Slumdog Millionaire
Last week a delighted AR Rahman walked up to sign his name as the first Indian to win the Golden Globe. He won it for the song Jai Ho written by Gulzar. When Rahman dedicated the award to the country, he just floored the nation of a billion who were waiting with vicarious pride in having someone carve out a place for them in a club where membership is by invitation only. So what is the first reaction of Rahman when he became the first Indian to win the GG? "Unbelievable". He starts off by thanking God and ends with thanking the "billion people of India".Rahman incidentally has sold as many albums as Madonna. Called the Mozart of Madras (shouldn't that be Tchaikovsky of Chennai, since we all call Madras by the new name?), Rahman composes rap as easily as jingles and classical music based tunes. Slumdog M also bagged three more Golden Globe honours for best drama, best director and best screenwriter. Rahman was nominated along with Alexandre Desplat (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Clint Eastwood (Changeling), James Newton Howard (Defiance), Hans Zimmer (Frost/Nixon).
I have been eagerly waiting to watch Slumdog Millionaire. Is the movie really good or is India just the flavor of the moment and the film is lucky to hit good timing? Is this the film version of slum tourism? The short answer is no.
Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India¹s "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" Anil Kapoor plays the sleazy but host of the talk show to perfection. But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slums where he and his brother grew up, and of Latika (Freida Pinto), the girl he loved and his obsessive quest to find her.
There is always the angry reaction to depiction of the slums and poverty in India especially when it is by someone not Indian. This film has been lambasted by Amitabh Bachchan in his blog.
"If 'Slumdog Millionaire' projects India as Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations," Amitabh said in his blogpost.
Hey, but the story of the film has been adapted from the novel Q&A by Vikas Swaroop - an Indian. So why should Danny make our blood Boyle? When someone bases a story set in the backdrop of India's largest slum, Dharavi, it shows a part of India that even Indians pretend does not exist. This is the bottom of the pyramid. The underbelly that shows warts and all. It does not show the satellite launching, IT savvy India, but one where squalor, sexual exploitation and death co-exist with the great Indian Middle Class and of course the filthy rich. Mercedes-Benz asked that its logos be removed in scenes taking place in the slums. The company, allegedly did not want to be associated with the poverty-stricken area, fearing that that might taint its image.
The story balances contradictions. The realistic and the unblievable. The slick and the crass. Love and hatred. And does it well. It has all the usual elements of a Bollywood masala movie - lovers getting separated, violence, a Bollywood dance on a railway platform and everything else. Yet, in the hands of Danny Boyle, it is neither glamorized nor condemned. Fantasy and reality exist cheek by jowl just the way the slums exist alongside the most expensive real estate on the planet. The movie opens with the cops torturing Jamal to get to the truth. How could a slumdog know the answers to the questions? The opening scene is brutally realistic. As is the black humor. Samir Shukla and Irrfan Khan (the cops who try to eke a confession out of the protagonist) worry about getting questioned by Amnesty International, should Jamal get "hurt" during their questioning. This film celebrates hope and love. That is what tugs at the heart strings. The slum kids put in a brilliant performance in the film. Will someone please nominate them for an award? Please!! They have my nomination. The dialog is almost entirely in Hindi with English subtitles. I thought that was a bold experiment and adds to the authentic tone of the film. The director has placed the money to be paid to the three lead child actors in a trust that is to be released to them upon their completion of grade school at 16 years of age. The production company has set up for an auto-rikshaw driver to take the kids to school everyday until they are 16 years old. Hats off Danny Boy(le).
What did I not like about the film? Ironically enough, for me, it was the songs. It was not vintage Rahman quality. Don't get me wrong. I love Rahman's talent as a composer - remember the music of Roja and Bombay?. I shared the pride of a billion Indians when Rahman got the Globe, but I don't think this is the best work that Rahman has. It was foot tapping and hip, but it was like a spicy curry that had been toned down to be served to a global audience. If that is all that it takes to get the GG, I am disappointed. But if this get more global listeners for Rahman's fan club, I will shut up. If this is the first time you have heard Rahman, I suggest you sample some more. Chris Dicken's editing never lets the pace drop.
The verdict: Go see it.