Why you should watch ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

Slumdog Millionaire is, first and foremost, a modern-day fairy tale. It is a love story set in the urban jungle of Mumbai, India.

The story is told in three major timelines — it is narrated in flashbacks from the moment the main character, a young game show contestant, gets interrogated by the police. Thanks to director Danny Boyle and co-director Loveleen Tandan, the film is so cohesively presented that it is not really a cinematic challenge to put the pieces together to be able to understand the whole plot.

The first scenes show an 18-year-old young man named Jamal Malik (played by award-winning actor Dev Patel) being tortured by the police on suspicion of cheating in the Indian version of the popular game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” The police inspector (played by Irrfan Khan) has voiced his doubts on how a ’slumdog’ like Jamal can answer all the difficult questions in the quiz show watched by millions (”What can a slumdog possibly know?”). All these torture-ridden interrogations fall on Jamal’s lap just when he is one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees which, by the way, was not his real motivation in signing up to be a contestant.

But amid the tremendous pressure from the police to admit his guilt, Jamal, who works at a local call center as a tea server, declares his innocence and states in a post-torture state that he did know all the answers. How? Through a series of tough life circumstances as a slum dweller.

The game show is then used as a cinematic means to tell the heartbreaking story of Jamal — his life with his street smart brother Salim as struggling orphans after the death of their mother during a Hindu-Muslim riot in the slums; the random friendship with an orphan girl named Latika, who would later become the one-and-only love of Jamal’s life (his “destiny”); and their unforeseen entanglement with Mumbai’s underworld.

Slumdog Millionaire is a bittersweet story that mirrors what’s really happening in the concrete jungles of poverty-stricken countries like India. It tells the horrible fate of India’s street children, who are literally blinded by gangsters to work as income-generating ’singing beggars.’ Some of these gangster scenes are graphic, and this may well be the reason why the film has garnered an R rating.

But true to its fairy tale calling — boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy meets girl again, boy loses girl again, boys finds girl, girl runs away with an old gangster, boy joins a popular TV game show to reunite with his dream girl, boy eventually gets the girl and the 20 million rupees — the film ends on a high note, with a Bollywood-type of dance scene staged at the train station no less.

Overall, the performance of the actors was superb. But Freida Pinto as the oldest Latika could have internalized more her character; her acting was a bit flat and wooden. Credit goes to Dev Patel, who was perfect for the role of the oldest Jamal (there were three Jamals in the film just as there were three Salims and three Latikas). He did a great job delivering his English lines with a believable Hindi accent — and being consistent with that to boot — considering that he was born and bred in London (incidentally, one-third of the dialogues were in Hindi, with some English subtitles).

The supporting cast members, especially the child actors, were excellent in fleshing out their respective roles. They were simply natural in their portrayals. Well done, boys!

The award-winning film directing was at its finest. One can just imagine how terribly hard it was to shoot on location, right in the slums of Mumbai. But Boyle and his team were able to pull it off, with a lot of support from the locals, it seems.

The film shots were masterfully done — great cinematography there — and the editing was quite crisp, giving the film a tight feel.

British screenwriter Simon Beaufoy of The Full Monty fame did an excellent job writing the film adaptation of the Boeke Prize-winning and Commonwealth Writers’ Prize-nominated novel Q and A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. His ability to weave all those mini tales into one whole package showed great craftmanship in the screenwriting arena. The script was well thought out.

If the low-budgeted Slumdog Millionaire has already reaped major film awards at the Golden Globes (i.e. Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score), and is up for 10 Academy Awards in key categories (including Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Writing for Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Musical Score, among other things), it’s because it really deserves all this recognition, which it is getting right now in huge doses.

Those who watch the film will leave the movie theaters with a little piece of India, the rough edges as well as the ‘Bollywoody’ musical elements. You will love those cheesy dance moves at the train station!

Slumdog Millionaire, with its universal appeal, reconfirms the power of true love which persists, defies all odds, and hopes for the best — come what may. In this sense, it’s a feel-good movie. Go see it. (YouTube video courtesy of FoxSearchlight Pictures)

TIDBITS: Click here to listen to film director Danny Boyle’s back story on the child actors featured in his highly acclaimed film Slumdog Millionaire. Meanwhile, you can watch the film’s Jai Ho closing credits here for some Bollywood dance treat.

