Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Directors:

Danny Boyle
Loveleen Tandan (co-director: India)

Writers:

Simon Beaufoy (screenplay)
Vikas Swarup (novel)

Release Date:

23 January 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Love and money... You have mixed them both.

Plot:

A Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while being interrogated, events from his life history are shown which explain why he knows the answers.

Plot Keywords:

Question | Slum | Cheating | 2000s | Millionaire

Awards:

Won 8 Oscars. Another 100 wins & 51 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Sept. 12

1:30 PM

MAX

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dev Patel	...	Jamal K. Malik
Saurabh Shukla	...	Sergeant Srinivas
Anil Kapoor	...	Prem Kapur
Rajendranath Zutshi	...	Director (as Raj Zutshi)
Jeneva Talwar	...	Vision Mixer
Freida Pinto	...	Latika
Irrfan Khan	...	Police Inspector
Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail	...	Youngest Salim
Ayush Mahesh Khedekar	...	Youngest Jamal
Jira Banjara	...	Airport Security Guard (as Hira Banjara)
Sheikh Wali	...	Airport Security Guard
Mahesh Manjrekar	...	Javed
Sanchita Choudhary	...	Jamal's Mother
Himanshu Tyagi	...	Mr Nanda
Sharib Hashmi	...	Prakash

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Hindi | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44838) | UK:15 | Ireland:15A | Australia:MA | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Czech Republic:15 | New Zealand:R13 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Norway:11 | India:A (cinema release) | Finland:K-15 | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:NC-16 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | Netherlands:12 | South Africa:13V | Brazil:16 | South Korea:15 | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Germany:12 | Japan:PG-12 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Belgium:KT | Mexico:B | Iceland:12 | New Zealand:R16 (DVD rating) | France:U | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

Company:

Celador Films

Trivia:

The film was originally intended to receive a PG-13 rating. In the end, it received an R rating because of its intense tone. With no time or money for appeals, the film was released with its given rating.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In one scene, when teenage Salim and Jamal are at the Taj Mahal, there is an external shot where a passing guard looks at the camera and says, "Stop filming. Stop filming." This was included purposely by director Danny Boyle for the sake of realism.

Quotes:

Jamal Malik:I knew you'd be watching.
Latika:I thought we would meet only in death.
Jamal Malik:This is our destiny.
Latika:Kiss me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Observe & Report/Gigantic/Hannah Montana: The Movie (#1.7)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Gangsta Blues

Must-See

This is an extraordinary film. From the original concept of the novel on which it is based (Q&A by Vikas Swarup), the screenplay by Simon Beaufoy (Full Monty) but especially the masterful creation and direction of the film by Danny Boyle. From the opening moments until the final scene, the audience was fully engaged. I was completely lost in the world that Danny Boyle created. This is not a story that has been told and retold, hashed and rehashed. It is fresh and engaging - all at once quickly moving, romantic, violent, culturally insightful, desperate and slightly fantastic. There are some comic elements to the film but to describe it as a "comedy" seems inappropriate. The film was shot on location in India, mostly in Mumbai. Slumdog Millionaire is yet another testament to depth and range of Boyle's artistic talent who has directed such diverse films as Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and Sunshine.

I saw the film on at the 2008 Telluride Film Festival as a "sneak preview." The film was introduced by Boyle who said that the official opening of the film would be the next weekend at the Toronto Film Festival. He also said that there may be some final tweaking of the film prior to Toronto.

In the discussion after the film Boyle strongly recommended three Indian made films: Satya, Company and Black Friday. He described each as superb. Boyle also stated that a portion of the Slumdog Millionaire was shot with a Canon EOS still camera, especially around the Taj Mahal, rather than a proper movie camera which creates unwanted attention while filming at popular tourist locations in India.

8.2