Slumdog Millionaire is a movie about an orphan, named Jamal Malik, who came from the slums of Mumbai. At 18-years-old, Jamal is acting as a participant on India’s version of “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire”. After using his life experiences to answer each question leading up to it, Jamal makes it to the final question. When he reaches this point, the show takes a break, and Jamal is taken by the police under suspicion of cheating.
The main character, Jamal, grew up in the slums of Mumbai, known as Dharavi. According to CBC, Dharavi is home to over a million people and is recognized as one of the most densely populated residential areas in the world, filled with unsafe structures, unsanitary conditions, and limited access to basic needs, such as healthcare and education. Homes in Dharavi are typically made using bricks, wood, concrete, rusted iron, steel, ceramic, slates, mud, plastic, cardboard, and asbestos and tarpaulin sheets. These materials offer very little protection from other people and the outside environment, such as weather and animals. In the movie, Jamal shares a small space with his older brother, Salim, and his mother. In these slums that Jamal grew up in, he often used piles of garbage as a source for food and clothing, as well as a playground for himself and the other kids around him.
Although the movie does not say at what age that Jamal escapes the slums, he does find his way to the beach town of Juhu, only about 30 minutes north of Dharavi, which is considered an upscale suburb of Mumbai. Juhu is home to many Bollywood celebrities and is known for its more luxurious lifestyles and high living expenses. While living in this area, Jamal works as a “Chaiwala” or tea server, at a call center. It is while Jamal is living here that he decides to participate on the “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” show, in hopes of finding a girl, Latika, which he grew up with in the slums.
Power dynamics come into play in many various forms throughout the movie. Growing up, Jamal dealt with all kinds of power struggles throughout his childhood. There is the struggle of his social status, where he comes from a different socioeconomic background (the slums) than those he encounters later in life (in Juhu and on the show). The movie also displays several forms of survival tactics and characters displaying an abuse of power, such as his brother. Salim’s character in the movie is used as a power struggle over Jamal, which often resorts in him committing acts of manipulation and violence towards Jamal and Latika. Because of people like Salim, and the other various antagonists in the movie, Jamal is in a constant battle for survival, where he is forced to navigate and adapt to the power imbalances and harsh environments of the slums as he grows up.
There are two important relationships that are shown throughout the movie, that being of Jamal and his brother Salim, and Jamal and the girl he is in love with, Latika.
Growing up in the slums together, Jamal and Salim were naturally close. They lived in an unrelenting environment, where they were forced to rely on each other for support and protection. Unfortunately, as they grow older, their relationship begins to change due to their differences. Jamal and Salim both had very different priorities, and as the older brother, Salim found it his responsibility to prioritize their survival, even if it meant engaging in illegal and dangerous actives.
Although the relationship between Jamal and Salim is important in the movie, the main storyline surrounds Jamal and Latika. Growing up in the slums together, Jamal and Latika form a deep connection due to their shared experiences of poverty and hardships. Jamal was always very protective over Latika, always willing to put himself at risk and in harm’s way, in order to keep her safe. Over the years, they end up becoming separated, but since Jamal feels strongly for her, he decides to become a participant on the “Who Want to Be a Millionaire” show, in hopes of finding her.
Their relationship is shown as a symbol of resilience and hope throughout the movie, because even though they are continuously separated and experience all forms of exploitation and abuse, they never stop looking for each other and they always find their way back to each other.