Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire can serve as a textbook example for how a movie should be made from a book. Danny Boyle takes only the basic, very interesting story (the best part of the book) and a few other key ideas from Vikas Swarup's Q & A and then puts his own spin on it. The more unsavory aspects, which would be even more unpalatable on screen, are removed, the violence is toned down, the confusing non-chronological style of the book is dropped and the more over-the-top plot points, like the twists in the climax, are left out. With Boyle's kinetic directorial style and Rahman's fantastic music, the end result is a consistently gripping, entertaining film.

As I mentioned when I wrote about Q & A, the idea of a young man(Jamal) appearing on a quiz show and answering the questions from the knowledge he has gleaned from various happenings in his life, is very innovative. There is suspense when each question is posed and a kind of elation when the segment leads him to the answer - not always in very obvious ways. The individual segments - like the time he acts as a guide at the Taj Mahal - are interesting by themselves but the fact that each of them has a purpose adds another level. Though the questions referencing events his life in a chronological order(unlike in the book) seems a bit convenient, it does help us get a fuller picture of his life and makes it easier to connect with him. The final question brings a smile to our lips though the way it is answered is a bit of a letdown

Though the more unpleasant aspects of the book(like, for instance, the incest) have been dropped, it is still not easy watching some of the difficult turns that Jamal's life takes. But Jamal's undying love for Latika is definitely heart-warming. It is the thread that runs through the movie and connects the segments. As the two meet under vastly different circumstances in different stages of their lives, we keep wishing that each meeting is more everlasting than their last one. They way they find each other for the last time is the result of a very clever narrative and is much more satisfying than their meeting in the book.

Rahman's score is scintillating. Like he did in Rang De Basanti, he surprises us with his choice of music for particular sequences. But once the surprise wears off, the music works beautifully and really enhances the appeal of many sequences (like the one where some kids leads the cops on a merry chase through the bylanes in the slums of Mumbai).