Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

A Mumbai teen reflects on his upbringing in the slums when he is accused of cheating on the Indian Version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"

Directors:

Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan (co-director)

Writers:

Simon Beaufoy (screenplay), Vikas Swarup (novel)

Stars:

Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla

Won 8 Oscars. Another 144 wins & 126 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dev Patel	...	Older Jamal
Saurabh Shukla	...	Sergeant Srinivas
Anil Kapoor	...	Prem
Raj Zutshi	...	Director
Jeneva Talwar	...	Vision Mixer
Freida Pinto	...	Older 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

Storyline

The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's Kaun Banega Crorepati? (2000) (Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?) 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 slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. Each chapter of Jamal's increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show's seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really ...

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Plot Keywords:

india | television show | contestant | underdog | non professional cast | 

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Taglines:

What does it take to find a lost love? A. Money B. Luck C. Smarts D. Destiny

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

UK USA France Germany India

Language:

English Hindi French German

Release Date:

25 December 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Slumdog Millionaire

Filming Locations:

India

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$360,018, 16 November 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$141,319,928

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$377,910,544

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,Celador Films,Film4

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Jamal is talking to the woman from Scotland at the call center and says he lives near "Loch Big-Ben" it is ironic that if he would have thought of mentioning living near the most famous Loch in Scotland, Loch Ness, he would have been accurate as Loch Ness is very close to Kingussie where the woman was calling from.

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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.

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Quotes

Javed: My enemy's enemy is a friend.

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Crazy Credits

Several of the cast perform a traditional Bollywood song and dance number set in a train station over the end credits.

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Connections

References EastEnders (1985)

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Soundtracks

Liquid Dance
Music by A.R. Rahman
Performed by Palakkad Sriram and Madhumita
Published by K.M. Musiq Ltd.

User Reviews

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