Slumdog Millionaire

It's all about the treatment.

Some time back I had expressed extreme annoyance at the depiction of the perceived Indian reality by one western commentator, Paul Merton. Today I am writing about another Englishman's version of India. And I must say, Danny Boyle, along with Loveleen Tandan, has done a marvellous job of telling it as it is, without being judgemental, apologetic or even explanatory.

I absolutely loved Slumdog Millionaire. Because it was more a superbly made Hindi movie than anything else. It is drenched in the stench of poverty yet reeks of hope, it is about violence but speaks of love, it is a crisp English film filled with the right Indian masalas resulting in the elusive perfect curry. I see a blurring of boundaries like never before. And I say, good for all of us.

Apart from the perfect acting, tight screenplay and haunting background score, what is exceptional about this film is the true-to-the-subject direction. Not for a moment do you feel that this is a film directed by an 'outsider' with the eyes of a spectator. The camera is completely dispassionate, truly matter-of-fact, and interested only in great cinema. At every stage, the critic in me was looking for something to pounce on - and found nothing.

Thank God for Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto who appear to believe in acting and not dramatisation, as we see so often in Bollywood. Irfan Khan, Anil Kapoor and Saurab Shukla are brilliant as usual - such under-utilised gems all three.

All in all, it is a very well told story of hope and optimism. I know that the British media is hailing it as the most optimistic movie ever - I do think that is because they aren't quite familiar with Bollywood which thrives on 'it's not the end if everything isn't alright yet'. About time I say! But a telling fact of the popularity of this much-loved film is that for the first time in my few years in Britain, I saw notice boards showing 'house-full' signs for all shows of a movie. And not a single person in the jam-packed hall moved till the last bits of the truly colourful dance number accompanying the credits were over. Smiles everywhere afterwards...