‘Slumdog Millionaire’: lovable ‘rags to riches’ fable

‘Slumdog Millionaire’: lovable ‘rags to riches’ fableDanny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire", from Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, is a comedy, a tragedy, a romance and a social commentary all rolled into one stylish, unpredictable package.

The film was the audience favorite at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, and, form the rave reviews, it could already be on its way towards winning more significant awards in the coming months.

An invigorating, impossible-to-categorize film, "Slumdog" is about an 18-year-old Mumbai orphan who becomes a national celebrity by correctly answering questions on the Indian version of 'Who Wants to Be A Millionaire'.

The story revolves around a resourceful, unerringly grounded character form Mumbai slums, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel). After he wins Rs 10 million on the game show, the film asks - how could a young man with no formal education know so many answers to such cryptic questions?

Accused of cheating, Jamal is taken into custody by the Mumbai police, and he proceeds to tell them his story - of his decidedly unsentimental education by way of poverty, tribal strife, abandonment, exploitation, criminal gangs, and undying love.

The two most interesting characters are the film's only ambiguous ones - Jamal's brother, Salim (Madhur Mittal), with opaque and mercurial motives; and game show host Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor), with the sly poker face. In fact, audiences feel the film is worth the price of admission just to hear Kapoor's silky pronunciation of the word 'millionaire'.

Based on the novel, "Q&A" by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup, the film sounding like a fairy tale, is actually an outsize celebration of perseverance and moral triumph!

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