name | A. R. Rahman |
---|---|
background | non_performing_personnel |
birth name | A. S. Dileep Kumar |
alias | A. R. Rahman, A. R. R. |
born | January 06, 1966 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
genre | Pop, classical music, sufi music, pop rock, soft rock, dance, world music, Experimental music |
residence | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
instrument | Vocals, Guitar, Percussion, Drums, Software and Technology, Harpejji, FingerBoard, Keyboard, Piano, Accordion, Goblet Drum, Concert harp |
occupation | Singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, music director, arranger, entrepreneur, philanthropist, Conductor |
years active | 1980–present |
label | K. M. Musiq |
associated acts | Nemesis Avenue, SuperHeavy |
website | }} |
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born 6 January 1966 as A. S. Dileep Kumar) is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, multi-instrumentalist and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and traditional orchestral arrangements. He has won two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, four National Film Awards, fourteen Filmfare Awards, thirteen Filmfare Awards South in addition to numerous other awards and nominations. His extensive body of work for film and the stage earned him the nickname “the Mozart of Madras” and several Tamil commentators and fans have coined him the nickname Isai Puyal (; ). In 2009, Time placed Rahman in its list of World's Most Influential People. The UK based World Music magazine Songlines named him one of 'Tomorrow's World Music Icons' in August 2011.
Having set up his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record Inn at Chennai, arguably one of Asia’s most sophisticated and high-tech studios, Rahman's film scoring career began in the early 1990s with the Tamil film Roja. Working in India's various film industries, international cinema and theatre, Rahman has sold more than 300 million records worldwide of his film scores and soundtracks as of 2009 for over 100 film scores worldwide, making him one of the world's all-time top selling recording artists. In a notable career spanning two decades, Rahman has garnered particular acclaim for redefining contemporary Indian film music and thus contributing to the success of several films. Rahman is currently one of the highest paid composers of the motion picture industry. He has also become a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising money for beneficial causes and supporting charities.
He began early training in music under Master Dhanraj. At the age of 11, he started playing musical instruments in the orchestra of Malayalam composer and a close friend of Rahman's father, M. K. Arjunan. Soon he started working with other composers such as M. S. Viswanathan, Ilaiyaraaja, Ramesh Naidu, Raj-Koti and also accompanied Zakir Hussain, Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan and L. Shankar on world tours and obtained a scholarship with Trinity College, London, board of the Trinity College of Music. Studying in Chennai, he graduated with graded examinations and a diploma in Western classical music via the college. He was introduced to Qadiri Islam when his younger sister fell severely ill in 1984. Subsequently, Rahman along with other members of his family converted to Islam in 1989, when he was 23 years old. He changed his name from A. S. Dileep Kumar to Allah Rakha Rahman i.e. A. R. Rahman.
Roja's score met with high sales and acclaim in both its original and dubbed versions, led by the theme song "Chinna Chinna Aasai" bringing about a marked change in film music at the time. Rahman followed this with successful scores for Tamil–language films of the Chennai film industry including Ratnam's politically charged Bombay, the urbanite Kadhalan, Thiruda Thiruda and S. Shankar's debut film Gentleman, spurred by the popular dance song "Chikku Bukku Rayile". Rahman worked with director Bharathiraaja's Kizhakku Cheemayile and Karuththamma, producing successful Tamil rural folk inspired scores and delivered the grand saxophonic score for K. Balachander's Duet. The 1995 film Indira and the romantic comedies Mr. Romeo and Love Birds all gained him considerable notice. His fanbase in Japan increased with Muthu 's success there. His soundtracks gained him recognition in the Tamil Nadu film industry and around the world for his stylistic versatility incorporating Western classical, Carnatic and Tamil traditional/folk music traditions, jazz, reggae and rock music. The soundtrack of Bombay sold 12 million copies worldwide. The "Bombay Theme"—from Ratnam's Bombay—would later reappear in his score of Deepa Mehta's Fire and various compilations and media around the world. Rangeela, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, marked Rahman's debut for Hindi-language films made in the Mumbai film industry. Many successful scores for films including Dil Se and the percussive Taal followed. Sufi mysticism would inspire the track "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from the former, as well as the composition "Zikr" from his score for the film Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero for which he created large symphonic orchestral and choral arrangements. His score for the Chennai production Minsaara Kanavu garnered Rahman his second National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1997, and a South FilmFare Award for Best Music Direction in a Tamil film, breaking a record with six consecutive wins in the latter category. Rahman would go onto win the award a further three consecutive times. Musical cues in scores for Sangamam and Iruvar employed Carnatic vocals and instruments such as the veena with leads of rock guitar and jazz. In the 2000s Rahman created hit scores for Rajiv Menon's Kandukondain Kandukondain, Alaipayuthey, Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades and Rang De Basanti. He composed songs with Hindustani motifs for Water (2005). By the end of 2003, Rahman had sold more than 150 million records of his film scores and soundtracks for over 50 film scores worldwide.
