I saw this movie, with low expectations after a friend of mine trashed the movie. And after watching it I felt that although my friend was right in his observations, the movie is still worth a watch.
The story is based on a book titled "Q&A" by Vikas Swarup, which is based on the events related to the life of a young man named Jamal Malik who is on the hot seat as a contestant on the show Who Want's To Be A Millionaire. Each question he is asked on his journey till the last question for 2 Crore rupees has a connection with certain events in his life. As each question is asked, the movie goes into a flashback on how it was related to his past. The sequences are at times shocking and brutal. I for one didn't like the first half at all, and I was seriously contemplating quitting on the movie. But I am glad I didn't. The 2nd half makes up for it. The director in the first half is guilty of over-magnifying the poverty and exploitation angle. Some scenes are disgusting to be honest. But ignore them or bear with them. Because the climax is really good, predictable but really good.
Anil Kapoor does a good job as the villainous host of the game show, initially I was wondering why he did such a role; my opinion changed after the halfway mark. The scene between Jamal and Anil Kapoor at the urinal is great.
The movie has it's moments, but the best parts are made even better thanks to A R Rahman's awesome music. Latika's theme is used brilliantly in the movie. Irfan Khan is as good as ever. Saurabh Shukla is good in his scenes as the hawaldaar. The lead actors Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto do a good job, but the best parts are those of the child actors used in the flashbacks.
The "Benjamin Franklin" sequence is amazing. The "Colt" sequence is jarring but effective. Mahesh Manjerekar is used very well in his small role.
There are quite a few villains in the movie, Jamal's brother Salim, who destroys everything that is dear to Jamal and yet saves Jamal on various occasions, Mamman the man who exploits children into begging, Mahesh Manjrekar as Javed and Anil Kapoor as Prem Kumar. Circumstances and luck help Jamal escape all his misfortune.
Give the movie a look, expect a tale of hope, and the underdog story, with realism in a fictional plot. Expect a few exploitative and manipulative scenes, considering it's a foreign director doing an Indian movie, there is an overdose of poverty/exploitation in the first half of the movie. But it's not a bad movie at all, in fact you may even like it if you don't expect too much.
3 stars out of 5.
