Movie Adapted Into Slumdog Millionaire

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Class: FYBMM

Roll No. 021

UID No. 121121

Book – Q & A by Vikas Swarup.

Movie adapted into – Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

About the author.

Vikas Swarup is an Indian author and also a diplomat who has served in countries like the United States, Turkey, South Africa, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom and Japan. [1] He is well known for his novels Q & A and The Six Suspects. He featured as a debutant novelist with the critically-acclaimed novel Q & A. For this he has won the prestigious South African Exclusive Books Boeke Prize, 2006. [2] 

Brief Synopsis of Q & A.

The novel tells us a story of a tiffin boy named Ram Mohammad Thomas who wins one billion Rupees on a television quiz show named Who Will Win a Billion [3] (also known as W3B throughout the book. He is detained by the police under the suspicion of cheating because they find it hard to believe that a poor, orphaned, uneducated tiffin boy cannot know the answers to the questions. Being tortured during the police interrogations, he is let off as a lawyer named Smita agrees to hear his case out. Throughout the novel, Ram tells Smita how some events in his street-kid life taught him the answers to the questions on the game show. Spinning haphazardly through orphanages to brothels, houses of Bollywood actors to the underbelly of Mumbai, Delhi and Agra, the novel makes a pretty good read and keeps the buoyant story in the reader’s mind even after the last page has been turned.

Analysis of the novel.

The plot of the story revolves around the life of a former tiffin boy hailing from Mumbai whose name is Ram Mohammad Thomas. He has won one billion rupees on a game show names Who Will Win a Billion (W3B). He is later arrested on grounds of cheating by the makers of the show and is detained by the police. The cops tortured him to reveal whether he cheated or not. He is however offered respite when a lawyer named Smita Shah agrees to hear his case out. The plot seems well constructed as the protagonist explains to his lawyers the various bizarre experiences of his life which made him answer the questions. Flipping in a non-chronological order, the plot remains well written but tends to get a bit cheesy at times. Considering the incident where a war-hero tells Ram and his friends the story of the war at Mandiala bridge [4] , the plot gets to emotional and makes the reader to take a break as the plot gets too slow at times.

The protagonist’s life seems like a river that goes on flowing with a lot of undertow and conflict. From being brought up by a Catholic priest in a Church to falling in love with a prostitute, the story ends up where his hands are stained by the blood of many people. The plot of the novel also shows us how the film industry in Mumbai is filled with shady characters as well as how the betting system works in the game of Cricket. Overall, the plot of the novel doesn’t seem watertight in certain areas. For instance, the aforementioned scene where the war-hero talks about the Mandiala bridge struggle by the Army and how this experience helps Ram to answer a question on a gallantry award given to the Armed Forces, goes a little overboard considering the imagery it uses. All in all, the book is a pleasant read considering the plot which portrays the underbelly of the cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Agra.

Narrative Style.

Q & A is written in the first person narrative style. This by far, is the best part of the book apart from the plot and the storyline. The powerful narrative puts the reader in the shoes of the protagonist as he tells his tale to his lawyer. The shady world of Cricket betting, the mafia, Bollywood, orphanages, etc. is portrayed in the readers mind in a cinemascope format and is the novel’s icing on the cake. Swarup vividly explores the problems of the poor slum dwellers in Mumbai, Delhi and Agra and puts it on paper in a way that would melt the heart of even a staunch aristocrat. Giving the narrative another razor-sharp edge is the reality of Mumbai’s slum-rehabilitation which portrays the corruption in the government and the police force. All along, the words of the author seem to personify the grim reality of the film industry. In other words, the first person narrative gives takes the novel’s plot a notch higher.

Characters.

The novel consists of basically seven characters that appear time and again. First is the protagonist, Ram Mohammad Thomas, a former tiffin boy from Mumbai. He is an orphan, who has been brought up by a Catholic priest. The best aspect of this character is his name- Ram Mohammad Thomas- which can be described as a reflection of India’s secularism and diverse culture. With three religions rolled up in one name [5] , Ram Mohammad Thomas seems to be the everyday beggar on the railway station or any traffic signal across the country. He wins a whopping one billion rupees in a quiz show and is accused of cheating on it. His life’s adventures have a definite clue behind every question he answers on the quiz show to win the prize.

The second character is Salim Ilyasi, Ram’s best friend. He dreams of making it big in Bollywood and always supportive of Ram. He is a firm believer of karma and has a very naïve and idealistic perspective of the world around him.

