Slumdog Millionaire Review

So this past weekend, the little lady and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire. Despite the fact that Review is in the title of this blog, I am not really going to review the movie, aside from saying that I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to just about anyone.



With that said, I think some of the movie may be lost on some people. The movie really seemed to be a tribute to the city of Bombay, and subsequently Mumbai. A clear distinction was made in the two. But I actually, in stealing from the movie wanted to highlight a few of my favorite scenes or aspects (without giving anything away hopefully) and how they relate to my life.



Now one of the scenes that was my favorite is when the two boys start working as chai wallas in some restaurant. An order is called down, which includes a bottled water. One of the boys is then seen filling a used plastic bottle with water from the tap and then after putting the cap back on it, he is seen gluing the cap shut to the little plastic ring remnant that is usually left when new unused bottles are opened. This of course reminded me of every trip to India, where we were forbidden to drink tap water - only boiled (and chilled) and bottled water. On every trip back to India, our family there would prepare by spending a large amount of time boiling water for us. Even when we went out we took our own water. To the point, that if we ran out of the "homemade" - it meant no water for us. When finally the bottled water arrived (the earliest trip I remember was my 1997 trip - prior trips included 1992, 1990, 1989 and 1984) it was god sent. And in retrospect, maybe it wasn't.

One of my other favorite parts of the movie, was the anti-bollywood, bollywood reference at the end. So if you haven't seen it, don't read this. It wont give anything away, or it might, I just make this shit up as I go along. But at the end of the movie, which featured no lip- sync singing, choreographed dancing or other general bollywood bullshit, the movies end credits included just that. It was perfect. A bit of an homage to the land the movie was based on, without taking away any of the seriousness of the film.

And despite what anyone tells you, it isn't a love story. There is a love story, but its truly a story about the city and some of its less desirable elements and their co-existence with the people of the city.

I think some of the movie may be lost on those not familiar with Indian culture or the recent history of Bombay - the greatness of Amitabh Bachan, the riots, the street beggar children, the slums, and the overall reality of the city. I cant claim to know the reality of it myself, but having heard stories and being generally familiar may have given me a different perspective.

Lastly, the brother. In my humble opinion, the best character in the movie. He reminded me of my own brother - not so much the specific activities of course, but in the sense, that he was always looking out for his younger brother and doing what he thought he needed to do. Especially when it was just them in the world on their own.