CIN3MA

"My sweet, eternal love... Did you brush your teeth?"

Filthy yet care-free and happy children are playing near an airfield. Jamal sees the ball shoot for the sky and quickly starts backing for it. As a plane whizzes by, dispersing the children, incapable policemen on motor bikes spot the kids and start chasing them. This is when we are introduced to a world we would have never thought about for more than a minute or two. The bitter reality of the slums of Mumbai, India—countless adjacent shacks chart the residence of the poor classes of India.

People are in shock, sadness or awe when they see scenes like this, but I always think “maybe they’re happy?” I always wondered what made people happy, and what made people feel sad about others, but even in our thinking we can be selfish. Putting basic necessities of life aside, it is very possible that seemingly unfortunate people are perfectly content with their lives, having pure aspirations for love, bonding and caring.

This scene cuts another where we see Jamal for the first time, tied up, hanging as he’s being tortured on suspicion of cheating on one of the most popular television shows in India; “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” After being dragged from the torture room to the chief officer’s room for further interrogation, the story of how the Gods had smiled on this slumdog unfolds, question-by-question, flashback-by-flashback. Jamal proves that life experiences, whether wealthy or poor, can be worth a million dollars.

I heard mixed opinions about this movie before I saw it. I didn’t know whether it was eligible for 8 Oscars or not, whether the down-sloping economy threw off the hype meter. Regardless of all that, I saw the movie and I liked it. It had a lot of drama and some comedy; a perfect combination to keep you attached to the characters throughout. See it!