Danny Boyle who made the intense yet enjoyable "Trainspotting" has taken the basic plot of Vikas Swarup's novel "Q and A" and added lots of characters, masala, the proverbial presentation of India as a land of poverty and roped in the services of A.R. Rahman to provide the music score, to make a movie that is breaking records and winning awards.
Honestly it is nothing monumental. It is a good movie. We all love movies that are about the triumph of the human spirit and have happy endings.
Two kids Jamal and Salim witness the Mumbai riots, there mother being killed, caught in a network of goons who run an organized syndicate of child-beggars. How the kids escape, go on a trip across India, (Taj Mahal and Agra), return to Mumbai. The story has twists and plots but beyond Jamal winning a quiz show and becoming a millionaire it is his quest for the girl he loves-Lathika(played by Frieda Pinto)that draws more interest. Dev Patel as Jamal does a good job. Anil Kapoor as the quizmaster is nice. Irrfan Khan and Surabh Shukla in brief roles as policemen do justice.
It is the chap who plays Jamal's brother the boy-who-became-a-gangster whom I liked. The kids who portray the role of slum kids are real slum kids. The child jumping into a pile of human faeces to get an autograph of his matinee idol is gross but conveys the message of the madness that cinema is!
The movie is much better than what is on fare from Bolywood-Ghajini, CC2C, RNBJ and the other stuff. So do watch it. I am eagerly awaiting Anurag Kashyap's "Dev-D." He is one chap who is really willing to experiment and radical in thought and belief. Watch "Black Friday" and "NO Smoking" to understand. I hope Abhay Deol does a good job, as the Law of Averages is against him.
Let us see.
The next reviews will be of-"Revolutionary Road" and "Rock n' Rolla."
Bye folks!
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