RP is the guest country in Switzerland's biggest consumer fair

And here comes the great news: The Philippines will be the featured guest country in MUBA (Mustermesse Basel), reportedly the largest and most prestigious Swiss consumer trade fair slated at the Messezentrum Basel in Switzerland on Feb. 13-22.

As guest country, the Philippines will have the rare opportunity to showcase in one huge pavilion its various export products, culture and arts, tourist destinations and services, and some general information to an expected 300,000 plus visitors, composed mainly of Swiss, German, and French nationals, who will flock to the exposition venue.

The Philippines’ major participation in this reputable event is touted as “a significant opportunity for the country to present itself to Switzerland and to the rest of Europe.”

According to the official MUBA Philippines 2009 website (the German version can be found here), the Philippine Pavilion will showcase “a tropical island paradise” featuring export-quality Philippine products as well as various tourism services, among other things. Its design features the distinct WOW Philippines logo.

Major highlights include a trade exhibit organized by the Philippine Swiss Business Council (PSBC), boutique and souvenir shops featuring export-quality Filipino handicrafts, restaurants and a travel café serving the best of Philippine cuisine, a travel center manned by Philippine and Swiss travel trade executives, and a spa and wellness center showcasing the traditional Pinoy massage.

On top of these, there will be craft demonstrations such as tobacco making, buntal/nipa products making, weaving, and painting to give MUBA visitors a glimpse of Philippine arts and crafts.

For his part, Philippine Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano said in his official message published in the MUBA 2009 website that they (the Philippine national organizing committee for the event) are “honored, as featured guest country, to bring ‘100 percent Philippines’ to MUBA 2009″:

“Our Pavilion of three islands showcases 100 percent Filipino creativity and innovation, showcasing Philippine products designed and created using indigenous materials applied in modern fashion. The pavilion will pique the curiosity of all visitors and participants to explore 100 percent nature and adventure in all destinations, attractions and landmarks, and to experience 100 percent life in our fusion cuisine, wellness and wholeness products, homegrown entertainment and artistry.”

Secretary Durano also congratulated the MUBA organizers, composed of prime movers in the government and private sectors, and then invited people to visit the Philippine Pavilion at MUBA to experience the famous “Filipino warmth and hospitality.”

The Philippine’s participation in MUBA 2009 is spearheaded by the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) and its implementing arm Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation (PCVC), with major contributions from the private sector, through the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and Fairs & More, Incorporated (FMI) of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).

This is welcome news for the Philippines, which is relatively unknown or one of the least favorite Southeast Asian destinations in this part of Europe. Most Swiss tourists opt to fly to Asian destinations like Thailand, Vietnam, or Malaysia for their holidays. Reasons for not visiting the Philippines vary — from “the country being a dangerous place” to “underdeveloped tourist facilities and amenities as compared to its neighboring countries” to “a very corrupt government.”

Incidentally, the Philippines is not usually featured in some of the major travel information magazines of Swiss tour operators, probably because of the lack of demand for Philippine tourist information. A number of Swiss travelers often comment on the “very dangerous situation” in the Philippines, citing the terrorist attacks in the Mindanao region, which had garnered quite a lot of international media attention in the past.

A November 2006-October 2007 Hotelplan tourist information booklet, for instance, had featured various tourist packages for countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China/Hong Kong, and Japan, packed with lots of helpful tourist information. The Philippines, unfortunately, had not been included on that particular list for unknown reasons. Similarly, STA Travel, in its December 2005-August 2007 travel catalogue, listed down Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, China, and Tibet, but not the Philippines.

However, the Philippine got a bit of exposure in the 357-page Tourasia tourist information magazine dated November 2006-October 2007. Popular destinations like Boracay, Cebu, and Manila were featured in a 11-page section, but nothing more.

Hopefully, with the country’s major pavilion presence in Switzerland’s largest shopping fair in February, the Philippines will get a major boost in its economy in general, and in its tourism industry in particular.

DOT, along with its partners from the private sector, can prove once and for all that the Philippines has what it takes to be a remarkable tourist destination in Southeast Asia, given the chance. (Photo taken from the press relations web page of the MUBA wesbite)

TIDBITS: Filipino-American celebrity video blogger Christine Gambino of the popular humor blog Happy Slip shares her wonderful Philippine travel experiences in the following YouTube videos (click “Read more” to view her six-part video series). Gambino was tapped last year by the Philippine Department of Tourism to promote the Philippines in her Happy Slip blog and YouTube video log.

Read more »