EXAM PREPARATION
SLUMDOG
MILLIONAIRE
TRAILER
Director
Danny Boyle
CHARACTERS
Jamal
Salim
Latika
Prem Kumar
Police Inspector
Maman
Javed (Crime Boss)
Jamal
As the younger of two brothers who grow up as orphans in the slums of India, Jamal becomes the hero of "Slumdog Millionaire." The movie begins with Jamal as an 18-year-old contestant on India’s version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" The game show host assumes the slum kid does not have the educational background to answer the questions and has him arrested for cheating. As the story unfolds, Jamal’s life story is told in a series of flashbacks related to the questions asked during the program. Jamal’s motivation for appearing on TV is to reunite with his lost love Latika, who watches the show. The underlying characteristic of Jamal’s life is his integrity and positive spirit; despite the violence and betrayals he experiences, Jamal remains compassionate, loyal and courageous.
Salim
As Jamal's older brother, Salim takes care of Jamal after their mother dies, but the two brothers take opposing paths when they mature. Jamal triumphs over the harsh street life they are forced to endure, but Salim turns to a life of crime. He works for the local crime boss Javed, who eventually becomes Latika’s husband. Salim becomes hard and cruel -- eventually turning against Jamal -- as he was always jealous of Jamal and Latika’s relationship, wanting her for himself.
Latika
Latika -- a quiet and mild-mannered girl -- is Jamal’s true love. Like the two brothers, she is an orphan trying to survive in the slums. When Jamal and Salim evade capture from local orphanage owner and gangster Maman by jumping atop a train, Latika is left behind and is captured by Maman’s gang. Later, the brothers manage to find and rescue her; Salim shoots and kills Maman. Salim, who secretly wants Latika, fights with Jamal over her, but Latika convinces Jamal to leave for his own safety. After that, Salim becomes a high-ranking lieutenant for the local crime lord, Javed, who eventually takes Latika. Eventually, Latika and Jamal come together.
Prem Kumar
Prem Kumar, the slimy host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Prem appears suave and charismatic enough: he's the ideal game show host. Yet there's something strangely unsettling about him—there's something plastic in his grin and something artificial in his charm.
Police Inspector
Assigned to the task of investigating how Jamal cheated on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the unnamed Police Inspector accompanies us on our journey through Jamal's unbelievable life story.
He's businesslike, pragmatic, and, at first, extremely skeptical of Jamal. He's also pretty condescending, immediately judging Jamal as nothing more than a stupid, untrustworthy poor kid.
Maman
When we first meet Maman, there's a chance he might not be such a bad dude. He smiles a lot, has cool sunglasses, and offers Jamal, Salim, and Latika cold sodas, warm meals, and a place to sleep that isn't a literal dump.
But appearances can be deceiving. As it happens, Maman runs a ring of child beggars, in which he enlists our protagonists. If that doesn't make him unlikeable enough, he even gruesomely blinds certain children in order to maximize profits.
Javed (Crime Boss)
As we quickly learn, the tentacles of organized crime run deep in the world of Slumdog Millionaire. Our first glimpse into the true power structure of the slum comes at the beginning of the film, when young Jamal and Salim nearly run into an expensive black sedan when fleeing from the police. Soon the policemen chasing them do the same thing. They all apologize profusely to the man in aviator shades riding in the back, who angrily waves them along.
We learn later that this is none other than the villainous Javed Khan, ruthless gangster and slumlord.
THEMES
Abuse of Power
Courage
Love conquers all
“The Truth Alone Triumphs”
Fate vs Free Will
Abuse of Power
Who abuses power in this film?
How are they abusing their power?
How is their abuse of power stopped?
What cinematic techniques were used to show this?
Courage
What were the things that Jamal wanted throughout the film?
What did he do to achieve them?
What cinematic techniques were used to show this?
Love conquers all
What were the obstacles that Jamal had to overcome to get to Latika?
What cinematic techniques were used to show this?
“The Truth Alone Triumphs”
Why is this quote important?
What does it mean?
What are the examples of truth triumphing in this film?
What cinematic techniques were used to show this?
Fate vs Free Will
When Jamal was younger - what was his fate? Why?
What events happened that challenged his fate?
What were some cinematic techniques used in these events?
FATE or DESTINY
be destined to happen, turn out, or act in a particular way.
FREE WILL
the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to do what you want.
SYMBOLISM
MOTIF
Yellow
The first time we see Latika is that image of her standing in the bustling train station, her golden yellow clothing shining through the multitudes of people.
