If you are a movie junkie, have only have 8 Singapore bucks to spare (yah, I know.. times are bad!), and are contemplating to choose a film to watch this weekend, I will strongly recommend you to watch Slumdog Millionaire. Yes, even if it requires you castrate the chance to catch brad pitt/ his wife/ his ex wife in the big screen.
The plot revolves a chai-wala (a tea server) Jamal Malik who is one question away from winning the grand prize of Rp 20million at a popular gameshow, before he was hauled to the police after allegations that he had cheated. After all, the officials were not convinced uneducated 18 year old who grew up in a Mumbai slum would have known answers to all the questions, just because he knows them. What was unknown was that each chapter of his life story - his childhood in the city slums, his adventures on the road, his encounter with local gangs, and his love for a childhood friend, reveals where he had learned the answers.
The images of a colourful, buzzing and overcrowded India, the deep trance of Indian drums and melodies aim to deliver a juxtapose of emotions to the viewers. It also lets you leave the theatre appreciating the simple theme of love and hope, and the glimpse of escapism in a society plagued with poverty, discrimination and injustice.
"O Saya" - A R Rahman & M.I.A.
That being said, it is incredible that so much criticism has been noted for the movie - from the use of degratory term "dog" in the title, to arguments that it does not deserve a nomination in an Oscars, to the doubt of casting the relatively unknown actors. It is simply a joke, because just as the director seeks to demolish the glass ceiling created by discrimination, we are witnessing it being stereotyped on the basis of its content/ cast/production team.
In my opinion, there are only 3 types of movies - good, bad and those that you have never watched. Period. You may comment on the first 2, but keep your peace on the 3rd. I guess it may take some marketing to convince a person to watch a local or Asian production, but it saddens me when a production gets written off completely by their own people.
This movie once again brings home the message that wealth and fame doesn't equate happiness. There are just some things like Love, Faith and Hope that Rp 20m cannot buy.
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