Jan 06, 2009 11:53 PM
3266 Views
(Updated Jan 06, 2009 11:57 PM)
*"slum dog millionaire" by Danny Boyle is a Stunning and Interesting movie.It is a movie made with the western audiences in mind.The title itself refers to a Jhopadpattiwala as a "slum Dog".The title may be titillating for the Western audience, but I feel it is an insult to the poor Indians.
The script is intricate and clever & so is the camera work, showing the slums, gutters, the garbage heaps and the despicable life in and around slums to the hungry western audience.It is uncomfortable to see so many people densely packed into tiny cubby holes with myriad lanes & open sewers flowing in the Juhu slums.You really feel blessed in your environs after watching the movie.
The story opens with Jamal Malik, A slum orphan, a chaiwalla in a call centre who has been thru the slum life with all the violence that a teenager can handle.Jamal is in the final round of "Kaun banega Crorepathi"having won a Million rupees as prize money.(It's funny he is being ridiculed for being a chaiwalla again & again on the show).
What strikes you is Jamal is not one bit perturbed on the show which keeps every one on the edge of the seat. He is there looking for his childhood girl friend Latika, who regularly watches the programe.He answers all the tricky questions posed to him by the cynical host Anil Kapoor, coz he is experienced thru every one of them.(Funny & contrived!)The cops smell a rat, he is arrested given third degree treatment by Irfan Khan(The S.I) & Saurab Shukla playing the constable.
He is let off, When the cops feel Jamal is genuine and is just answering out his experiences, which surprisingly come out in the form of quiz on the show.
Jamal wins the final question and and also his girl.
The movie starts with the early life of Jamal, Salim & Latika who are orphaned post communal riots.Both the boys escape from a begging racket, Latika gets left behind, turns a call girl & salim becomes a Gangster.
What strikes you as you go thru the movie is:
*The violence the slum kids go through and also their native intelligence.
Begging as an organized racket and the cruelty involved.
Craze for film stars.The kid Javed does not think twice before diving into septic tank of a public lavatory covered in smelly filth to get a glimpse and autograph from his favorite filmstar!
The slums and filth of Our Metropolises.
Inhuman cops.
The sheer size and noise on the Mumbai Railway stations and the jam packed trains.
No doubt the Western audience has lapped it up showering awards in the process.
