(detailed information about this entry from Wikipedia)
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British drama film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Simon Beaufoy. It is based on the book Q and A written by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. Loveleen Tandan began as the film's casting director but was appointed by Boyle as a "co-director".[1]
The film, shot and set in India, follows a humble tea-maker from the streets of Mumbai who appears on a game show and exceeds people's expectations, raising suspicions from the game show host and law enforcement.
Following screenings at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival, Slumdog Millionaire had a limited release on 12 November 2008 to critical acclaim and awards success.
Jamal Malik, a former street child from Mumbai, is being interrogated by the police. He is a contestant on Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Hindi version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and has made it to the final question but has been accused of cheating.
The explanation of how he knew the answers leads us through the history of his short but full life, including scenes of obtaining the autograph of a famous Bollywood star (Amitabh Bachchan); the death of his mother during an anti-Muslim raid on the slums; and how he and his brother Salim befriended an orphaned girl, Latika.
Living on the trash heaps, they are discovered by Maman, a gangster who runs an orphanage and then uses the children to beg and bring in money. Salim is groomed to become a part of Maman’s operation, and is tasked to bring Jamal so he can be blinded to improve his income potential as a blind singer. Salim rebels against Maman to protect his brother, and the three children try to escape, but only Salim and Jamal are successful. Latika is re-captured by Maman's organization and raised as a culturally talented prostitute whose virginity will fetch a high price.
The brothers eke out a living, traveling on top of trains, selling goods, pretending to be tour guides at the Taj Mahal, and pickpocketing. Jamal eventually insists that they return to Mumbai since he wishes to locate Latika. When he finds her working as a dancer in a brothel, the brothers attempt to rescue her, but Maman intrudes, and in the resulting conflict Salim draws a gun and kills Maman. Salim then uses the fact that he killed Maman to obtain a job with Javed, a rival crime lord. Salim claims Latika as his own, and when Jamal protests, Salim threatens to kill him and Latika intervenes, accepting her fate with Salim.
Years later, Jamal is working as an assistant in a call center, serving chai tea to the employees. When he is asked to cover for a co-worker for a couple of minutes, he searches the database for Salim and Latika. He gets in touch with Salim, who has become a high-ranking lieutenant in Javed’s organization. Salim invites Jamal to live with him and, after following Salim to Javed's house, he sees Latika living there. He talks his way in as the new dishwasher and tries to convince Latika to leave. She rebukes his advances, but he promises to be at the train station every day at 5 p.m. if she changes her mind. Latika attempts to rendezvous with him, but is re-captured by Javed's men, who slash her cheek with a knife, giving her a scar.
Jamal again loses contact with Latika when Javed moves to another home. In another attempt to find Latika, Jamal tries out for the game show because he knows that she will be watching. He makes it to the final question, despite the hostile attitude of the host who feeds Jamal an incorrect answer during a break. At the end of the episode's taping, Jamal has one question left to win 20 million rupees and is taken into police custody, where he is tortured as the police attempt to learn how Jamal, a simple slumdog, could know the answers to so many questions. After Jamal tells his whole story, answer after answer, the police inspector calls it "bizarrely plausible" and allows Jamal to return to the show for the final question. At Javed's safehouse, Latika watches the news coverage of Jamal's miraculous run on the show. Salim gives Latika the keys to his car and his phone and urges her to run away. When Jamal uses his Phone-A-Friend lifeline to call Salim, Latika answers his phone and they reconnect. She does not know the answer to the final question either, but believing that "it is written", Jamal guesses at the answer (the one Musketeer they never learned the name of) and wins the money. Simultaneously, Salim is discovered to have helped Latika escape and allows himself to be killed in a bathtub full of money after shooting and killing Javed.
Later that night, Jamal and Latika meet at the train station, and finally share a kiss. The closing credits then play with a Bollywood-style musical number.
- Dev Patel as Jamal Malik, the protagonist, a Muslim boy born and raised in the poverty of Mumbai.[2] Boyle considered hundreds of young male actors, although he found that Bollywood leads were generally "strong, handsome hero-types", not the personality he was looking for. Boyle's 17-year-old daughter pointed him to the British television ensemble drama Skins, of which Patel was a cast member.[3] The actor was cast in August 2007.[4]
- Madhur Mittal as Salim, Jamal's brother.
- Freida Pinto as Latika, the girl with whom Jamal Malik is in love. Pinto was an Indian model who had not starred in a feature film before.[3]
- Anil Kapoor as Prem Kumar, the game show host.[5]
- Irrfan Khan as the Police Inspector.
- Saurabh Shukla as Constable Srinivas.
- Mahesh Manjrekar as Javed.
- Uday Chopra as Punnoose.
- Ankur Vikal as Maman.
