Slumdog Millionaire - Rags to Richest?

It' funny how you get stuck and just can't come out of it (Just checked the log history there were two drafts with the same title... damn..isn't there anything like Primary key here?? hello?? Google?? you listening buddy? ) ... Long long ago in one our usual maa-beta converssations involving food, movies and books we chanced upon this film. Of course the whole world was buzzing with the 'OSCAR' 'OSCAR' and naturally it piques anyone's curiosity. And my mom wanted to know how I felt about the movie, did it really justify all the hype, how much of it stays true to the book, wasn't Big B right in airing his views about the demeaning way in which India is potrayed, on and on it went. It was then I made biggest mistake of my life ... I told her... I mean...I just told her... I would blog about it....And the rest they say is History.

Well almost would have been history...So maa...ab meri bari aa gaya hai aapko diya vaada nibane ka aur ye blog aapko dedicate kar raha hoon... 

Friends and folks...as promised here I present you the most un-anticipated review of the most beloved /hated (depends on which you belong) movie of our times - "Slumdog Millionaire".

Review-

Plot -

Set in the backdrop of Dharavi, Mumbai the biggest Asian slum, this is the story of Jamal and his rags to riches story literally and becoming the first person to win the contest "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" contest. But Jamal is not Harshavardan Nawathe or any genious jackpot..he is just ordinary person selling tea in a call center. The movie begins with this basic premise as one of the charecters in the movie says "What can a Slumdog Possibly know?"..

Beaten, tortured and electrocuted (in that order) the police officers who arrest Jamal can extract no information at all and they just refuse to believe his side of innoncence that he didn't cheat, or have any nexus etc.. They hike up the fuse and electrocute him once more till he almost dies, and that's when he coughs up with blood saying he knew all the answers before. What follows is a series of flip flops from present to past swtiching between the questions and answers as every answer he knew was some part/incident of his life right from his childhood if you can call that..

Interestingly as I read in one of the IMDB's reviewer, his life is reconstructed through the questions as everything fits right from the start to finish..Very Very rare indeed..One in Million Chance that anything like this can ever happen. But that's the beauty of fiction, anything and everything is possible. 

Music -

This definitely is not the Rehman's best but it's definitely the best of anything non-Rehman that has come out of this year and yes that means the very own Masakali-6..Background plays a pivotal role in this movie and the maestro has seen to it nothing, absolutely nothing goes astray. Too bad I couldnt' see in theater but if a 13' inch laptop with a low cost Creative speakers is enough to thump my heart with every beat of Ooooohhh Saaaayaaaaa yeeee ohhhhh Saaaamaa as the camera zooms through lanes and by lanes of Dharavi, I just can imagine the exiliratign adrenaline that gushes through someon watching it in the huge PVR cinemas..My god..one of the best opening sequences I have seen for a long long time - the lazy fat cop chasing the dusty children and teh way camera moves and the single shot from the top as it ends showing you exactly how big the whole canvas really is - speechless.  Paper Planes, Gangsta Blues are exact contrasting beats with teh same theme that is played when we see Jamal's transformation from a very angry young man to 'the' man as he comes to take the big fat kill. 

Frankly for me 'Jai Ho' was jai ho...maybe because I didn't hear between the sounds so to speak. And partly due to at the end of the movie I was more disappointed and the supposedly reviving of faith in humanity kinda feeling was totally amiss..It was just another song...An oscar worthy song? - Definitely think not..

Best Parts -

1. As already mentioned first and foremost is the opeining song and the sequence after the titles rollover.
2. Amazing picturisation- the entire sequence of the Jamal and his brother running away from the riots, the kids escaping the gang before they are maimed through the train, stealing the food from the top a moving train with rope tied around eachother, when Jamal (the second adult) gets supposedly thrown off the building, the colt- revolver sequence and that's alllll.
3. Rehman's music- ya  I have already told that. But I would just like to add the songs grow on you as you listen and I mean all of them excepting the wildly club song - ring ringa ringa..it just so nauseates but aptly suited for the film though. 

Groans -

1.  I felt this movie completely disjointed for one thing between the episodes/answers/flashbacks. The characters were very shallow, eerily sketched and little more story would have given the depth they were looking for. I mean the hunt for latika, surviving like nomads by living swindling, hoodwinking people, acting like a quack to the point of reaching the t.v. show. There is absolutely no emotional attachment.
2. Anil Kapoor-that's it. Not his fault really if that's the director's choice. Making fun of the contestants in a reality show and making poor jokes and making audiences jeer at him. Common I don't think anyone would tolerate that - certainly not regular Indians who are some of the ones who work so hard to be in contests like this. Channels like NDTV, TIMES NOW would go ga-ga and run whole week with that kind of stuff.
3. Wading through shit literally to get an autograph?? -that's the sickest thing I have ever seen in a movie ever. That's taking liberties too far. And shockingly when I was seeing the movie on lappie one of my roomies proudly said when the shot came - isn't it awesome?? wow the kid did excellent job... God, maybe Boyle was catering to people like this..IT's just plain disgusting if you ask me.
4. 3 different persons each play the role of Jamal and his brother along with Latika. After seeing movies like City of God, Legends of the Fall, etc where the central characters grow as the movie progresses there is a certain chemistry between the characters in them but here it just ain't there. It feels completely new like a re-hash of things.

Overall - 

Frankly I enjoyed the book "Q & A" -- Vikas Swarup,  immensely and had a huge expectations on the film with all the gung-ho sorrounding the movie. The book had such a gripping narrative. However far fetched from the reality the events might sound maybe it still had a way to connect with us through each story.  The film on other hand staying 50% true to the book just couldn't deliver the goods. Getting down to the hard realities, common guys face it. We just never want to see anything bad about us and feeling repulsive is justifiable but why is it that we have to make such a hue and cry over it? It's just a movie. Isn't it? I just don't see any difference between the reactions of the people for a movie like 'The Da Vince Code'  and a movie like this. Don't same rules apply- it's just a movie by a noted American Director based on a book that deals with the same issues and a lot more.  No, it absolutely does not deserve so many nominations and teh accolades it has received. It just goes to show how easy it is to emotinally manipulate people overseas. Final verdict - 2/5...Watch it if you like..well..watch it..