STARRING

Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Shruti Seth, Mahesh Manjrekar, Raj Zutshi, Saurabh Shukla and others.

DIRECTION

Danny Boyle

STORY

The story of the film revolves around an eighteen year old orphan boy Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) from slums of Mumbai, who wants to win 20 million rupees on the game show ‘Who wants to be a millionaire’ to win back her beloved. Though, the boy does not have money at the time, but he is just one question away from winning and could end up being a millionaire anytime.

But this is not so easy for Jamal. He has been arrested by the police on the charges of cheating, as the police can not believe that a poor orphan ‘slumdog’ could have the requisite knowledge to come so far. In order to convince the authorities about his knowledge, Jamaal begins reflecting on his childhood.

Jamaal and his elder brother Salim lived in a slum and lost their mother during a riot. Forced to live on their own, Jamaal and Salim started to survive on petty crimes on the streets of Mumbai. During those days, Jamaal befriended Latika (Freida Pinto).

Jamaal realizes that the life on the Mumbai streets had made him capable of answering most of the questions asked on the game show and he has come so near to winning the game. What happens after that forms the rest of the film.

PERFORMANCE

Dev Patel, who plays the character of Jamal Malik, has done a superb job and leaves nothing to be desired in portraying his character authentically. Anil Kapoor also impresses in his character of Prem Kumar.

Freida Pinto, who plays Dev Patel’s love interest Latika in the film, impresses with her natural acting prowess. Irrfan Khan, as always, is successful in leaving his own stamp in the character of a Police Inspector. Mahesh Manjrekar and Saurabh Shukla have done justice with their respective roles.

The direction of Danny Boyle is top notch and the audience remains glued to his seat for the whole duration of the film. There is not a dull or lose moment in the film. Though, Danny is not from bollywood but has directed the film in bollywoodish style keeping in mind the convenience of viewers. The viewers connect with the lead players Latika and Jamaal and pines for their union.

The screenplay by Simon Beaufoy is one of the highlights of the film. The rag to riches story of an orphaned boy has been told in a most convincing manner.

A R Rahman’s music is soothing to ears and take the film to another level. His ‘Jai Ho’ number is already topping the charts. Rahman’s background music is eclectic and jells well with the theme of the film.

STARDUST VERDICT

Danny Boyle has made a good film with Mumbai as the background and AR Rahman has created magic with his musical scores. An excellent movie.