[edit] Production
Screenwriter Simon Beaufoy wrote Slumdog Millionaire with the novel Q and A by Vikas Swarup as the premise. To hone the script, Beaufoy made three research trips to India and interviewed with street children, finding himself impressed with their attitudes. Swarup used many ideas from student director Asim Bhatti while working on the script. The screenwriter said of his goal for the script: "I wanted to get (across) the sense of this huge amount of fun, laughter, chat, and sense of community that is in these slums. What you pick up on is this mass of energy." By the summer of 2006, British production companies Celador Films and Film4 invited director Danny Boyle to read the script Slumdog Millionaire. Boyle initially hesitated since he was not interested in making a film about Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?[3] Boyle soon found out that the screenwriter was Beaufoy, who had written The Full Monty (1997), one of the director's favorite British films, and decided to revisit the script.[6] Boyle was impressed by how Beaufoy wove the multiple storylines from Swarup's book into one narrative, and the director decided to commit to the project. The film was projected to cost US$15 million, so Celador sought a distributor to share costs. Fox Searchlight Pictures made an initial offer that was reportedly in the $2 million range, and Warner Independent Pictures made a $5 million offer that Fox Searchlight could not top.[3]
Filmmakers traveled to Mumbai in September 2007 with a partial crew, and they began hiring local cast and crew for production. When preparing for filming, Boyle decided to translate nearly a third of the film's English dialogue into Hindi. The director fibbed to Warner Independent's president that he wanted 10% of the dialogue in Hindi, and she approved of the change. Filming locations included shooting in Mumbai's megaslum and in shantytown parts of Juhu, so filmmakers controlled the crowds by befriending onlookers.[3] Filming began on 5 November 2007.[4]
[edit] Soundtrack
Composer A. R. Rahman planned the score over two months and completed it in two weeks.[7] He has stated he was aiming for "mixing modern India and the old India" with the music, but that the film and soundtrack "isn’t about India or Indian culture. The story could happen anywhere." Boyle, who "hated sentiment" and told Rahman "Never put a cello in my film", wanted a "pulsey" score. Rahman appreciated that Boyle liked how Indian films mix music, saying the director wanted "edgy, upfront" music that did not sound suppressed. Composing pieces to fit the images, he noted: "There’s not many cues in the film. Usually a big film has 130 cues. This had just seventeen or eighteen: the end credits, beginning credits."[7] Describing the music as one of the parts he liked most in the film,[8] Boyle wanted to include M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" from early on in production on the score, which appears along with an original track Rahman composed, "O...Saya," featuring the artist.[9] M.I.A., who Rahman described as a "powerhouse" and Boyle hailed as "a gift" to the soundtrack gave brief film notes on some scenes to Boyle upon request during editing.[10][7][11] The soundtrack for the film will be released via N.E.E.T. — available online on 25 November 2008, and at record stores on 23 December 2008.[12] Rahman's score received a 2008 Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score.
[edit] Track listing
- "O... Saya" performed by A. R. Rahman, M.I.A.
- "Riots" by A. R. Rahman
- "Mausam & Escape" by A. R. Rahman
- "Paper Planes"# performed by M.I.A.
- "Paper Planes (DFA Remix)" performed by M.I.A.
- "Ringa Ringa" by A. R. Rahman featuring Alka Yagnik, Ila Arun
- "Liquid Dance" by A. R. Rahman featuring Palakkad Sriram, Madhumitha
- "Latika's Theme" by A. R. Rahman featuring Suzanne D'Mello
- "Aaj Ki Raat"#2 performed by Sonu Nigam, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Alisha Chinai
- "Millionaire" by A. R. Rahman featuring Madhumitha
- "Gangsta Blues" by A. R. Rahman featuring BlaaZe, Tanvi Shah
- "Dreams on Fire" by A. R. Rahman featuring Suzanne D'Mello
- "Jai Ho" by A. R. Rahman featuring Sukhwinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalakshmi Iyer
- #composed by M.I.A.
