""What can a slumdog possibly know?"" The best picture Oscar winner of 2008 was my third favorite film of the year, loaded with amazing visuals, brilliant camerawork, and intrigue throughout.
Based on the 2005 novel "Q&A" by Vikas Swarup, the story follows Jamal Malik's many adventures in the Juhu slums of Mumbai, India in the early '90s through mid 2000s. On the eve of winning ten million rupees ($200,000) on India's version of 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' he is taken into police custody and tortured until he reveals how he, a simple slumdog, could know all the answers to questions that people like him aren't even privy to knowing about the subjects they're based on, and so, Jamal begins to tell a back-story to a detective for how he knew each question. Playing 18yr old Jamal Malik is Dev Patel, whom for most of the movie is either in the hot seat on the game show, or in the hot seat at a police station where he begins to explain how he knew an answer, which melts away into a flashback with no overture by Jamal. For he really doesn't get to do much until the second hour of the film, which isn't bad, but he didn't seem to get to do all the fun stuff either. But he does play a lovesick teenager convincingly in a great performance. Playing Jamal's 18yr old lifelong love interest Latika is Freida Pinto, who has a very minimal role in the film as it revolves around Jamal's never-ending quest to be reunited with her, and when we first meet 18yr old Latika, she's just slaving away submissively as a butler to long time Juhu gangster Javed (Mahesh Manjrekar). Far from spectacular, and apart from being in his villa, only has a few short appearances outside in the streets. The role was nothing unique, but after getting a good look at her you can't be surprised why Jamal is dedicating his unenviable life to be with her. Filling the role of comic relief in the film is the game show host of Indian Millionaire Prem Kumar, as played by revered Indian actor Anil Kapoor. He makes Jamal feel on edge with his racy comments throughout the show that frequently catch Jamal off guard, and makes several successful attempts at getting the audience to laugh at Jamal's nerverosity. However, we learn that Kumar is not all that jolly like he appears, as he too was once a slumdog that seems to hold his fame above all else...even the slightest possibility of Jamal winning the game. Still, he's a very likeable character that you enjoy seeing on screen, regardless of what bizarre motions he takes to preserve his 'fame' as the slumdog game show host. If you haven't seen him before, then you're likely to become a fan after seeing this. Playing Jamal's 18yr old brother Salim is Madhur Mittal, who excels in his performance as he's in a conflict of interest with Jamal over both Latika, and the reasons for certain bad decisions years earlier, such as playing assassin to Javed. His role however is short lived as he doesn't show up until a little over an hour in the film, and has a role that runs about the same length as 18yr old Latika's. He was a cool character to watch, but not enough was there to boost the intrigue in the film's second hour. The first hour of the film I found the most enjoyable as it deals with a series of relatively unrelated flashbacks of random events in Jamal's life which feature constant jirating camera moves, graphic visuals of life in a Mumbai slum, and loveable performances by the film's youngest stars. Each flashback is like a mini-adventure in and of itself which answers at some point during it where the answer to a particular question was found by Jamal and his brother Salim. Due to the fast paced feel and amazing visuals in the first half of the film which are sub-par in the second half (since the slum by then has been converted into a mini-city where the action is toned down, along with the camerawork, music, and visuals), I find that the movie also slows in both pace and interest as the story no longer consists of mini-adventures that seem epic in the eyes of young Jamal & Salim. Rather it's dealing with Jamal trying to steal Latika away from Javed's villa for himself. Far less impressive and less adventurous than young Jamal going to disgusting depths to get a movie star's autograph (the Indian equivalent of Chuck Norris no less-lolz), or Salim scheming an escape from the freak-maker Maman and his goons' paradise for slumdogs. Playing young Jamal & Salim are Ayush Mahesh Khedekar & Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail who steal you away in their conniving adventures in Mumbai that are told with equally colorful & graphic visuals which perfectly depict slum life. My favorite adventure featuring the brothers finding solace in a paradise where a mysterious man named Maman (Ankur Vikal) selflessly provides food, shelter, and work for orphan children. Though Maman's kindness isn't all that it seems. But his taste in poetry is great! But of the two, Jamal is certianly more blinded by his love for Latika than Salim, who is more of a jackass. As the police inspector questioning Jamal is Irrfan Khan, who seems understanding after a while as you can tell that he's buying into Jamal's amazingly detailed account of his life, unlike Sargeant Srinivas (Saurabh Shukla) whom also provides some comic relief as the bumbling assistant to the inspector. Both of them seemed fit for each other as the wise policeman and idiot sidekick. Similar to the bumbling Watson to the wise Holmes. Playing early teenage Jamal & Salim are Tanay Chheda & Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, whose roles are minimal in comparison to the other renditions of their characters, as they're only featured in a clever stint at the Taj Mahal and surrounding areas where they pull off cheap capers to make it through every day life, as well as getting real jobs elsewhere when Jamal insists on searching for Latika, as he continually insists throughout the movie. But their performances, along with those of their younger renditions are much more impressive than their 18yr old renditions who don't get in on too much of the action, so to speak. Director Danny Boyle certainly accomplished a lot in making this movie, as does Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle with his fantastic visuals and Editor Chris Dickens with his quick cuts and still motion shots that fit the pace of the scenes. All three were well deserved Oscar wins. Although, the slow pace and lack of interest in the second hour knocks off half a star for the director and overall rating. Plus a whole star for the story itself as half of it isn't too good and makes me satisfied with the first hour enough to the point where I could just stop watching the movie, but the overall arc is still decent. Overall, the film is majestic in its style as you typically don't come across film's like this at the cinema, but this Cinderella like story that's referred to as an MTV romance flick in comparison to Ramgopal Verma's film Satya (1998) which apparently features a much more stark view of slum life, is still a joy to watch as it, and A.R. Rahman's musical score and songs will simply win you over. http://www.movieweb.com/review/RE9CsgeeUN0Rcg -- regards, Vithur