The third character of the novel is Mr. Prem Kumar. He basically appears as the host of the game show Who Will Win a Billion. It is later revealed that Prem harasses Ram’s ladylove Nita and Ram thus participates on the show to get revenge of everything.

Nita is Ram’s love interest and also a prostitute who is forced in the profession by her family.

Vikas Swarup has a very diverse characterization in his novel and that can be seen in various chapters. From the corrupt constable at a police station to the beggars on the roads to Salim’s dreams to make it big in Bollywood. All of these aspects can be seen in day-to day life.

Theme

The core theme of the novel can be the extreme poverty one can see in the slums of the city. It also paints a picture of a country in contrasting shades. With development in full swing in cities and malls and multiplexes coming everywhere, slums too exists in India. It basically strips the shiny veneer of the so-called notion of India Shining. [6] Also, the inclusion of greed and power and ambition in life and a struggle to become someone better gives the theme a positive and creative hue. The journey of Ram Mohammad Thomas in the novel is a tough one, but one that is filled with adventures which can be mind-numbing to exhilarating. Overall the theme, which fluctuates from the dark underbelly and shocking reality of the poor folks in India to the light-hearted comic events in Salim and Ram’s lives makes Vikas Swarup’s Q & A, a very beautiful as well as vibrant touch.

Language.

Swarup uses a lot of colloquial language in his work. This at times seems necessary as mains character is a slum dweller. The author also uses lucid English language depending on the setting. A major chunk of the book has basic colloquial language as well as quotes from other languages and religions. For instance, Jo bole so nihal, sat sriya kal, Rokhada, Bhai, etc. Considering the way the story progresses, the language has a rapid flow to it so that people from different walks of life can read it at ease.

Film Review.

Vikas Swarup’s book, Q & A, has been adapted into the 2008 Academy Award-winning film, Slumdog Millionaire. Directed by Danny Boyle, and written by Simon Beaufoy, tells us the story of Jamal Malik, a tea-vendor and a young man from the slums of Mumbai’s Juhu area and how he wins the show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? And is suspected of cheating. He tells the tales of how events in his life led to him answering correctly to each question on the show.

A sleeper hit, Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 2009 and won eight, the most for any film of 2008, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also won seven BAFTA Awards (including Best Film), five Critics' Choice Awards, and four Golden Globes [7] .

The movie was critically acclaimed and also threw the spotlight of fame over the lead actors Dev Patel and Frieda Pinto.

The best thing about the movie, according to me is its cinematography. It literally is a treat to the eye. It wasn’t a surprise to me when I discovered that it has indeed won an Academy Award for its cinematography by Anthony Dod Micheal. [8] Another great aspect of the film was the screenplay, for which it won the Oscar for the Best Adaptive Screenplay. The streets of Mumbai, the slums of Dharavi, the mafia lords and the spirit of Mumbai are vividly depicted in the movie.

The background score and the music also is quite riveting. However, the movie was vehemently opposed by many Indian critics due to the slums depicted in the movie. Author and critic Salman Rushdie argues that it has "a patently ridiculous conceit." [9] Some critics also claimed that the happy-ending of the movie is misleading as it rarely happens in the lives of slum dwellers.

All in all, the movie was good entertainment considering the hyped around it when it was released and also considering the fact that is a book-to-movie adaptation.

How has the movie been adapted?

The movie wasn’t adapted exactly as the book claims the story. The major difference is that in the book, Ram Mohammad Thomas tells his story to his lawyer, while, in the movie, Jamal Malik tells it to the cops.

Many parts of the book have been changed for a cinematic experience, but it looks bad to a person wants the exact contents of the book into the movie. The movie’s screenplay however brings the book’s narrative to justice. A few parts have been effectively chopped off the script to make the movie better but the character change has been at times weird considering major book adaptations like Harry Potter and the Twilight Saga [10] which has the same character and storyline as the books.

In a nutshell, the book adaptation in a way hasn’t done justice to Vikas Swarup’s extensive description of Ram Mohammad Thomas and his life but the screenplay of Slumdog Millionaire somewhat holds back some portions of the book reading experience while watching the film. The theme, the plot however remains the same with a few changes here and there. For instance, the underbelly of Mumbai, the brothels, the hard life of slum dwellers and how they are cheated many-a-times. A good adaptation indeed.