The movie left me speechless...
Yes, It was good..
Yes, It was dramatic..
Yes, It portrayed a part of India, that we don't talk about.
But, I didn't know what to say.. There are not many movies that leave me this way..
The movie is about this boy Jamal, a slum dweller/beggar/thief in Bombay who goes on KBC and gets all the the way to the end.
The movie, revolves around a police investigation (yes, the normal Indian movie Police interrogation, full with the violence and beatings) which questions how an ill-literate boy from a Mumbai slum knew all the answers to the biggest of Indian quiz shows..
Using this medium, our protagonist takes us through his life, from the slums to the streets, gangs, whore houses and all the way to a call center as a chai-walla.
It shows us some of the harsh facts of life on the street in India, some things which we might conveniently want to ignore.
The movie would have definitely struck a cord with an Indian audience, But for the language. The movie is made in American English, with a few lines of Hindi thrown in for good measure.
What is does is two things though.. It creates a disconnect between the actors and the language, but it opens up the movie to the global audience.
(My Suggestion : Please remake this movie in Hindi, the exact same way.. Am sure it will be just as brilliant)
That's where I actually felt strange though.. This movie watched by people all around the world, some how causes me pain. I don't say what they say is far from the truth. But it's only one side of India... A few minutes showing the rest of the country may have helped alleviate this feeling, but might have taken the impact out of the story.
All in all, I'll say watch at your own risk. There are a few scenes not for the faint of heart. But I'll give it a 4 out of 5
Rahul.
PS : Kudos to the Young actors who played the roles of Jamal Malik(Ayush Khedekar), Lathika(Rubiana Ali) and Salim Malik(Azharuddin Ismail).. They were all brilliant
