Slumdog Millionaire is a movie that is very attractive to the eyes. The cinematography is the highlight of the film, the colors it depicts is fantastic. It tells you a rags to riches story of a young boy(Jamal K Malik – Played by Dev Patel) from the Slums of Mumbai who becomes a millionaire and wins over his love through many trials and tribulations. He is only helped by his luck and his intelligence(?).
Danny Boyle is one of the foremost film directors from Britain and is already on the media angles for this movie which has brought in many award nominations till now. The treatment of the director makes this movie special. The movie boasts about an ensemble cast who have given their best performance including the child artistes and each of the characters have a role to play in the plot and carries the story forward.
In the last few years many films are coming up with non – linear style of story telling and which needs an astute director/editor to handle. Slumdog Millionaire too juxtaposes the past(flashback) – the story of the boy as he tells in the police station, the present – as depicted in the police station and Millionaire game show and climaxes with both the narratives joining on the same platform. Movies like Rang De Basanti and Memento come to mind right away among a plethora of others who use this type of narration and treatment to make simple yet interesting plots work.
I don’t know what the others think but I didn’t like the role of Anil Kapoor as the show host. We all know that he is an incredible actor. My thinking is that he was asked by the director to make his character one-dimensional and a bit boring to the audience which he has done to the T.
On the whole this movie belongs to the technicians who are involved in the project including Danny Boyle/ Lavleen Tandon(Directors), AR Rahman(Music), Resul Pokutty(Sound), Anthony Dod Mantle(Cinematography) and Chris Dickens(Editing). The premise of the Movie has been taken from the Novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup and is adapted for the film by Simon Beufoy.