Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it?

A) He cheated
B) He’s lucky
C) He’s a genius
D) It is written

Slumdog Millionaire was one of the hottest shows in the 2009 Oscars, sweeping a grand total of 8 awards. It has also been highly controversial as India has called for a ban due to its “incorrect portrayal” of the Indian slums. Critics have also questioned the way three slum children were given a transient glimpse of how life on the other side of the coin could be like when they were whisked from the slums to glamorous America and the Oscars, only to be brought back to the slums to relive their Oscar glory through the only pretty dresses and suits they might ever own.

With such controversy, I naturally had to catch the movie to see what the hype was all about! :) So read my review of Slumdog Millionaire here. Be warned of spoilers!

Synopsis of Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire opens with the Jamal Malik on the popular gameshow “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” just one question away from the 20 million rupee question. Then in a series of flashbacks, we see how Jamal is beaten and tortured by the police to admit that he has been cheating on the show for how could a boy from the Bombay slums know all the answers to the questions?!

We understand how he knew the answers as the story unfolds and we are given a glimpse of the painful and harsh life the slum children endure in Bombay. Is it a true depiction? I believe it is as the slums of India are known to be terrible living conditions where the residents often dice with death and dangers.

Slumdog Millionaire Story Unfolds

Jamal and his brother, Salim lose their mother when their slums are set on fire during Hindu-Muslim riots. They befriend little Latikha and together get rounded up by Maman, a gangster, to be child beggars. Salim saves Jamal from getting blinded by Maman (blind beggars earn double, you see) and together they eke a life living on trains, selling stolen goods and posing as fake tour guides at the Taj Mahal. Latika, unfortunately, gets left behind and as it is their destiny, Jamal returns to Bombay to find that she is now a prostitute whose virginty is highly prized. 

They rescue her with Salim killing Maman in the process and forcing Latika to sleep with him, much to Jamal’s anguish. The two brothers part ways with Salim living the bad life and working for Maman’s rival, Javed, and Jamal working as a chai-wallah (tea boy) in a call centre. Through the call system, he discovers Salim once again and finds that Latikha is now married to Javed who ill treats her. He then bluffs his way into Javed’s house as a dishwasher and begs Latika to leave with him, telling her that he will wait for her at the train station at 5pm. The very first day she attempts it, she is caught by Salim and Javed’s men and scarred on her face. Javed then leaves town and Jamal, knowing that Latika watches “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire”, goes on the show.

It ends happily with Salim helping Latika escape and Jamal and Latika finally meeting again although she thought they will only finally meet again in death. Theirs is a love that is innocent and pure which gives some hope in the cynical world we live in and the desperate background of the slums they all came from.

It is a beautiful movie that calls out to your very core of emotions. Find yourself cringing at the tough life they lived, crying at the evil ways Maman disfigured his child beggars, laugh at the simple joy the slum children have and smile when Jamal and Latika are finally reunited. It is a movie that leaves you thinking and wondering about what your destiny might be. Go watch it!

So is it also merely a coincidence that Jamal knew all the answers to the questions on the game show? Well, it was written in every bitter twist and turn in his life. It was just his destiny.