Slumdog Millionnaire: A Must See

I am positively gushing about Slumdog Millionaire. I do not post often. I only post reviews when I am truly angry or truly moved and Slumdog Millionaire moved me. Directed by Danny Boyle (Transpotting, 28 Days Later), Slumdog Millionaire tells a story of love, hope and sacrifice amidst the realities of injustice, poverty and the changing landscape of modern Mumbai. Jamal Malik (played by Dev Patel, Tanay Hemant Chheda and Ayush Mahesh Khedekar) is on the verge of winning 20,000,000 rupees on the game show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”. However, the night before he is to answer the final question, Jamal was arrested for suspicion of cheating. What happens during his interrogation reveals to us Jamal’s life story. 

Orphaned and living in the slums, Jamal retells his life experiences which led his knowledge of the answers to the questions posted during the game. Grim yet at times cocky, Jamal takes us on a journey from childhood innocence to teenage awakenings to young adulthood yearnings. He narrates the struggles of orphaned children and the skills and tricks they developed to survive. You will, no doubt, laugh at many of the survival skills he developed along the way. 

But Slumdog Millionaire is not a feel-good movie. In fact, it is the type of movie that will resonate with the viewer long after watching it. I normally avoid viewing violent scenes but in Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle offered his scenes in a palatable manner. The scenes of violence were seemingly light yet still achieving the heart-wrenching pain associated with them. A key scene where Jamal meets a blind friend is both painful and funny—something I did not think would be possible. The resulting emotional atmosphere of the scene is powerful. Slumdog Millionaire is essentially love story but it achieves more than that.

Slumdog Millionaire shows us a myriad of images that educates us about life. It teaches us about the death of innocence, the strength of the human spirit, the struggle for survival, the violent effects of poverty, the power of love and the hope of triumph. This movie is delivered to the viewer with so much grace that the experience of it changes him or her. A serious subject matter delivered in a gentle manner, Slumdog Millionaire is a definite must-see for every movie enthusiast. 

Photo Credit: http://www.variety.com