Wow. I’ve got one word to describe this film-BREATHTAKING.
That description is the tip of the iceberg for this film. I’ve seen numerous films about India, and all of them were awe-inspiring in their own right. Salaam, Bombay! a 1988 film by Mira Nair, is one of the earlier films that depicted everyday life for millions of children in the Mumbai slums. It provided a brutal and honest look at the children who live day in and day out, eking out a living at the behest of controlling adults.
That movie depicted the painful life of addictions such as heroin. Salaam, Bombay highlighted the collective nature of Indian society. The children in the film were rejects, Dalits, untouchables. But they banded together to draw on their communal strength in order to survive. Much of the same can be said for Slumdog Millionaire.
I’ll admit, at first I was a bit skeptical about this film. I figured, okay, here’s a Westerner, albeit a very accomplished filmmaker, Danny Boyle, coming to India to shoot a film. To my surprise, he was remarkably on target and respected the genre of Indian film, successfully capturing the sporadic and spontaneous moments of everyday Indian life.
My prescient fiancee mentioned to me that perhaps an outsider, such as Boyle, is the perfect person to shoot such a film because he can correctly call things as he sees them, free of the constraints of Indian society.
Danny Boyle’s filmmaking has really evolved over the years. As a director, he is probably most well-known for his film Trainspotting, a 1996 film which explored the depths and tragedy of drug use. Then in 2004 he directed the hit called Millions a film about two British boys who find a very large sum of money and spend the rest of the film figuring out what to do with it.
Slumdog Millionaire is a groundbreaking film that takes Boyle’s filmmaking to new heights. Boyle certainly seems to understand the nature of the Indian filmmaking industry, affectionately known as Bollywood. According to Wikipedia, Bollywood movie sales topped 1.3 billion USD in 2002. Like Hollywood to the U.S., Bollywood is equally as important to the national psyche of India.
Slumdog Millionaire is true to form as a film about India. However, Boyle’s film seems to have one distinct advantage over many Indian films–incredible cinematography. Slumdog is very stylized, and could be described as a “Hollywood” version of an Indian film. The camera shots are slick, fast, and riveting. Additionally, the incredible soundtrack features M.I.A.’s song Paper Planes, a 2008 Song of the Year Grammy Nominee. Paper Planes was also recently featured in the movie Pineapple Express.
One of the things I appreciate most about Slumdog is Boyle’s unwavering commitment to reality. Reality dictates that there are millions of poor children that live in Mumbai slums, scraping by and trying to survive. Boyle exposes the dark underbelly of this sort of lifestyle and some of its root causes. Many of these “slumdogs” are forced to beg every single day and take their earnings directly to their masters. These kids are barely given enough to live on and are essentially being abused by their overseers. Some of these children turn around and commit injustices against others, thus perpetuating the terrible cycle.
This film follows a boy named Jamal and his two childhood friends, Latika and Salim. The film shows their painful childhood and follows them to their young adult years. From birth, these children are born into a disadvantaged population. They are poor Muslims in a land of predominantly Hindu people.
These children are orphans, destitute and lost without relatives or caretakers. These Three Musketeers form a bond of friendship, and it is the only thing that keeps them going. Despite the abuse and pain, they have each other.
Our man Jamal works a job as a chaiwala (one who serves chai (tea)), to call center employees. It’s a low status position, but he soon gains respect from those around him. Jamal is like a sponge, soaking in his surroundings and learning all he can about life.
He ends up landing a spot on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. This captures a nation. India, the land of contrasts–the haves and the have-nots: Muslim, Christian, Jew, Jain, Hindu and many others. All of them watch proudly each night as their hero, Jamal presses forward answering a series of questions in order to earn an unprecedented 20 million Rupees (roughly $500,000 USD).
The kicker is, each question is somehow tied to Jamal’s life. What transpires from this point forward is mesmerizing. We’re allowed an insider’s view of the pain, sorrow and triumph of Jamal’s life. His destiny calls him forward, as his true love Latika remains at the center of his life.
P.S. As you can see from the picture above, I’ve had the privilege to meet one of these kids, one of the millions like her and like the children from this movie. This little girl’s name is Mona. I met her at a train station in Shiliguri, West Bengal, India earlier this year. I wrote about my experiences here.
Are you an eco-friendly or green type, are you a human activist, or organic minded? Have you wandered the isles of the supermarkets aimlessly looking for a better choice for your Halloween sugary and chocolaty treats? Why not participate in Fair Trade Trick or Treating this year!
