The first buzz of the movie came when audiences in the west saw and then came some of the awards. Actually quite some awards and then suddenly it is in the running for Oscars as well. My curiousity gained intensity with the reviews and comments i read in the papers, on the internet, celebrities blogs... Once a movie makes so much noise and consistently then i need to quench my curiosity. The book Q & A by Vikas Swarup has inspired this movie & it was little wonder that the book was sold out ( as the vendors said) in India over Christmas.
So i waited for the movie to release in Singapore and finally went to see the movie with Govi and not sure how well he would take it. Just two days prior my Indian friends had said "dont watch if you dont have to". Hmm.. now that did give me some second thoughts. Their view was they didnt like the way Mumbai is projected and that the slums were shown and also it was not made by an Indian director.
Having lived in Mumbai and seen the largest slum - Dharavi at close range almost daily for 20 odd years and boarding and alighting the local trains on all working days, get pushed and squished by the crowd in the train. Not to forget the smelly armpits specially on the way back when each hand is holding on to the overhead handle in the ever so crowded trains. Been very close to the infamous stock exchange serial blasts, escaping injury and being in the middle of the crossfire of the communal fights in mumbai and yet going to work as though nothing had happened, i was wondering how bad can the movie be in potraying the surviving city. A movie cant damage the city.
Our own directors of fame didnt choose to make the movie so why not watch the movie made by another good director.
I remember seeing Traffic Signal - a hindi movie, which potrays the life of the homeless who have to survive each day at the traffic lights but how much of reality and honesty the movie showed is still in doubt. All claims and acclaims aside i felt the movie was fine and a decent watch but didnt have the punch to keep the viewers really glued.
When we watched Slumdog Millionaire i didnt feel sad for the city as what was shown is what it is and a few glitches and very minor hiccups aside the movie was an entertaining fare. Unfortunately slumlords exist there & begging is big business there and as shown people do go to any lengths to decapitise little children and steal new borns to put them into business.
The suttle way the story is weaved and keeps the audience attention is neat. The scene where the little boy gets close to his idol and he actually takes shit (jumps into a shit pit - yuck.. ughh) to get his idol's autograph is cool. The lead actor's character build up is strong. The kids are cute and impressive. Anil Kapoor finally shows his talent. The music score is equally nice.
One noticeable glitch was that no quiz show will ask a question and have a break before the answer has been given. That is the only scene where the makers have goofed but then without that the storyline might have dithered a little, the thrill could have been lost.
We came out of the movie hall with a smile. Govi for a change didnt sleep & actually enjoyed the movie. It did have its commercial aspects but then without that i might not have seen it and maybe Danny knew it.... ha ha ha... how many stars can we give for that movie?? Four for sure. One star is reserved till it wins the Oscar. It should get some Oscars & i will be happy. After all the music score is by an Indian, the actors are Indians so why should it not win an Oscar?
Go Slumdog.....
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