Slumdog' Director Boyle Has 'Fingers Crossed' for Oscars By LISA TSERING indiawest.com January 29, 2009 07:11:00 PM
British director Danny Boyle is still surprised by the waves of adulation his film "Slumdog Millionaire" has been receiving over the past weeks. The film earned a whopping 10 Academy Award nominations Jan. 22, including Best Picture and Best Director, and is currently at the number 10 spot in the U.S. box office, with a gross of over $44 million. Asked to explain why the film has inspired such passion, Doyle said simply: "It's the underdog. The kid from nowhere with nothing who overcomes incredible adversity to get to his dreams. It's so classic, that story. It's mythical, almost." Speaking to India-West from a Los Angeles hotel Jan. 25, Boyle, speaking with infectious enthusiasm, also remarked on the film's cast, who had just won the top ensemble acting award from the Screen Actors Guild that weekend. He says "Our fingers are crossed" for an Oscar win. "I had these wonderful actors, a mixture of really experienced and inexperienced actors that was a great combination. You feel like there are people bursting through who are fresh and new," he said. "That invigorates you, I think. Then you have this incredible city of Mumbai. There are so many elements that a storyteller can benefit from." In casting the role of Prem, the cut-throat host of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (the role went to Anil Kapoor), Boyle confided that he had considered Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, who had both hosted the show in real life. "Obviously I knew of [Bachchan], and I'd seen a tape of him presenting the show," Boyle told India-West. "But it would be enough of a challenge for the West to grasp how famous he was — though of course he was there in that opening sequence, where the kid jumps into the poo in order to get his autograph. "It would be so complicated if you're intercutting that with an older version of Amitabh, so I thought it wouldn't be a good idea," explained Boyle. "We did talk to SRK, and saw him recording an episode of the show, and he was very gracious. We met him a couple of times. But his life is so complicated and so busy, it's a nightmare trying to get any kind of concrete answer out of him. "We then heard that Anil Kapoor was available. Anil unlocked it for us, because he was famous in his own right, so therefore it's plausible for him to be presenting the show in India; and secondly, it allowed us to fictionalize the show." Kapoor, perhaps, was also more open to exploring the darker side of Prem's character, suggested India-West. "What's wonderful about Anil is that he has no barriers — he's an incredible actor who will go anywhere," replied Boyle. "He's a really interesting man, and it's extraordinary that it's his first film ever in the English language. That's courage. He's going somewhere dark and somewhere frightening for an actor." Recently, groups of slumdwellers in India have been protesting that the film's title is offensive, a charge that cut Boyle deeply. "That was very upsetting, because obviously what we intended was a hybrid of 'underdog,' which is what the film is about, and cherishes the idea of an underdog triumphing; and 'slum.' It's the opposite of offending. The absolute opposite. "I'm really distraught about that and I hope that once people see the film and realize what it's really about, they'll actually be proud." A.R. Rahman has received three Oscar nominations — one each for the film's soundtrack and the songs "Jai Ho" and "O Sayya." Boyle had long been a fan of Rahman's before making "Slumdog," and quickly rattled off a list of some of his favorite Rahman tunes — from "Taal," "Lagaan," "Kisna" and "Rang De Basanti." But the composer ended up surprising Boyle by coming up with unexpected musical ideas. "There's a scene when Jamal's brother goes off to kill someone and he wakes up at night, and from a scoring point of view it should clearly be a sort of creepy, quiet sound," Boyle told India-West. "A.R. came in with this thumping track, completely the opposite of what you expect. It was exactly right!" Boyle cites non-traditional films by Ram Gopal Varma and others as his inspiration. " 'Satya' I loved; it's as good a film as I've seen anywhere. Another one, 'Company,' and a very low budget by Anurag Kashyap, who had cowritten 'Satya' with Saurabh Shukla, who is the fat constable in my film. But Anurag made 'Black Friday,' about the bombings. I also saw, the other day, 'Mr. India,' one of Anil's early films by Shekhar Kapur, which is an extraordinary film. And one old Amitabh film which we use a number of clips from, which is called 'Ram Balram.' That one is extraordinary, an incredible piece of filmmaking." Finally, one absolutely must ask: for that memorable scene when young Jamal dives into the bottom of an outhouse, what did Boyle use as a substitute for human waste? Boyle guffawed at the question. "It's incredible. You get asked this by people. People are so fascinated. It's a mixture of peanut butter and chocolate, completely sterile. You can lick it off, literally. The experience on set was that it was the most fragrant, sweet smelling substance, but everyone had to act like …" and here, he gags: "Ggaahhhh!" http://www.indiawest.com/readmore.aspx?id=860&sid=5 -- regards, Vithur
