Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”. He is also in police custody accused of cheating on the show, because Jamal happens to be an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai — who cannot read or write! The police commissioner and the host of the show are baffled at his clumsy prowess, while Indians around the country proudly cheer for him. But for one very long night, Jamal is questioned and prodded to give away his secret, to admit his cheating ways. Instead, he takes us on a journey of discovery – a race through the gritty street life of Bombay, along the power of dreams and ending at the strength of love. Will he manage to win what he truly desires? That is the premise of “Slumdog Millionaire”, director Danny Boyle’s latest film.

I have personally admired Danny Boyle’s work since “Trainspotting” because to me no one else mixes graphic reality with creative imagination the way Boyle does in his films. His love for his characters is everpresent and unrelenting. Even when we in the audience find ourselves doubting the motivations of those up there on the screen, Boyle continues to inherently understand their struggle for survival and eventually brings us around to his point of view. “Slumdog Millionaire” is everything one may expect from this fantastic director, and more. More because Jamal, his brother Salim and their childhood girl friend Latika live in a world that we discover through their eyes, a world that is just so close and yet so invisible to the average person. And more because he brings true love, strong principles and a powerful belief in fate into the mix of this crude, cruel reality.

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