HOLLYWOOD HUES
Roaring winner

Ervell E. Menezes finds Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire an astounding cinematic experience

WHEN a film is released with as much hype and publicity buzz as Slumdog Millionaire, it isn’t always easy to live up to expectations. But this Golden Globe winner on the exploits of three slum kids growing up in the dirt and squalour of Mumbai’s underworld manages to maintain that staccato pace, doses of suspense and slam bang action to round off as a roaring winner.

It is a quiz show and young, seeming simpleton, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is the contestant pitted against suave, savvy quizmaster Prem (Anil Kapoor). And the entire film deals with the contest against the backdrop of these spirited, never-say-die adventurers who grow up in Dharavi, Asia’s biggest slum. Jamal’s elder, more cynical brother Salim (Madhur Mittal) and Latika (Freida Pinto) are partners in crime in this updated Salaam Bombay that breathes through the grime and gullies of Mumbai. They are played by different actors as they grow up.

Juxtaposed with scenes of torture, director Danny Boyle goes to town with the ambience of Mumbai’s underbelly, police stations, brothels, traffic lights and for relief, beaches and some fetching train sequences. It is the kids played by Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Azharuddin Mohammad Ismail and Rubine Ali who first steal your heart away. The establishing shots are effective, the outdoor locales beautifully shot by cinematographer Anthony Dodd Mantel and one can breathe the aura of small-time Mumbai. Simon Beaufoy’s screenplay, based on Vikas Swarup’s novel, covers much ground and some disparate, dramatic anecdotes but is somehow a wee bit lacking in soul and doesn’t match up with The Full Monty.

But Boyle’s style is impeccable as he follows the path of these adventurers through communal riots, street brawls, hand-to-hand skirmishes et al with survival as their prime motive. There is also a simple, innocent love story of Jamal and Latika and their deep attachment, which comes against all odds, including Salim, as a likely third side of the triangle, or is it so? There are grey areas in this Cinderella-like fairy tale and, at times, the treatment is even Bergmanesque but the latter half is the familiar Bollywood flavour. The entire narrative is neatly packaged to provide the viewer a ringside view of Mumbaiana, its glitzy glamour and downtown filth in equal measure and may be reminiscent of Boyle’s The Beach. A. R. Rahman’s music is adept in its different moods, soulful at times, and trendy at others, but riveting yet not intrusive and gives the film a rare charm. It could well win him an Oscar in February.

The performances are very natural and casting director Loveleen Tandon was honoured by Boyle giving her co-director status. Dev Patel grows in stature as much as quizmaster Anil Kapoor deteriorates. Freida Pinto is good in parts and Madhur Mittal adequate. Irrfan Khan is his usual patented self. The bad guys Mahesh Manjrekar and company ham their way about but that is excusable as one the whole and right through 120 minutes Slumdog Millionaire is an astounding cinematic experience.

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