Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Drama, Romance |.
Slumdog Millionaire is a British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup, telling the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Patel as Jamal, and filmed in India, the film was directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and produced by Christian Colson, with Loveleen Tandan credited as co-director. As a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Jamal surprises everyone by being able to answer every question correctly. Accused of cheating, Jamal recounts his life story to the police, illustrating how he is able to answer each question correctly.
After its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and later screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and the London Film Festival, Slumdog Millionaire had a nationwide release in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2009, in India on 23 January 2009, and in the United States on 25 December 2008. Regarded as a sleeper hit, Slumdog Millionaire was widely acclaimed, being praised for its plot, soundtrack, direction, and performances (especially Patel’s).
Eighteen-year-old Jamal Malik, an Indian Muslim from the Dharavi slum, is a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and is one question away from the grand prize. However, before the ₹20 million question, he is detained and tortured by the police, who suspect him of cheating. Through a series of flashbacks, Jamal recounts the incidents in his life that provided him with each answer.
Jamal’s flashbacks begin when he is five years old. He manages to obtain the autograph of Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan after jumping into an outhouse cesspit. Jamal’s older brother Salim later sells the autograph. The incident is followed immediately by the death of the siblings’ mother during the Bombay riots. As the brothers flee the riot they meet Latika, a girl from their slum. Salim is reluctant to take her in, but Jamal suggests that she could be their “third musketeer”, a reference to the Alexandre Dumas novel The Three Musketeers. Although the brothers had read the novel in school, albeit not diligently, and referred to themselves as Athos and Porthos, it is revealed that they do not know the third musketeer’s name. Latika ultimately joins the group despite Salim’s initial refusal.
Directors: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan (co-director)
Writers: Simon Beaufoy (screenplay), Vikas Swarup (novel)
Stars: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla, Irrfan Khan, Anil Kapoor, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Rubina Ali
►Cast:
| Dev Patel | … | Older Jamal |
| Saurabh Shukla | … | Sergeant Srinivas |
| Anil Kapoor | … | Prem |
| Raj Zutshi | … | Director |
| Jeneva Talwar | … | Vision Mixer |
| Freida Pinto | … | Older Latika |
| Irrfan Khan | … | Police Inspector |
| Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail | … | Youngest Salim |
| Ayush Mahesh Khedekar | … | Youngest Jamal |
| Jira Banjara | … | Airport Security Guard (as Hira Banjara) |
| Sheikh Wali | … | Airport Security Guard |
| Mahesh Manjrekar | … | Javed |
| Sanchita Choudhary | … | Jamal’s Mother |
| Himanshu Tyagi | … | Mr Nanda |
| Sharib Hashmi | … | Prakash |
| Virendra Chatterjee | … | Slum Man |
| Feroze Khan | … | Amitabh Bachchan |
| Sunil Kumar Agrawal | … | Mr. Chi (as Sunil Aggarwal) |
| Virender Kumar | … | Man on Fire (as Virender Kumar Gharu) |
| Devesh Rawal | … | Blue Boy |
| Rubina Ali | … | Youngest Latika |
| Ankur Vikal | … | Maman |
| Tiger | … | Punnoose |
| Chirag Parmar | … | Young Arvind |
| Nazneen Shaikh | … | Baby |
| Farzana Ansari | … | Latika’s Friend |
| Anupam Shyam | … | Old Villager |
| Salim Chaus | … | Ticket Collector |
| Singh Shera Family | … | Family in Train |
| Harvinder Kaur | … | Family in Train |
| Narendra Singh Bhati | … | Family in Train (as Narendra Singh) |
| Tanay Chheda | … | Middle Jamal (as Tanay Hemant Chheda) |
| Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala | … | Middle Salim |
| Satya Mudgal | … | Taj Mahal Guide |
| Janet de Vigne | … | Ada / Mrs MacKintosh |
| William Relton | … | Peter |
| David Gilliam | … | Clark |
| Mia Drake | … | Adele (as Mia Inderbitzin) |
| Kinder Singh | … | Driver |
| Christine Matovich Singh | … | Opera Singer |
| Thomas Lehmkuhl | … | Opera Singer |
| Siddesh Patil | … | Older Arvind |
| Najma Shaikh | … | Woman at Brothel |
| Saeeda Shaikh | … | Woman at Brothel |
| Alka Satpute | … | Woman at Brothel |
| Tabassum Khan | … | Woman at Brothel |
| Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar | … | Middle Latika |
| Sitaram Panchal | … | Dance Teacher |
| Nigel Caesar | … | Hotel Security Guard |
| Ajit Pandey | … | Javed’s Goon |
| Kedar Thapar | … | Javed’s Goon |
| Amit Leonard | … | Javed’s Goon |
| Rajesh Kumar | … | Javed’s Goon |
| Sagar Ghopalkar | … | Javed’s Goon |
| Pradeep Solanki | … | Javed’s Goon |
| Abdul Hamid Shaikh | … | Javed’s Goon (as Hamid Sheikh) |
| Dheeraj Waghela | … | Javed’s Goon |
| Shruti Seth | … | Call Centre Instructor (as Shruti S Seth) |
| Arfi Lamba | … | Bardi |
| Taira Colah | … | Nasreen |
| Varun Bagri | … | Call Centre Trainee |
| Ankur Tewari | … | Dave |
| Anjum Sharma | … | Operator |
| Madhur Mittal | … | Older Salim |
| Sarfaraz Khan | … | Autorickshaw Driver |
| Syed Fazal Hussain | … | Autorickshaw Driver (as Syed Hussain) |
| Umar Khan | … | Autorickshaw Driver (as Umer Khan) |
| Imran Hasnee | … | Javed’s House Doorkeeper |
| Homai Billimoria | … | KBC Contestant |
| Udayan Baijal | … | Cricket Commentator |
| Sandeep Kaul | … | Floor Manager |
| Rufee Ahmed | … | Double for Irrfan Khan |
| Rhea Lawyer | … | TV Reporter |
| Deepali Dalvi | … | Dancer at Javed’s Safehouse |
| Anisha Nagar | … | Dancer at Javed’s Safehouse |
| Farrah Shaikh | … | Dancer at Javed’s Safehouse |
| Mamta Sharma | … | Dancer at Javed’s Safehouse |
| Neha M. Khatarawalla | … | Dancer at Javed’s Safehouse |
| Tanya Singh | … | Newsreader |
| Anand Tiwari | … | Newsreader |
| Faezeh Jalali | … | Newsreader |
| Meghana Jhalani | … | Newsreader |
| Rupali Mehra | … | Newsreader |
| Anju Singh | … | Newsreader |
| Saurabh Agarwal | … | Call Centre Manager |
| Mark Boucher | … | Self – South African Cricketer (archive footage) |
| Andre Nel | … | Self – South African Cricketer (archive footage) |
| Yuvraj Singh | … | Self – Indian Cricketer (archive footage) |
| Sachin Tendulkar | … | Self – Indian Cricketer (archive footage) |
| Amitabh Bachchan | … | Self (archive footage) |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia