SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE: Movie Review

Does the world really care to know what I think about a Academy Award nominated and a Golden Globe winning movie?? ... Anyway, for you lucky losers, here it is.
Rarely comes a movie that holds your attention from the first frame to the last. From the very first scene where they pose the question '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' you know you are going to watch something special.
The movie is a simple rag-to-riches tale of a slum boy, but narrated in a very unique way. A slum boy wins the top prize in the Indian version of 'Who wants to be a millionaire?'. How does Jamal (Dev Patel) do it? How does a slum boy know answers to all the tough questions? It’s shown through the various experiences of his life.
Those experiences completely touch you. Right from his childhood where he plays cricket in the local airport through his slightly older phase where he poses as a guide to cheat American tourists to his job as a chaiwallah in a call centre, Jamal is someone you can almost relate to. His struggle and pain evoke sympathy and yet his never ending spirit brings a smile in your face.
'Slumdog' works mainly bacause of 3 people - Danny Boyle(Director), Simon Beaufoy(Screenplay) and A.R.Rahman(music). Danny Boyle brings authenticity to the movie and the situation seem so real that you feel the movie is showing something you see around you every day. Simon Beaufoy's screenplay is top-notch. Each and every scene is well-penned and the sequences of events often surprise you, but never confuse. And Slumdog wouldn't be Slumdog if it wasn't for Rahman's music. Each score drives the scene and brings the emotion to a different level in the movie. On performances - Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan fit perfectly in their roles. Though I wish there was more of Ayush Khedekar (plays Jamal as a kid).
Yes, there is a lot of poverty shown in the movie, which might have attracted the Global acclaim in the first place. But when I was watching the movie, I wasn’t thinking that. All I saw was the India that I know exists somewhere. Should it win the Oscars? I don’t know. Can it win the Oscars? I certainly hope so.