The film begins:

Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million Rupees. How did he do it?

     A. He cheated
     B. He's lucky
     C. He's a genius
     D. It is written 

A visually stunning, dynamically and originally narrated, story of a boy born in the Mumbai slums who wins the Indian version of the TV show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". Or does he? The film leaves you in a strange limbo between fairytale and brutal reality, walking on a razor blade between social criticism and swallowing a big pill of easy hope (or Huxley's "soma").

Danny Boyle's direction adds the dynamic pace of an action film to the story and Loveleen Tandan's co-direction is supposedly there to give the gritty scenes of Indian slum life more credibility. All in all, the film is an exhilarating and eye-opening journey which is rendered all the more powerful by strong acting throughout. Dev Patel's interpretation of older Jamal Malik is fantastic and he deserves all the various awards he has been nominated for and won for best actor or newcomer.

NB: Do not stop watching when the story is over as the end credits are a fantastic tribute to Bollywood and pure fun.

Contains spoilers: To say any more is to betray the ending, so only read on if you want to know if the ending is:

     A. He doesn’t get the girl or the money
     B. He gets the girl but not the money
     C. He gets the money but not the girl
     D. He gets both the girl and the money

The structure of the film is a series of flashbacks which simultaneously show where Jamal Malik (Dev Patel, Tanay Chheda and Ayush Mahesh Khedekar) grew up and how various serendipitous experiences, although couched in a harsh poverty stricken life, brought him the answers to the million dollar questions. It focuses on his relationships with his brother Salim (Madhur Mittal, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail) and the young girl Latika (Freida Pinto, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar and Rubiana Ali) as they grow up.

The main flaw of the film is the overly easy feel good tone which sees Malik become the popular hero of a rags to riches story. It is as vacuous as the illusion of hope offered by the lottery as an opium of the masses. That said, the film is superbly filmed and, if one forgets the levity of the ending, it offers a disturbing and interesting glimpse into Mumbai slum life.