Slumdog Millionaire – Movie Review
An orphaned Mumbai slum kid tries to change his life by winning TVs Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in a feelgood fable from director Danny Boyle and the writer of The Full Monty, Simon Beaufoy Jamal Malik (Skins star Dev Patel) is being beaten by Mumbai police for allegedly cheating on hit TV show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? One question away from the ultimate 20 million rupee prize, no one, including slick show host Prem (Anil Kapoor), believes a chai wallah (teaboy) like Jamal could know all the answers. As the tough inspector (Irfan Khan) replays Jamals appearance on the show, its revealed that each question corresponds to a specific life lesson from Jamals tragic past. Raised in abject poverty in Mumbais grimmest slum along with older brother Salim, then orphaned by a Hindu mob attack, Jamal and Salim are forced to fend for themselves on the streets through opportunistic petty crime. They pick up a young girl, fellow orphan Latika (Freida Pinto), escape the clutches of a vicious Fagin-like crime boss, lose Latika, and continue their picaresque adventures, one step ahead of the law. As adolescents, however, Salim becomes entranced by a life of crime and Latikas unexpected return sets brother against brother. Will Jamal salvage his girl, his fortune and his life on Millionaire? Adapted by Full Monty writer Simon Beaufoy from Vikas Swarups hit novel Q&A, Slumdog is an underdog tale. Beaufoys lively screenplay scampers after Swarups self-consciously Dickensian storytelling tradition, and is even built around the Millionaire show, as iconic a symbol of Western capitalist entertainment as exists. ming skyscrapers erupting from wasteland, slum kids turning into overnight
millionaires through the kiss of television. The films uniquely vibrant, headlong 21st