When we're introduced to Latika as a child, she's wearing yellow—a pale yellow dress.
This film is set in India, so it's worth noting that the symbolic associations of yellow in India. In India, yellow is associated with healing, holiness, and the spice turmeric.
But Latika isn't always in yellow clothing. In the middle of the film, when Jamal and Salim find her in the red-light district, she wears a green dress. The color green has associations of nature and new beginning in India—Latika is being outfitted in a pine-colored sari because she's being paraded around as a super valuable virgin.
Yet in this moment she's shrouded in a golden yellow light, a reflection of the way Jamal still sees her.
Later, when Jamal meets Latika in Javed's compound, she is wearing expensive, but colorless clothes. Perhaps this absence of color suggests her loss of passion as a captive of Javed. Yet when she goes to meet Jamal in the train station, Latika is wearing that iconic yellow top, a radiant source of light in the bustling crowd.
Money
The opening of Slumdog Millionaire consists of a series of images, flashing on the screen briefly before fading into the shadows. Among the more prominent images that appear in this sequence is money—a pair of hands tossing around thousands of 1,000 rupee notes into a bathtub. As the host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire introduces our hero Jamal Malik on the show, the image of this cash recurs.
Money clearly plays an important role in Slumdog Millionaire because it directly ties to the story's central plot device: the game show. But the real-deal significance of these initial images of cash money doesn't become clear until the end of the film, when we discover the owner of those rainmaking hands: Salim.
With the help of some crafty editing, Jamal's victory on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire parallels Salim's sacrifice, as the elder brother makes his last stand against Javed in the bathtub full of 1,000 rupee notes and this death occurs while the entire country celebrates the younger brother's success. In this contrast, as the end of the film echoes the beginning, we see the true cost of wealth and power.
The Three Musketeers
Early on in the film, we see Jamal and Salim as youngsters arriving late to school, where their classmates are reading Three Musketeers. Their teacher admonishes the brothers for their tardiness, calling them "Athos" and "Porthos," "our very own musketeers."
Later on, following the riots and the death of their mother, Jamal and Salim meet Latika. Jamal suggests that Latika could become their "third musketeer," despite Salim's protests.
The Three Musketeers returns for one last encore in the movie's climax, in the form of Jamal's final question on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. In a moment of irony, Jamal is asked the name of the third musketeer, after Athos and Porthos—a piece of information that Jamal never actually learned. Jamal's able to speak with Latika, the third musketeer herself, via the phone-a-friend lifeline, but she doesn't know the answer either. But Latika's lack of knowledge doesn't faze Jamal. He's happy just knowing she's okay. Confident that his third musketeer is safely free, Jamal guesses the correct answer: Aramis.
The allusions to The Three Musketeers shows us the camaraderie shared between Jamal, Salim, and Latika—much like Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.
Aramis = Latika—is effortlessly good at most things. And, like Latika, he's portrayed as virtuous.
Porthos = Salim - is obsessed with status. He wants to be rich. But when it comes right down to it, Porthos, like Salim, is a stand-up guy and willing to sacrifice a lot for his fellow Musketeers.
Athos = Jamal - is wise, knowledgeable, and totally honorable. He's also hopelessly in love with a woman he's been parted from.
SETTING
India
Mumbai
Mumbai
POOR/RICH
NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
The narrative in Slumdog Millionaire appears to be non-linear, as we see flashbacks and flashforwards together. However, what is special about the narrative is the three different universes it exists in; it is suggested that the interrogation scenes are the present, and the scenes in the Slums and on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire are flashbacks (with the latter later existing as a flash-forward at the end of the film). Therefore, the film is technically linear.
LINEAR NARRATIVE
NON-LINEAR NARRATIVE
These flashbacks are central to the narrative as they not only show progression in age and personality, but also explain how Jamal knows the answers.
The film is told in chapters and stages, with three main narratives being interwoven. This is why Who Wants To Be a Millionaire is such a good platform to base the film on, as the format lends itself well to ‘stages’; with each question being a ‘ladder’ up to the grand total. Whilst Jamal is gradually reaching the top monetary prize, he is also getting a step closer to reuniting with Latika.
The narrative perfectly reflects the recurring theme of destiny, as several obstacles are thrown up to prevent Jamal from succeeding.
SCENES
Opening Scene
Closing Scene
‘Autograph’ Scene
‘Blinding’ Scene
ANALYSING THE SCENES
What was the purpose of the scene?
How did this scene help you understand the purpose? 3 Examples
For each example, what language techniques were used to help you understand?