Rahman has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Vairamuthu and Vaali. He has consistently produced commercially successful soundtracks when collaborating with particular film directors such as Mani Ratnam who he has worked with since Roja, and the director S. Shankar in the films Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Jeans, Mudhalvan, Nayak, Boys, Sivaji and Enthiran.
In 2005, Rahman extended his Panchathan Record Inn studio by establishing AM Studios in Kodambakkam, Chennai, thereby creating the most cutting-edge studio in Asia. In 2006, Rahman launched his own music label, KM Music. Its first release was his score to the film Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. Rahman scored the Mandarin language picture Warriors of Heaven and Earth in 2003 after researching and utilizing Chinese and Japanese classical music, and won the Just Plain Folks Music Award For Best Music Album for his score of the 2006 film Varalaru (God Father). He co-scored the Shekhar Kapur project and his first British film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, in 2007. He garnered an Asian Film Award nomination for Best Composer at the Hong Kong International Film Festival for his Jodhaa Akbar score. His compositions have been sampled for other scores within India, and appeared in such films as Inside Man, Lord of War, Divine Intervention and The Accidental Husband. In 2008, Rahman scored his first Hollywood picture, the comedy Couples Retreat released the next year, which won him the BMI London Award for Best Score. Rahman scored the film Slumdog Millionaire in 2008, for which he won a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards, becoming the first Asian to do so. The songs "Jai Ho" and "O…Saya" from the soundtrack of this film met with commercial success internationally. In 2010, Rahman composed scores for the romance film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, blockbuster sci-fi romance film Enthiran and Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. Rahman started off the year 2011 by scoring Imtiaz Ali's musical film Rockstar. The soundtrack became a phenomenal success and earned Rahman immense critical praise.
In 1999, Rahman partnered with choreographers Shobana and Prabhu Deva and a Tamil cinema dancing troupe to perform with Michael Jackson in Munich, Germany at his "Michael Jackson and Friends" concert. In 2002, he composed the music for his maiden stage production, Bombay Dreams, commissioned by musical theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. Finnish folk music band Värttinä collaborated with Rahman to write the music for The Lord of the Rings theatre production and in 2004, Rahman composed the piece "Raga's Dance" for Vanessa-Mae's album Choreography.
Since 2004, Rahman has performed three successful world tours to audiences in Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Dubai, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and India. He has been collaborating with Karen David for her upcoming studio album. A two-disc soundtrack, Introducing A. R. Rahman (2006) featuring 25 of his pieces from Tamil film scores was released in May 2006, and his non-film album, Connections was released on 12 December 2008. Rahman also performed at the White House State dinner arranged by US President Barack Obama during the official visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on November 24, 2009. Rahman is one of over 70 artists who performed on "We Are the World 25 for Haiti", a charity single to raise emergency relief funds in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. In 2010, Rahman composed "Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat" in honor of the 50th anniversary of the formation of Gujarat State, "Semmozhiyaana Thamizh Mozhiyaam" as part of World Classical Tamil Conference 2010, and the official theme song of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, "Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto". Rahman organised his first world tour, named A. R. Rahman Jai Ho Concert: The Journey Home World Tour, in 2010. The ongoing tour was kicked off on June 11 at the Nassau Coliseum in New York and will span 16 major cities worldwide.
Some of his notable compositions were performed live by the London Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2010. In February 2011, Rahman collaborated with Michael Bolton for his new studio album Gems - The Duets Collection. Rahman reworked on his song "Sajna" from the 2009 American film Couples Retreat to create the track.
On 20 May 2011, English musician Mick Jagger announced the formation of a new supergroup, SuperHeavy, which includes Dave Stewart, Joss Stone, Damian Marley, and Rahman. The band's self-titled album is slated for release in September 2011. The album will see Mick Jagger singing in Rahman's composition "Satyameva Jayate", which translates to "the truth alone triumphs".
