Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire (English/ Hindi)
Don’t miss itSlumdog Millionaire is a swift and poignant account of life at the very bottom of the social pyramid in India. Though it is not the first movie to do so, what makes it different from the rest is that Danny Boyle’s direction takes the viewers right there --- at the bottom of the pyramid --- where all the action happens.
And, there is no escape for the audience while the camera mercilessly uncovers the harsh reality of the struggle of the have-nots for survival. The life, which is so brutal that there is perhaps no place for human dignity, esteem, compassion, and ego --- the virtues that are most worshipped by the rest of the layers of the pyramid.
The abyss that exists among the have-nots and the rest in India is a well known fact. Yes, the rest and I mean the rest. The gap is much wider than that between the lower middle class and the high class thus making all of them look well off compared to those who are at the bottom of the pit. The irony here is that it is so much known a fact that we have learned to ignore it for our own convenience.
Slumdog Millionaire forces all of us ignorant souls to shut up, sit back, and watch helplessly what we have trained our minds to ignore for so long. And, no other movie till date would have done it as effectively.
The screenplay, which is an adapted version of a novel by Vikas Swarup, is terse, tight, and doesn’t lose the track or the tempo. The execution is equally crisp in terms of direction, cinematography, background score, and above all the stellar performances by all the actors.
While shooting most of the close-up shots, the camera frame is kept so tight that it is difficult for the actors to escape the prying camera, leaving no chance to err. The way the entire slumscape unfolds at the beginning of the movie during a chasing scene with a racy track by AR Rahman (O Saya) in the background is mind numbing.
AR Rahman has done an excellent job. His songs and background score aptly reflect the different moods in the movie. Especially, O Saya, for which the composer has got an Oscar nomination, is terrific. However, the other nominated song Jay Ho doesn’t sound to be as peppy as some of his earlier songs.
Overall, it’s a must see. Don’t allow yourself to die until you see the movie!
Labels: Movies
posted by Ranjit @ 1/26/2009 01:52:00 pm
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