To begin with, Slumdog Millionaire has been directed with a cynical view towards India and its culture. Its more of a mockery than a serious film. No doubt it sold like hot cakes in the Englishland. Jamal Malik, a 'slumdog' (this term was used over 20 times in the movie!) grows up facing the realities of life i.e. the tough and uncertain times of any person from the slums. He makes it to THE show which could change lives forever within hours, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, the English version of Kaun Banega Crorepati. Thats about it!
From there on, the whole movie deals with nothing more than a bunch of questions, the answers of which lie in the troubled 18 years of Jamal's life! Yes, there is the saving grace in the form of questions to which he did not know the answer. Maybe the only reason why it is getting all its attention! But, then again, there were some gaping holes, in the movie, which made it look nothing extraordinary!
To begin with, the scene, where Jamal meets his old friend, a boy blinded on purpose to beg as it fetched double the earnings of a normal kid. The blind boy, correctly guesses the face of the man on a $100 bill! Now, how did he know the answer? And when did any foreigner, however generous he was, donate $100 to a blind beggar boy! Honestly, that incident didnt make any sense! The other dsiturbing fact about the movie seems to the totally filmi style in which things have been overblown. You find extremes in the movie , which you would find in any typical Bollywood film! The mad chase for love by Jamal, and the totally lame way in which the lady responds! The reunion of the brothers, after many years. The proponent called 'villain' in the form of Mamman (the beggar mob leader) , Salim (Jamal's brother) in parts, and Javed (the mafia leader), and even Anil Kapoor (show host) appears in the movie, making it look normal. I couldnt digest the fact that the show host could call for a break, after displaying a question. I havn't seen such a thing happen in KBC either!
To sum it up, Slumdog Millionaire is good, but nothing out of the world deserving Golden Globes and Oscars. Yes, A.R.Rahman deserved the award, something which he should have won a long time ago! His music in the movie blends seamlessly with the scenes. Jai Ho... the conclusive song sounds good, but the picturisation the song is again... filmi! I read a few reviews where writers have compared this movie to the Brazilian masterpiece, Cidade De Deus (City Of God) . Give me a break! City Of God, did not have the above mentioned elements and looked like it was shot off the streets with NO actors involved! It looked totally REAL!
The bottom line is, SM is a start, but not the brighest. It has sure shifted the path of traditional film making, and with Slumdog Crorepati ( Slumdog Millionaire dubbed in hindi), hitting the Indian screens, many budding directors would draw inspiration to make something better. Its a path breaking film, but definitely, not the best India can offer to the World!!!
