Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A(2005) by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup.
Set and filmed in India, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and exceeds people's expectations, arousing the suspicions of the game show host and of law enforcement officials.
After its world premiere at Telluride Film Festival and subsequent screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and the London Film Festival, Slumdog Millionaire initially had a limited North American release on 12 November 2008 by Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, to critical acclaim and awards success. It later had a nationwide grand release in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2009 and in the United States on 23 January 2009. It premiered in Mumbai on 22 January 2009.
Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for ten Academy Awards in 2009 and won eight, the most for any film of 2008, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score and Best Original Song.
Spoiler Alert! Salim is a hard character to describe due to his double role as antagonist and protector. For this reason I make reference to several events in the movie to support my analysis. Also, this is just my impression of him; His personality and motives are easily debatable, so feel free to agree or disagree.
Salim Malik is a very intriguing character in that, while he is the antagonist, he also repeatedly serves as the protagonist's (Jamal Malik) protector/guardian. Since his first appearances on the screen, the film wastes no time in protraying Salim's character as selfish, cruel, egocentric, and money/power hungry. However, on occasion we are shown another side of Salim. While he has no problems humiliating and patronizing his brother for his own pleasure/benefit, he does infact care deeply for his brother's well being. On several occasions Salim really sticks his neck out to save Jamal. He stays with his brother when their mother dies and helps him to escape the raid; He blows his chance at becoming part of Maman's gang to save his brother from being turned into a blind beggar; He leaves behind money and friends to escort his brother on his search for Latika; and finally, he makes the ultimate sacrifice when he helps Latika escape to Jamal.
Of course, he inflicts several injustices upon Jamal and Latika along the way, being the main catalyst to their repeated separations. But I understood these actions as more of a result of jealousy than outright malice. While Salim feels a sense of brotherly love towards Jamal, he also harbors a one-sided brotherly rivalry, determined to be the better and most successful of the brothers. This is clearly shown at the beginning of the film when Jamal gets an autograph from the most famous man in India, Amitabh-ji. Salim had vainly attempted to lock Jamal in an outside bathroom stall when Amitabh-ji arrived, and later sells Jamal's autograph as vengance on his brother's success and as a sort of confirmation of his power and dominance over Jamal.
That's another thing worth mentioning about Salim; He is very insecure when his power and control is threatened. This is where Latika really enters into conflict, as she demonstrates a sort of power over Jamal by pulling at his heart strings. Salim sees this, and so when Jamal insists that she join them and be their third "Musketeer," Salim has other plans. He goes out of his way to separate the couple numerous times, all the while trying to convince himself that Jamal is his and that he is in control. However, we see this part of him break when, excited by his brother's return to him after a long parting, he is suddenly brought crashing right back down when he realizes that Jamal only came looking for Latika. This is a double blow to Salim, as it effects both the sense of pride and affection that his brother used to give him.
Salim's motives for sacrificing himself at the end of the movie is very vague. The most popular theory (possibly because it is the most virtuous and quite the opposite of what Salim's character has displayed up until this point) is that he finally "saw the light" and put his brother's desires before his own. After striving his entire life for money, power, and Jamal's loyalty and devotion, he finally reaches a point where he realizes that all he has gained is his brother's loathing. By sacrificing himself and, at last, allowing Jamal to be happy, he conquers his prior insecurities and redeems himself of the wrongs he committed against Jamal and Latika. Another theory is that, during Salim and Jamal's separation, Salim found religion (hence the short scene of him praying and asking for forgiveness). In this case, Salim's decision to sacrifice himself is once again rooted at his desire for redemption. One last theory I will mention is extremely simple and lackluster in comparison, but no less plausible: Salim quite simply grew tired of his work as a member of Javed's gang, and also grew tired of Jamal's constant attempts to reach Latika.
Salim's true reasoning throughout the story could be a combination of the things I mentioned, or everything I said could be completely out of the ballpark. Whatever the answer is, I think the ambiguity of his character is what ultimately makes him, in my opinion, the most interesting and thought provoking character in the entire film.
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