I'm so proud that ARR is associated with a movie that has received positive reviews so far to no end. I don't quite remember hearing about a movie with so much positive attention as this one.
--- In [email protected], Gopal Srinivasan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > There is just too much of good work in the movie > to talk about film â" AR Rahmanâs back-ground score, just the way he > makes you tap your feet to the unfolding visuals and not be conscious > about it at all > > Slumdog Millionaire â" Review > To what lengths would you go to get > an autograph from a superstar actor? What all would you be willing to > jump to get close, very close â" in you face close â" to a star that has > sold you dream after dream after dream all your life? Jump from a > chopper! Fly your family from Bay Area to Chicago and pay tons of > money? Swim through a sewer??? Nah⦠the mentioned tasks are too easy if > the superstar in question is Amitabh Bachchan. And Ladies and > gentleman, of all the directors who have in some form or the other paid > tribute to the Greatest Star of the Millennium â" let me declare â" Danny > Boyle topped all of them and beat them with none even close! And thatâs > just one shot in Slumdog Millionaire. > Danny Boyleâs (Train spotting) latest is a story > around how a boy born in the slums of Bombay winâs his love riding on > the back on his experiences from his growing-up days to answer 15 > questions and convince an overworked cop that he is not cheating on the > show. Nothing more to it! If you let go of the initial adrenaline of > being the fortunate few to watch the film in one of the most liberal > places in the world where for large diasporas, India signifies freedom > and a place to find solace and happiness, then you will walk out > feeling very full at the treat dished out to you. > The movie is cinematic, right from the word go, > and that in itself is an achievement worth bowing to for a director > born in a different land. Mumbai does not exist in the film â" itâs all > Bombay. And a Bombay that you would have probably never seen before. > The amazing interweave of colorful and lively people and the > corresponding contrast of the slums makes you believe that that > characters and as a natural extension, the people, are oblivious to the > inhuman conditions that surround them. A mix and match of rugged goons, > docile orphans, street smart kids and IndYEAH eyed foreign tourists > makes Slumdog a movie full of surprises at every turn of the plot, a > plot that covers every aspect of what this great city offers â" > religious wars, cosmetic ill-treatments, power-struggles, > showmanshipâs, dream-sellers, ragâs to riches poster boys, mafia donâs, > super-model prostitutes, trigger-happy teens and fearless humanists. > And to point out very strongly here â" Boyle does not fall into the trap > of Indian Sentimentality even though he does get into the mind of an > avg Indian Raju very well. > There is just too much of good work in the movie > to talk about film â" AR Rahmanâs back-ground score, just the way he > makes you tap your feet to the unfolding visuals and not be conscious > about it at all, Irrfan Khan with his characteristic non-acting acting > expressions, Saurabh Shukla as the overweight short-circuited hawaldar, > Mahesh Manjrekar as the Mumbai ka Don, Dev Patel as the Lover-boy and > Anil Kapoor as the evil & condescending host of âWho wantâs to be a > Millionaireâ â" that they gel so well with the characters that the > viewer is just mesmerized all through to notice flaws if any. And for > an Indian watching a film based on India and be very comfortable is the > highest grade you can give to any alien director. Especially the guts > and the ease to show the bitter truths of real India without making a > mockery. And especially to show how horrible Taj-Mahal actually looks > in broad daylight and how horrendously dirty its surroundings are. > To review a movie like this, you need lofty words, > words that justify the effort and the pains labored into making a film > like this â" touted as the costliest film made in India - a one manâs > vision. The setting and the breaking-news type of screenplay make it a > riveting watch with no moments to pause. Yes the lead pair looks a > little dull in spots and the English dialogues donât sound too > plausible at some special weighted scenes but considering that the > movie was primarily packaged to cater to the westâs sensibilities of > how to view India â" Danny Boyle has set a bar that will be very > difficult to beat. > But if there is one winner to drive this movie to > the very brink of Oscarâs â" thatâs BOMBAY! Slumdog is a movie where you > will see the city like you have NEVER EVER seen before. Itâs like prose > from Lin Babaâs eyes from Shantaram turning to Poetry and Rangoli all > at the same time. The sadness, the apathy of the residents, the > acrimonious nature of the harsh truthâs of life, the relentless mockery > of life towards the under-privileged and the gifted alike, just blown > to insignificant particles before the power that the city is â" and the > way it was all captured by Anthony Dod through his camerawork or more > rightly cameras work - is nothing short of pure chilling genius. Bombay > never looked so right before⦠all the reams of paper eulogizing it have > found the right visuals now, hence allowed to settle in comfort of > obscurity. Slumdog Millionaire will carry the baton for a significant > time from now. >
