A voyage from the slums to the plinth of a millionaire

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ – A Dickensian tale in which we search for an impecunious orphan from Mumbai's slums... a virtuoso feast of filmmaking by Danny Boyle, but it is also an ideal fairy tale for our hard times. ‘The storyline does not begin and end: it flows and eddies – just like life.’
This simultaneously gritty and enriching modern fairy tale blends poverty, reason, and promise. Born in the slums of Mumbai, brothers Jamal and Salim survive their childhood, ultimately taking life paths that connect, detach and reconnect. The clever orphans make opportunities through a mishmash of luck and pluck. Latika, their young friend, motivates the brother’s choices throughout their lives. Despite the millions existing in Mumbai, Jamal’s world is somewhat diminutive. People enter, disappear, and return.
New connections provide challenges. Inevitably, Jamal reveals his past in a series of flashbacks. This plot device serves to fill in the protagonist’s life history and to answer questions. Abstractly, questions play a major part in the drama. Several queries preponderate. Does destiny succeed human will? Can a poor boy change his status and achieve respect? The latter query, although common, is freshly tailored in this film.
‘Slumdog Millionaire’ contains the classic bad influences, the innocents, and the enigmas. Charles Dickens might have recognized elements. Against the backdrop of this grime and squalor unfolds a beautiful love story, a story where a guy does the impossible just to find the girl he loves, and in the process wins a few millions as bonus. Blissfully, treatment of these stereotypic characterizations is unique. Nine gifted actors depict Jamal, Salim and Latika at various ages.
The Mumbai of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ stands as domineering, crammed, modern, ancient, and as vibrant as any metropolis. Tainted shack-filled slums are recreated, skyscrapers rise like trees. New-fangled construction ascends from the dregs of the slums. The poverty of Bombay transforms into the opulence of Mumbai as technology becomes global and industries materialize.
Combining new with old, drama with hilarity, tragedy with ecstasy, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ shows the audience a fusion that is India. This stunning cinematic tapestry woven from various threads remains in the memory.
Despite a revealing title, the film delights in unveiling Jamal’s life from its blinkered, humble beginnings to an unrestrained, gratifying future. This ‘slumdog’ is a heroic figure. Impacted by circumstance, Jamal remains true to himself and his dreams.
‘Slumdog’, a blend of thriller, action and romance leaves you in an ecstatic mood with Rahman’s ‘Jai Ho’ (a dash of Bollywood song and dance in the end) and sends you home with a bounce in your walk and smirk on your face.
The perpetual love of Jamal that leads him to the trail of grandeur is beautifully portrayed. ‘Slumdog millionaire’ throws light on mordant reality, trafficking in women and children, the hardships faced by the lower strata of the society and how destiny can entwine one’s life.

In a few words, it can be called a voyage from the slums to the plinth of a millionaire.