- #2composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, from the album Don - The Chase Begins Again
[edit] Release
In August 2007, Warner Independent Pictures and Pathé acquired the American and International rights respectively to distribute Slumdog Millionaire theatrically.[4] Though Warner Independent Pictures paid $5 million to acquire rights to the film, the studio was hesitant about its commercial prospect. In August 2008, the studio began searching for a buyer to relieve its overload of films at the time.[13] Halfway through the month, Warner Independent Pictures and Fox Searchlight Pictures entered a pact to share distribution of the film with Fox Searchlight buying in a 50% stake.[14] Slumdog Millionaire premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on 30 August 2008, where it was positively received by audiences, gaining "strong buzz".[15] The film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2008, where it was "the first widely acknowledged popular success" of the festival,[16] winning the People's Choice Award.[17]
Slumdog Millionaire debuted with an "impressive" limited release on 12 November 2008, grossing $350,434 in 10 theaters, a "strong" average of $35,043 per theater.[18] In its second weekend, it expanded to 32 theaters and made $947,795, or an average of $29,619 per theater, representing a drop of only 16%.[19] In the 10 original theaters that it was released in, viewership went up 16%, and this is attributed to strong word-of-mouth.[20]
[edit] Critical reception
Rotten Tomatoes reported that 94% of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based upon a sample of 135, with an average score of 8.1/10.[21] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 86, based on 35 reviews.[22]
Todd McCarthy, writing for Variety, praised Simon Beaufoy's "intricate and cleverly structured script", cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle's immersing camera work, and Chris Dickens's "breathless" editing. McCarthy concluded, "As drama and as a look at a country increasingly entering the world spotlight, Slumdog Millionaire is a vital piece of work by an outsider who’s clearly connected with the place."[23]
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described it as "a Hollywood-style romantic melodrama that delivers major studio satisfactions in an ultra-modern way", and the "hard-to-resist 'Slumdog Millionaire,' with director Danny Boyle adding independent film touches to a story of star-crossed romance that the original Warner brothers would have embraced, shamelessly pulling out stops that you wouldn't think anyone would have the nerve to attempt anymore."[24]
In The New York Times, Manohla Dargis calls the film "a modern fairy tale," a "sensory blowout," and "one of the most upbeat stories about living in hell imaginable." She concludes that "In the end, what gives me reluctant pause about this bright, cheery, hard-to-resist movie is that its joyfulness feels more like a filmmaker’s calculation than an honest cry from the heart about the human spirit." [25]
Peter Brunette of the Hollywood Reporter, while giving it a positive review, states the film is "a high-octane hybrid of Danny Boyle's patented cinematic overkill and Bollywood's ultra-energetic genre conventions that is a little less good than the hype would have it."[26] Eric Hynes of IndieWIRE panned the film and wrote it is "bombastic", "a noisy, sub-Dickens update on the romantic tramp's tale" and faulted the film's glossy and sentimental portrayal of societal poverty, and described it as "a goofy picaresque to rival Forrest Gump" in its morality and romanticism.[27]
In December 2008, the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named Slumdog Millionaire as the best film of 2008. It also named Patel's performance as the Best Breakthrough by an actor, and Beaufoy's script the Best Adapted Screenplay (shared with Eric Roth for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).[28]
[edit] Top ten lists
[edit] Awards & nominations
2008 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards
- Won: Best Film
- Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
- Won: Unforgettable Moment Award
- Won: Cultural Crossover Award
- Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
2008 Austin Film Festival
2008 Boston Society of Film Critics Award
2008 British Independent Film Awards
- Won: Best British Independent Film
- Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
- Won: Most Promising Newcomer – Dev Patel
- Nominated: Best Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
- Nominated: Best Technical Achievement (cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle)
- Nominated: Most Promising Newcomer – Ayush Mahesh Khedekar
2008 Broadcast Film Critics Association The Critics' Choice Award
- Nominated: Best Picture
- Nominated: Best Director – Danny Boyle
- Nominated: Best Writer – Simon Beaufoy
- Nominated: Best Young Actor/Actress (under 21) – Dev Patel
- Nominated: Best Song – "Jaiho" performed by Sukhwinder Singh, written by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar
- Nominated: Best Composer - A.R. Rahman
2008 Chicago Film Critics Association
2008 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards
2008 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards 2008
2008 Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2008
2008 Golden Globe Awards
2008 Houston Film Critics Society Awards
- Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
- Won: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
- Runner-up: Best Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle
- Runner-up: Best Original Score - A.R. Rahman
- Runner-up: Best Original Song - "Jaiho" performed by Sukhwinder Singh, written by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar
2008 London Film Critics' Circle
- Nominated: The Attenborough Award: British Film Of The Year
- Nominated: Best Director Of The Year – Danny Boyle
- Nominated: Best British Director Of The Year – Danny Boyle
- Nominated: Best British Actor Of The Year - Dev Patel
- Nominated: Best Screenwriter Of The Year – Simon Beaufoy
- Nominated: The NSPCC Award: Young British Performer Of The Year - Dev Patel
2008 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
2008 National Board of Review
2008 New York Film Critics Circle
2008 New York Film Critics Online
2008 Oklahoma Film Critics Circle
2008 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
2008 San Diego Film Critics Society Award
2008 Satellite Awards International Press Academy
- Won: Best Motion Picture - Drama
- Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
- Won: Best Original Score - A.R. Rahman
- Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
- Nominated: Best Original Song - "Jaiho" performed by Sukhwinder Singh, written by A.R. Rahman and Gulzar
- Nominated: Best Film Editing - Chris Dickens
2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards
- Nominated: Best Ensemble
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - Dev Patel
2008 Southeastern Film Critics Association
2008 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards 2008
- Won: Best Director – Danny Boyle
- Won: Best Foreign Language Film
- Nominated: Best Picture
- Nominated: Most Original, Creative or Innovative Film
- Nominated: Best Adapted Screenplay – Simon Beaufoy
- Nominated: Best Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle
2008 Toronto International Film Festival
2008 Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
[edit] References
- ^ Interview with Danny Boyle in reference to role of Loveleen Tandan as co-director
- ^ "Slumdog Millionaire: The Film File: The New Yorker". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/slumdog_millionaire_boyle.
