Slumdog Millionaire: A Simple Tale of Love and Survival

The movie, Slumdog Millionaire, has showcased a poverty stricken society in which Jamal, an 18-year old street boy lives. He is the representative of the downtrodden class.  Vagaries of his misfortune brought him to the slums. From childhood down to adolescence period in his life, he has faced the brunt of sorrows and sufferings; atrocity and oppression, poverty and starvation.  From the very beginning, he learnt that one should have to struggle to collect a speck of bread.  However the director, Danny Boyle has tried to sketch Jamal as a romantic youngster who likes to dream of making a romantic journey with another orphan girl Latika. She was forced to become a dancer in a brothel center due to her pitiable financial condition. Salim, brother of Jamal has fallen a victim to the vicious circle of the local goons. On the other hand, Jamal has been delineated as a polite young boy who was compelled to live with wicked persons and hoodlums in slums.  However he has had unconditional faith in humanity, universal love, romance and justice.  Dave Patel played the role of Jamal and he acted brilliantly.  

Basically the plot construction of the Slumdog Millionaire has been built on the basis of a well known novel under the title of Q and A written by an Indian diplomat named Vikas Swarup, However Simon Beaufoy  modified the story for the sake of screening on the silver screen. He punched his views and ideology into the movie. Slumdog is a type of romantic story which is mingled with tragic temperament.  The painful separation from Latika and her involvement with the sex trade, eventually Jamal’s participation in the game show to win 20 million rupees in Indian currency have been showcased with much artistic flair in the movie.  In the midst of poverty, a boy still dreams to meet his dream girl. Eventually, he has met her at the railway station.  His great expectation to get a new lease of life was fulfilled through the meeting with Latika.  In between, the entry of stern reality into his life holding the hands of police gave him another setback. The anchor called police at the game show to arrest the illiterate boy on the suspicion of cheating and dupery.  The boy was taken to the police station for further interrogation where he revealed his caustic past experience in childhood days.  The director has tried to showcase the beauty of the lifestyle of the slum dwellers instead of portraying a monotonous poverty laden society. He delineated a romantic character who dreamed of making a romantic journey in the midst of sorrows and sufferings.  Frankly speaking, in the movie, tragedy and sadness, vandalism, sexual abuse and atrocity have been shown. 

Simultaneously, there is also the fantastic touch of humor, brotherhood, honor and dignity in footage of the film. The UK based Danny Boyle took a brave effort to sketch the lifestyle of slum dwellers in India.   He is quite successful in directing Slumdog Millionaire.  The director has been awarded with Directors Guild of America prize for his excellent contribution. This film has already been nominated for 10 Oscars. It also got DGA prize and Golden Globe award.  The technical part of the movie is also very good. The qualities of cinematography plus brilliant lighting have made the movie much more vibrant and natural.  A music lover will be satisfied to listen to sweet music track while watching the Slumdog Millionaire. Slumdog Millionaire was first premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado. It was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. This movie has been selected for the People’s Choice Award at the film festival.