Right, so let's take a deep breath and move on. So, there's Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), who's just won 10 crore (100 million) rupees in Kaun Banega Crorepati (conveniently, it's still Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? in the film), and he's just been rewarded with a night in jail, subjected to all kinds of interrogation techniques that Guantanamo Bay would balk at, because the rather condescending host (Anil Kapoor, playing a professional asshole) of the show thinks he's a bloody cheat. After much useless torture, the cops (Irrfan Khan and Saurabh Shukla) decide that it's better to be nice to him, and have him explain how he knew the answer to every single question.
It appears as though every significant event has occurred purely to help young Jamal answer questions on a television quiz show. Except for Latika, a girl orphaned by the same riots as Jamal and Salim. Jamal's hunt for Latika after she's captured by a local Fagin culminates in his appearance on the show, which in turn culminates in, well, expected fashion. Jamal's answers are the result of rather harrowing experiences, some of which are shot with almost poetic elegance by cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, including little Jamal's rush through some rather fresh bodily waste, and the extraction of a child's eyeball with a spoon. Everyone knows a blind singer earns double, Jamal tells the cops, explaining how he answered a question correctly.
Every single cliché about India that exists in the West is represented: stifling poverty, organised begging, sleazy tour guides, child abuse and prostitution, the underworld. In attempting to catch them all, Boyle manages to do nothing more than merely stroke their surfaces, and the short-story style does not help at all. It also hurts the characters - they turn out hollow, with none of the three actors assigned to play Jamal, Salim and Latika actually getting into their roles with any conviction. Dev Patel struggles with the role; he comes across as far too polished for the 'slumdog' he's playing, all smoothness and no rough or jagged edges. Anil Kapoor lays on the condescension towards the chaiwallah so thick that you're annoyed with him before his first scene ends. He does get to swear, though, and does so quite naturally. He must have been thrilled with that one.
To be perfectly honest, it took me two days to actually realize all of this. For the two hours that the film runs, it is an exhilarating ride, aided with a percussive, powerful hip-hop soundtrack by A. R. Rahman, an effort far superior to the tripe he has churned out for Bollywood in 2008. Each mini-story is a little puzzle, with a prize at the end: the answer to the quiz question. And the prize, more than the characters or the storylines, is what keeps you hooked, again and again, until the final denouement, a most cheesy Bollywood-type dance sequence set in
good post. I do agree with what you've said to a good extent. I had problems watching two scenes in particular - The train scene where Jamal and brother get thrown out of the runnign train(which average Indian rather Punjabi family would want that); and the other scene where the American couple whose car gets wrecked very cheesily say "And let us give you a taste of America" and hands Jamal a bunch of money.
Overall the poverty and child abuse and prostitution is all real and I've seen many many films from all over the world that unabashedly have such subject matter. I do not have a problem with that(used to in the past though)
Good post though, I never knew you blog :)
Great ending to your post. It was an ok film. Underwhelming but that's probably because of all the hype. It is a smartly made film but there were very few scenes that really made an impact. And the jump-into-shit scene made me fast forward, only those in the theaters can afford to say it was a fantastic scene 'coz they had to sit through (sh)it.
I guess the director went overboard in trying to show the "never say die" attitude of Jamal (Ayush Khedekar was brilliant in that role). The ending was nice I thought, very standard but captured the tension. Don't know why the hell his brother would give his phone to Latika, there was no logic, just a "I know he will call" look..not even.."you will need to make urgent phone calls" or "i won't need this after I kill myself in a currency note filled bathtub".
The most painful scenes were where the singing kid was featured. Maman's acting was good. The middle Latika looked pretty. Anil Kapoor despite a little hamming, was good and annoying. The Taj Mahal Scene was stupid.
Best thing: little Jamal. Worst thing: big Jamal. Too wooden and allowed 3 expressions.
Not a pakau film, but nothing great about it. Not worth the hype.
Proma: There was no dearth of WTF scenes in the film, but that "real America" bit was hilarious. Oddly true, though, if you bent your head around it a little longer.
TCP: This is not a film that most Indians will enjoy. It's not Bollywood enough, and it's not non-Bollywood enough. It's not a masterpiece, but it was great fun to watch. Like I said, I noted the flaws, but I only bothered to think about them afterwards.
I suppose you haven't read Vikas Swarup's book?
I think the movie is a piece of shit... I quite like the background score .. Jai Ho is a lil hyped though.. Rehman has composed better songs in the past that that one.. and one of Rehman's best came in 2008 - Khwaja mere Khawja from Jodha Akbar - moi thinks, its a beauty composition.
मुझे नहीं पता कि आपको ये Movieकैसी लगी लेकिन मुझे तो ये Movieकाफी अच्छी लगी। हालांकि मुझे पूरी तरह से सभी Herosकी बातें समझ में नहीं आई, क्योंकि मेरी Englishइतनी अचछी नहीं है।
frm: http://adbusinesshindi.blogspot.com