- ^ a b c d e Roston, Tom (4 November 2008). "'Slumdog Millionaire' shoot was rags to riches". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/features/awards-season/e3ib77f797483aeeed69fe2c15bcc9ccf4e. Retrieved on 12 November 2008.
- ^ a b c Dawtrey, Adam (30 August 2007). "Danny Boyle to direct 'Slumdog'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117971102.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved on 15 January 2008.
- ^ Dalal, Sandipan (24 August 2007). "Freeze kiya jaaye? SRK", The Times of India.
- ^ Evry, Max; Ryan Rotten (16 July 2007). "Exclusive: Danny Boyle on Sunshine!", ComingSoon.net, Coming Soon Media, L.P. Retrieved on 15 January 2008.
- ^ a b c Hill, Logan (12 November 2008). "Composer A.R. Rahman on the Sounds of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and Being M.I.A.’s Idol", New York. Retrieved on 14 November 2008.
- ^ Vergee, Neelam (27 September 2008). "I think I changed working in Bombay", Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 14 November 2008.
- ^ Murrow, Martin (12 November 2008). "Clever Little Dickens", CBC. Retrieved on 24 November 2008.
- ^ "Danny Boyle says London actor Dev Patel plays ideal loser", CBC (09 November 2008). Retrieved on 14 November 2008.
- ^ Medina, Jeremy (12 November 2008). "Catching Up With...Danny Boyle", Paste. Retrieved on 14 November 2008.
- ^ Maher, Dave (24 November 2008). "M.I.A.'s New Label to Release Slumdog Soundtrack", Pitchforkmedia. Retrieved on 24 November 2008.
- ^ Goldstein, Patrick (12 August 2008). "Warners' films: Movie overboard!", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 12 November 2008.
- ^ Flaherty, Mike (20 August 2008). "Fox, WB to share 'Slumdog' distribution". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990881.html?categoryId=13&cs=1. Retrieved on 12 November 2008.
- ^ Kearney, Christine (1 September 2008). "Boyle film leads buzz at Telluride Film festival", Reuters. Retrieved on 12 November 2008.
- ^ Phillips, Michael (8 September 2008). "'Slumdog' artful, if extreme", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 12 November 2008.
- ^ Knegt, Peter (13 September 2008). "Slumdog Millionaire Takes People's Choice, Hunger, Lost Song Among Other Winners", indieWire. Retrieved on 13 November 2008.
- ^ Germain, David (16 November 2008). "Bond finds 'Solace' in $70.4M box office debut", Yahoo! Movies, Associated Press. Retrieved on 17 November 2008.
- ^ "Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results", Box Office Mojo (24 November 2008). Retrieved on 26 November 2008.
- ^ Knegt, Peter (24 November 2008). "indieWIRE: iW BOT - "Slumdog" Poised To Become Season's Success Story", indieWIRE, indieWIRE. Retrieved on 26 November 2008.
- ^ "Slumdog Millionaire Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/slumdog_millionaire/. Retrieved on 25 November 2008.
- ^ "Slumdog Millionaire (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks, Inc. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/slumdogmillionaire. Retrieved on 25 November 2008.
- ^ McCarthy, Todd (1 September 2008). "Slumdog Millionaire Movie Review From The Toronto Film Festival". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117938135.html?categoryid=2863&cs=1. Retrieved on 12 November 2008.
- ^ Turan, Kenneth (12 November 2008). "'Slumdog Millionaire'", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 12 November 2008.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla (12 November 2008). "Orphan’s Lifeline Out of Hell Could Be a Game Show in Mumbai", New York Times. Retrieved on 14 November 2008.
- ^ Brunette, Peter (10 September 2008). "Film Review: Slumdog Millionaire". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/awards_festivals/fest_reviews/article_display.jsp?&rid=11668. Retrieved on 12 November 2008.
- ^ Hynes, Eric (11 November 2008). "Trivial Pursuit: Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire"", IndieWIRE. Retrieved on 12 November 2008.
- ^ "NBR names 'Slumdog' best of year". Variety (Reed Business Information). 04 December 2008. http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117996815.html. Retrieved on 04 December 2008.
[edit] External links
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