Cyriac George

Simply the B.E.S.T.

I dont have anything other than that for Slumdog Millionaire. First of all let me make a request to you guys, I made a mistake by watching this on my laptop. This is one of the very few films that you must watch in the movie halls. So please dont spoil the fun and do watch it in theaters.

What is so special about Slumdog Millionaire? Forget the awards and those big names you hear. It is simply an awesome movie. It has many thing which the films now-a-days lacks. Orginiality, Drama, Perfection, Suspense, Touch from real lives, Direction, Entertaining, Locations, Sets, Cast (!), Camera… the list goes on. Am not a serious film watcher or a genius in the film world, so i dont know the technical terms that is out there, which actually should be in the list above. So please bear that.

Slumdog Millionaire, basically is a story of a poor, uneducated village boy from the slums of Mumbai, who gets on a TV show;, “Who wants to be a Millionaire” and the bags the jackpot with correct answers. This is the outer skin of the movie, but beneath that it is the whole life (well not whole) story of the boy, right from his childhood, and the events he undergoes, about his love life and all.

Danny Boyle; the director of the movie, has done a wonderful job. I beleive its due to this English director the movie is this good, else any other traditional Indian director (there are good director, I said typical) would have stuffed un-necessary emotions and drama. Danny has done a perfect job by blending the right amount of drama and emotions throughout the film.

Orginiality

Story seems so original, and believable. I had only one part which I couldnt swallow; the brothers (the protagonist and his brother) were real slum boys and as they grew up, they suddenly start speaking English. But then i remembered about this guy. If he can do this, then why cant they do it!

The same kid after one year (now he knows he is famous)

Perfection

Not a single time during the 120 minutes, I felt the director is throwing BS at me. He did it all with great perfection. The various shots in the movie, they are so realistic that it gives you another image of Mumbai.

Direction

As i said the English director did his magic. The movie’s base line is the TV show, Who wants to be a millionaire. Its a show in which the player is asked a series of questions and for each right answer he is rewarded. The movie begins when the show has finished one day. Then its flash back time. We are taken through each question and how he knew the answer to all those questions. Its from his core life-experiences that he learned the answers. We have all heard experience is the best teacher. Here is the perfect example for that.

Cast

Forget the big shots, forget Anil Kapoor. Jamal Malik (the hero) played Dev Patel, is the guy in the spot light here. From the begining itself, i feel Dev is really the character, because he is so perfect for the role. Okay looks are good, but what about acting ? Simply awesome. I cant believe he pulled this off without any big shots in the movie to help him out. He has done very well his role. So did the other musketeers too. Oh i didnt mention that before. In the film, it shows the life of Jamal, his brother Salim and their friend Latika, whom the plot calls “The Three Musketeers”. The entire casting is perfect and everybody did their part very well. As i told the movie shows the life of those three lads from childhood, we see total 9 new comers in the movie, playing each characters childhood, adolescence, adulthood. The child playing Jamal’s childhood did his job pretty well that we feel his emotions sometimes in the film (@those who watched the film, remember the Amitabh Bachchan’s helicopter scene)

Camera

Something different. After a long time of BS movies out there, showing same old stories, with nothing fresh and new, Slumdog Millionaire is an eye-freshener. It gives a treat for your eyes with the exotic sets and locations. Dont misunderstand when i say “exotic”. Even though they show slums in the movie, it is shown in such a way that you love what you see.

So I have praised the movie pretty long, so is there is nothing wrong with the movie ?

YES. I felt something wrong with this movie. Just one thing. Its actually not a part of the movie. The last song, which A R Rahman bagged an award, is totally in-appropriate. I dont understand how does the songs fits or even appropriate for a movie like Slumdog Millionaire.

But dont worry that, this song is going to spoil your movie. Just stop watching when the movie is over, dont wait for the credits.

Till now, the movie has bagged 40 awards, 37 nominations and 10 Oscar nomination. No wonder why this movie bagged that much awards, its such a marvel. I truly wish that this movie bags this years oscar for Best Motion Picture of the Year and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published.

So go ahead and watch the movie (in the halls) and come back here and let us know,

How did you enjoy the film?

What do you see unique in this film?

Why did you like the film?

-->