Rahman's musical interests and outlook stem from his love of experimentation. Rahman's compositions, in the vein of past and contemporary Chennai film composers, bring out auteuristic uses of counterpoint, orchestration and the human voice, melding Indian pop music with unique timbre, forms and instrumentation. By virtue of these qualities, broad ranging lyrics and his syncretic style, the appeal of his music cuts across the spectrum of classes and cultures within Indian society.
His first soundtrack for Roja was listed in Time's "10 Best Soundtracks" of all time in 2005. Film critic Richard Corliss felt the "astonishing debut work parades Rahman's gift for alchemizing outside influences until they are totally Tamil, totally Rahman." Rahman's initial global reach is attributed to the South Asian diaspora. Described as one of the most innovative composers to ever work in the industry, his unique style and immense success transformed film music in the 1990s prompting several film producers to take film music more seriously. The music producer Ron Fair considers Rahman to be "one of the world's great living composers in any medium".
The director Baz Luhrmann notes }}
Rahman was the 1995 recipient of the Mauritius National Award and the Malaysian Award for contributions to music. He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his first West-End production. A four-time National Film Award winner and recipient of six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, fourteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South for his music and scores. He has been conferred Kalaimamani from the Government of Tamil Nadu for excellence in the field of music, special music achievement awards from the Government of Uttar Pradesh and Government of Madhya Pradesh and the Padma Shri from the Government of India. In 2006, he received an honorary award from Stanford University for contributions to global music. In 2007, Rahman was entered into the Limca Book of Records as "Indian of the Year for Contribution to Popular Music", and the Guinness World Records in 2010 as the original composer of "Maa Tujhe Salaam", from the album Vande Mataram - the song performed in the most number of languages worldwide (265). He is the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient from the Rotary Club of Madras. In 2009, for his score of Slumdog Millionaire, Rahman won the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music, and two Academy Awards for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards. Rahman has received honorary doctorates from Middlesex University and Aligarh Muslim University. Later the year Rahman was conferred the honorary doctorate from Anna University in Chennai. He has also won two Grammy Awards, for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and Best Song Written for a Visual Media. Rahman was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor, in 2010. Rahman's work for the film 127 Hours garnered him Golden Globe, BAFTA, and two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song in 2011. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Trinity College of Music, presented to him by Trinity College London.
An atheist through much of his childhood, in 1989 Rahman converted to Islam, the religion of his mother's family. After the early death of his father, his family went through hard times and Sufism had a great influence on his mother and slowly on his family. During the 81st Academy Awards ceremony, he paid tribute to his mother, saying "There is a Hindi dialogue, mere pass ma hai, which means 'even if I have got nothing I have my mother here'." He also began his own catchphrase, "Ella pughazhum iraivanukke", in Tamil which literally means "All praises dedicated to God". The phrase was popularized after Rahman uttered it prior to his speech at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony.
Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:Indian musicians Category:Indian Muslims Category:Indian film score composers Category:20th-century classical composers Category:21st-century classical composers Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Indian male singers Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:National Film Award winners Category:People from Tamil Nadu Category:Tamil musicians Category:Tamil film score composers Category:Telugu film score composers Category:People from Chennai Category:Tamil people Category:Telugu playback singers Category:Former atheists and agnostics Category:Converts to Islam Category:Academy Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Trinity College of Music alumni Category:Indian composers Category:Malayalam Music directors Category:Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Category:Filmfare Awards South winners Category:Indian music directors
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name | Slumdog Millionaire |
---|---|
director | Danny Boyle |
producer | Christian Colson |
writer | Simon Beaufoy |
based on | |
starring | Dev PatelFreida PintoMadhur MittalAnil KapoorAyush Mahesh KhedekarTanay ChhedaIrrfan KhanRubina AliTanvi Ganesh LonkarAzharuddin Mohammed IsmailAshutosh Lobo Gajiwala |
music | A. R. Rahman |
cinematography | Anthony Dod Mantle |
editing | Chris Dickens |
studio | Celador FilmsFilm4 Productions |
distributor | Pathé(UK)Fox Searchlight PicturesWarner Bros. Pictures(US) |
released | |
runtime | 120 minutes |
country | |
language | EnglishHindi |
budget | $15 million |
gross | $377,910,544 }} |
After its world premiere at Telluride Film Festival and later screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and the London Film Festival, Slumdog Millionaire had a nationwide grand release in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2009 and in the United States on 12 November 2008. It premiered in Mumbai on 22 January 2009.
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. The film was dubbed in Hindi for Indian release as Slumdog Crorepati and also in Tamil as Naanum Kodieswaran.
