Slumdog Millionaire - Movie Review

As an Indian myself, I can see why the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" would disturb most Indians. And going by the comments posted on the Internet, it indeed does.

To our collective shame, the movie depicts the stark reality of the life of a homeless child from the slums of Mumbai. And for the British Director, Danny Boyle to be able to accurately reflect that child's life in India, seems to most Indians like we are washing our dirty linen in public and hanging it out to dry under the world's eyes. That is exactly what the movie did - hung our unmentionables out to dry in the world's laundry line.

Slumdog is a hard-hitting movie - a difficult movie to see, especially if you are very imaginative and sensitive. But it is also a must-see movie, if you want to know exactly how the less fortunate people live in other parts of the world.

India, with the dubious honor of being the world's largest democracy, obviously has her unique share of challenges in taking care of some of her most vulnerable population - the women and children. That challenge is truly revealed in the movie. To all those not familiar with life in India, who have watched or will watch Slumdog, I will say this: all that has been depicted as the life of a youngster living in abject poverty in India, is indeed real. There was no artistic license used by Director Danny Boyle to enhance those horrors.

The movie is about a child of the slums of Dharavi, one of the world's largest slums. The main protagonist is Jamal, played by Dev Patel, who works as a "chai boy" (tea boy) at one of the call centers. Patel has excelled in his role. He emotes beautifully and is very effective in accurately portraying the pain of his life. I cannot do justice to this review without mentioning Jamal's 2 younger selves.

The role of Jamal as a 10 year old is played by the cute, round-eyed, and most adorable cherub, Ayush Khedekar. Ayush, with no acting experience under his belt, has done an exemplary job. As an young teen, the role of Jamal is played by Tanay Chedha, also performed very well.

The other main protagonists are also less known or unknown actors with little or no experience. Frieda Pinto is gorgeous and sweet as the adult Latika. Her younger selves, Rubiana Ali (a real child from the slums of Dharavi), and Tanvi Lonkar have also done a great job. So has Azharuddin Ismail (another child from the slums of Dharavi) as the youngest Salim. Azharuddin has accurately portrayed how a child from the slums needs to be a fighter in order to survive the harsh realities of life.

It is to Director Danny Boyle's credit that every single actor in this movie has performed par excellence. There is no slowing of pace in this movie. You dont have the luxury to think while watching. Everything moves at such a fast pace, that you will be on the edge of your seat throughout the duration of the movie. The music, handled by India's favorite music director A.R.Rehman, is also fabulous. I love happy endings and this movie ended with the much anticipated song and dance sequence that is a must in every movie that has Indian actors. The grand finale song was fabulous, upbeat and victorious.

I cannot end without mentioning what has been my biggest nightmare about the life of vulnerable children in India. The depiction of the character of "Maman", the guy who lures kids off the street and miams or blinds them in order to make them more pitiful, so that he can get more money when they go out begging is India's most terrifying, shameful secret. I must confess, that I hid behind my coat and did not watch when the scene of blinding one of the children was shown.

I am certainly very empathetic to India's social challenges. I do believe that despite all that the country has had to face since independence, it has come a long way.

But, as Robert Frost put it, we all have "miles to go before we sleep" - this is not just India's problem, it is the mankind's problem to deal with. If we are to progress as humans, we need to take all our folks with us.