Turns Top Dog with Four Awards

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Friday Review Bangalore Chennai and Tamil Nadu Delhi Hyderabad Thiruvananthapuram

RAJ S. RANGARAJAN

For ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ the focus now shifts to the Oscars.

A British director who loves India, a British actor of Indian origin, a co-director of Indian origin, a female debutant, a memorable musical score, a successful scriptwriter: what more does one need for success? All these elements come together for a formula that seems to be made in Bollywood heaven. One is obviously referring to the unlikely story of ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’

While it is creditable that ‘Slumdog…’ won in each of the four categories it was nominated for at the 66th Golden Globes recently, Best Picture (Drama), Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy), and Best Original Score (A.R. Rahman), it is regrettable that American and Indian media have ignored co-director for India, Loveleen Tandan’s painstaking efforts at making the young, novice actors perform in the city that never sleeps.

Anil Kapoor says, “Personally and professionally, the past two-three years have been phenomenal for me. Fulfilment-wise, I have been happy with whatever I have done, both as actor and producer.”

Unintended comedy

Sgt. Srinivas (Saurabh Shukla, ) is the cop assigned to beat up Jamal, and his beefy bulk leads to some unintended comedy. As a compassionate police official, Irrfan Khan is in his element. The artist in him always delivers. Dev Patel expresses his admiration for Irrfan, and adds, “He was constantly telling me how to conduct myself, especially when I was going through a grilling and when I was being tortured.”

Two dramatic scenes stand out: One, when a young Jamal falls into a trough of night soil and soon walks out to get celebrity Amitabh Bachchan’s autograph (played by Feroze Khan). And second, is a bathroom scene where the question-master and participant meet face-to-face. One can use a figurative knife to cut the suspense. Anil says, “I had to show anxiety and intrigue, even Dev was wondering about the scene. I had to appear condescending and forgiving, constantly drawing him in, egging him on without intimidating.”

So intense is one of Pinto’s scenes that during one sequence where she is dragged into a car by goons, a passer-by mistakes Latika for someone who is genuinely in distress. Boyle loves Bollywood and respects Anil Kapoor for his performance in ‘Taal.’ In turn, Anil is particularly laudatory about Boyle’s consummate directorial skills, Simon Beaufoy’s fantastic screenplay and superb editing by Chris Dickens .

In an earlier interview, Boyle extols the film and adds, “Filming in India is in people’s DNA.” He speaks fondly of both the leads – Dave (“Immensely likeable, who adds an air of innocence to Jamal’s character”) and Freida (“real presence”). The director had felt that Patel should spend time in the real Mumbai before the camera rolled and Dev acknowledged that the experience helped him understand the roughness of the street characters. Dev clarifies, “I really wanted to have a chance to play a scene when I was actually in the depths – in the slums, immersed in that environment.”

Danny Boyle was born in Manchester, U.K. and has worked in theatre and television before he began to direct for cinema. Patel grew up in Harrow, North West London, and played Anwar Kharral in the hit British teen show, ‘Skins.’ He says that he grew up with Bollywood films at home.

In an airport shot in Mumbai, it is eerie to see a flight about to land just as cops get the boys playing cricket on the runway to leave. Dev says, the scene actually took place and if you have ever landed at Mumbai airport you can see this happening.

Golden Globe winner A.R. Rahman’s touch is unmistakable, and with fushion and funk in ‘Gangsta Blues,’ even the musical purist will take notice. ‘Ringa Ringa’s’ beat will also warm the cockles of the melody-conscious heart. As though as a concluding concession to Bollywood fans, Rahman’s ‘Jai Ho’ is superbly fluent.

The film opened in November at a few cinema halls in North America, and within a couple of weeks, was being screened in 165 halls.

Around the January 11 weekend, ‘Slumdog…’ surpassed the $ 32.5 million gross of ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ and exceeded the combined grosses of ‘The Namesake’ (US $ 13.6 million) and ‘Monsoon Wedding’ (US $ 13.9 million) as well. Rated “R,” the fast-paced movie with Bollywood-type songs and subtitles runs for 121 minutes.

Well-known late-night hosts and news anchors ranging from David Letterman and Meredith Vieira (who too had hosted an American version of Millionaire) to Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres have been vying to talk with the new ‘Slumdog…’ celebrities, Dev Patel and Freida Pinto. It seems to be one large party for the ecstatic actors, who confess to not having expected such a major buzz for the movie.

Ellen DeGeneres, known for her mischievous wit and funny comeback lines, danced with Freida and Dev on air to Rahman’s ‘Jai Ho,’ which is already very popular at social clubs and private parties in America.
Endearing performances

It is plainly coincidental that rookie actor, Dev Patel, and Mumbai model, Freida Pinto, have won the hearts of the Americans with their performances and on entertainment shows here, especially since the movie won kudos in four categories.

The Academy Awards are just a few weeks away and if the industry buzz is any indication, ‘Slumdog…’ should make it, at least for Best Picture and Best Musical Score. Last year, four of the five PGA nominees also scored Oscar nods for Best Picture.

(The author is a New York-based trend writer, who reports on the art market and has contributed to publications in the U.S., Canada, Australia and India.)