Slumdog Millionaire: a comment

In short: Minute details from the film(which itself I do not find to be anything more than ordinary) follow.

First off, Slumdog Millioaire getting so much fame is something like the themes of Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko and Bowling for Columbine all rolled into one and showcased as being American : I will agree with greatbong that all the wrong that could be depicted has been shown on film. I do not dispute the occurence of such events; I am merely concerned that, as Blany suggested, such a film was made to win an award by showing what others can make fun of in another country.

The storyline wherein the past and the present are shown one after the other and merged at a point keeps one interested. It was very very odd for all the actors to speak in English. I would have enjoyed the film better had they spoke in Hindi itself, that would have given a darker appeal to some scenes.

Couldn't they find anyone who spoke with an Indian accent?

Salim's character I find very disturbing: he is a very close friend of Jamal, he chases him away to keep the girl to himself, he accepts him again, takes the girl away from him and finally decides to reunite them. Looks like the scriptwriter needed a crazy guy to fill in the holes in the movie.

In the gameshow, the options to the first question featured, to be really perfect, were all wrong. One of the options should have been "Satyameva Jayate" because that is what it actually says on the emblem, notwithstanding that any other Sanskrit options would be very awkward.

Regarding what Lord Rama holds in his right hand, the option 'bow and arrow', I thought, should have been just 'bow', as it does not make much sense to hold both in the same hand. But to my astonishment all the pictures from Google Images show the bow in Lord Rama's left hand. What gives? So the right answer to the question is: Lord Rama holds nothing in his right hand, in most depictions.

Who is on the $100 bill? I knew it wasn't George Washington because he is on the the $1 bill, but I'm embarrassed to say I wasn't sure. As I've mentioned here, that is because $100 bills are not much in local circulation(hello, credit cards).

The numbering is Western rather than Indian(millions instead of lakhs). Obviously tailored for the foreign audience, but retaining the Indian format would have enhanced the Indian-ness.

I honestly believe the question for Rs.2,500,000(Colt) and the final question(Three Musketeers) were not worth that much at all. The questions were too cheap.

Anil Kapoor makes jokes about call centres like getting enormous bills, obviously the jokes are to make the average Englishman in the theatre go "Yes, yes how true."

This report claiming the film is out and out British doesn't make me very comfortable. The scene where Jamal, Latika and Javed are together(dishwasher) is a sham. Javed asks for a 'sandwich', she puts butter on bread, you can see a mustard bottle in the fridge. A gangster asking for a sandwich? Bull sh&t. And since Javed already indicated his averseness to the show, why was it playing in his room(when he finds out Latika has run away)?

As far as I can recall Kaun Banega Crorepati never aired during the day. Maybe in a parallel universe in which a gangster eats sandwiches and money is counted in millions KBC did air repeats in the day. Some clarification: In the western versions of KBC, once a contestant says "Final answer", the host 'locks' in the answer, unlike the Indian version where Amitabh or SRK would confirm 'lock kar diya jaye?' before proceeding.

How and why(who ordered it rather) Jamal is taken into custody, how he is released without the public asking questions, how Jamal was fresh as ever for his second appearance - scant explanations are offered.

The scene where Jamal shows the German tourists around the Taj in the guise of a guide is hilarious. A hotel, swimming pool, traffic, pileups.....

I did not find the BG score to be phenomenal, I would rate Guru or AKK(Ayutha Ezhuthu) or Kandukondain Kandukondain or Minsara Kanavu to be better than this film, but maybe the implication is that A R Rahman underperforming is sufficient for him to win foreign awards!

Fact: Freida Pinto can't dance.

Anil Kapoor deserves every bit of his National Award, but please, the humble man Amitabh Bachan would never ever make fun of anyone because of their background.

The child actors must be commended for an excellent real-life renderring.

All in all, I did not find Slumdog to be special; it is certainly well made with a plethora of 'Bollywood elements' and that is why I didn't like it. Maybe it is a case of how everyone else except Kazakhs like Borat.