Director
Danny Boyle
Leading Actors/Actresses
Dev Patel, Freida Pinto
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, and Irrfan Khan
Genre
Drama, Adventure
Language
English
Awards
Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, won 8: Best Picture (won), Best Director for Boyle (won), Best Adapted Screenplay (won), Best Cinematography (won), Best Editing (won), Best Original Score (won), Best Original Song for "Jai Ho" (won), Best Song Mixing (won), Best Original Song for "O Saya," and Best Sound Editing
Date of Release
December 25th, 2008
Producer
Christian Colson
Setting and Context
India
Narrator and Point of View
The point of view is that of Jamal Malik, the protagonist
Tone and Mood
Hopeful, adventurous, dramatic, heartwarming
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Jamal, Antagonists are Javed Khan and Prem the host
Major Conflict
The major conflict is the question of whether Jamal will win the gameshow and be reunited with Latika.
Climax
Jamal winning the show and Salim getting killed.
Foreshadowing
The structure of the film is mostly flashbacks, so we know a great deal about what will happen before it happens.
Understatement
Jamal's response to his winning the gameshow is an example of understatement. Because his top priority is being reunited with Latika, his response to the momentous occasion of winning a lot of money is understated.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
Allusions
Allusions to popular culture, Indian culture, historical events, Bollywood, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, geography, The Three Musketeers.
Paradox
Jamal is accomplishing the unthinkable, doing well on a game show as a "slumdog," but he is punished and tortured for his doing well.
Parallelism
Jamal's victory on the show is paralleled with Salim's death; through these events we see that the brothers have gone in hugely different directions, but they have each enjoyed their own versions of redemption.
