika, who Jamal feverishly pursues throughout the film.
Pinto is convincing and shows much sincerity as the indecisive but adamant
Latika.
Madhur Mittal portrays Jamal’s older brother Salim with
plenty of vivacious verve and energy - he’s definitely the raging Yang to
Jamal’s gentle Yin. From an early age, Salim was the entrepreneurial and
hot-headed of the two, using every opportunity to make money. Mittal even looks
the part of a young, handsome thug and plays the role to perfection.
The ensemble cast, particularly the children who
portrayed the main characters in the earlier scenes, are outstanding. Anil
Kapoor is perfectly cast as the smug but charming host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Prem Kumar; Irrfan Khan is simply
splendid as the suspicious Police Inspector; and Ankur Vikal is impressive as Maman,
the corrupt manager at the Hope Orphanage.
Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy has cleverly adapted Vikas
Swarup’s novel Q & A to the
screen with a blend of humour, drama and a touch of intensity. Cinematographer
Anthony Dod Mantle, who worked with Boyle on his previous film featuring
children and money, Millions,
succeeds in capturing the breath-taking panoramic views of Mumbai’s sweeping
landscape, from the poverty-stricken slums to the booming business district and
even the nightlife of the city’s seedy underbelly.
Slumdog
Millionaire's soundtrack is a powerhouse fusion of hip
hop, dance, and rap incorporated with traditional Indian sounds of sitar, guitar
and pulsating drum beats. Composer A.R. Rahman has effectively created a
musical melting pot which instantly grabs your attention. Unlike most other
films which use music as background noise, A.R. Rahman keeps the music in the forefront
of the action and cleverly reflects the characters emotions and situations in
the film. The inclusion of M.I.A.'s 'Paper Planes' and the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
produced 'Aaj Ki Raat' amongst Rahman's own compositions, give a wonderful
diversity of sounds from Indian cultural and Western influences.
Slumdog
Millionaire is an entertaining, thought-provoking
independent film with plenty of exciting tension and performances to keep viewers
captivated. Winner of eight Academy Awards, this little cinematic gem was
previously rejected by many film studios before finally finding a home with Fox
Searchlight Pictures.
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TALENTED
TEAM: Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (youngest Jamal), Rubiana Ali
(youngest Latika) and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (youngest Salim) on the set of
the film Slumdog Millionaire. Image:
Foxsearchlight Pictures, Celador Films.
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Director:
Danny Boyle
Writers: Simon
Beaufoy (screenplay), Vikas Swarup (novel Q
& A)
Cast: Dev
Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Saurabh Shukla,
Ankur Vikal, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Tanay Chheda, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail,
Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Rubiana Ali, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar
Producers:
Christian Colson, Tessa Ross, Paul Ritchie, François Ivernel, Cameron
McCracken, Ivana Mackinnon, Tabrez Noorani, Paul Smith
Cinematographer:
Anthony Dod Mantle
Original
Music Composer: A.R. Rahman
Film
Editor: Chris Dickens
Production:
Mark
Digby (Production Designer), Abhishek Redkar (Art Director), Michelle Day (Set
Decorator)
Costume
Designer: Suttirat Anne Larlarb
Languages:
English and Hindi, with English subtitles
Running
Time: 2 hours
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