The story of Jamal's life includes his managing, at age five, to obtain the autograph of Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, which his brother then sells, followed immediately by the death of his mother during the Bombay Riots. As they flee the riot, Salim and Jamal meet Latika, another child from their slum. Salim is reluctant to take her in, but Jamal suggests that she could be the third musketeer, a character from the Alexandre Dumas novel, whose name they do not know. The three are found by Maman (Ankur Vikal), a gangster who tricks and then trains street children into becoming beggars. When Jamal, Salim, and Latika learn Maman is blinding children in order to make them more profitable as singing beggars, they flee by jumping onto a departing train. Latika catches up and takes Salim's hand, but Salim purposely lets go, and she is recaptured by the gangsters. Over the next few years, Salim and Jamal make a living travelling on top of trains, selling goods, picking pockets, working as dish washers, and pretending to be tour guides at the Taj Mahal, where they steal people's shoes. At Jamal's insistence, they return to Mumbai to find Latika, discovering from one of the singing beggars that she has been raised by Maman to become a prostitute and that her virginity is expected to fetch a high price. The brothers rescue her, and Salim draws a gun and kills Maman. Salim then manages to get a job with Javed (Mahesh Manjrekar), Maman's rival crime lord. Arriving at their hotel room, Salim orders Jamal to leave him and Latika alone. When Jamal refuses, Salim draws a gun on him, and Jamal leaves after Latika persuades him to go away (Presumably so he wouldn't get hurt by Salim).
Years later, while working as a tea server at an Indian call centre, Jamal searches the centre's database for Salim and Latika. He fails in finding Latika but succeeds in finding Salim, who is now a high-ranking lieutenant in Javed's organization, and they reunite. Salim is regretful for his past actions and only pleads for forgiveness when Jamal physically attacks him. Jamal then bluffs his way into Javed's residence and reunites with Latika. While Jamal professes his love for her, Latika asks him to forget about her. Jamal promises to wait for her every day at 5 o'clock at the CST station. Latika attempts to rendezvous with him, but she is recaptured by Javed's men, led by Salim. Jamal loses contact with Latika when Javed moves to another house, outside of Mumbai. Knowing that Latika watches it regularly, Jamal attempts to make contact with her again by becoming a contestant on the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? He makes it to the final question, despite the hostile attitude of the show's host, Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor), and becomes a wonder across India. Kumar feeds Jamal the incorrect response to the penultimate question, and when Jamal still gets it right, turns him into the police on suspicion of cheating. Back in the interrogation room, the police inspector (Irrfan Khan) calls Jamal's explanation "bizarrely plausible", but thinks he is not a liar and allows him to return to the show. At Javed's safehouse, Latika watches the news coverage of Jamal's miraculous run on the show. Salim, in an effort to make amends for his past behaviour, quietly gives Latika his mobile phone and car keys, and asks her to forgive him and to go to Jamal. Latika, though initially reluctant out of fear of Javed, agrees and escapes. Salim fills a bathtub with cash and sits in it, waiting for the death he knows will come when Javed discovers what he has done. Jamal's final question is, by coincidence, the name of the third musketeer in The Three Musketeers, a fact he never learned. Jamal uses his Phone-A-Friend lifeline to call Salim's cell, as it is the only phone number he knows. Latika succeeds in answering the phone just in the nick of time, and, while she does not know the answer, tells Jamal that she is safe. Relieved, Jamal randomly picks Aramis, the right answer, and wins the grand prize. Simultaneously, Javed discovers that Salim has helped Latika escape after he hears Latika on the show. He and his men break down the bathroom door, and Salim kills Javed, before being gunned down himself at the hands of Javed's men. With his dying breath, Salim gasps that God is great. Later that night, Jamal and Latika meet at the railway station and kiss. The movie ends with a dance scene on the platform to "Jai Ho".
By the summer of 2006, British production companies Celador Films and Film4 Productions invited director Danny Boyle to read the script of Slumdog Millionaire. Boyle hesitated, since he was not interested in making a film about Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which was produced by Celador. Then Boyle learned that the screenwriter was Beaufoy, who had written The Full Monty (1997), one of the director's favourite British films, and decided to revisit the script. Boyle was impressed by how Beaufoy wove the multiple storylines from Swarup's book into one narrative, and the director decided to commit to the project. The film was projected to cost US$15 million, so Celador sought a U.S. distributor to share costs. Fox Searchlight Pictures made an initial offer that was reportedly in the $2 million range, but Warner Independent Pictures made a $5 million offer to win rights to the picture.
Gail Stevens came on board to oversee casting globally. Stevens had worked with Boyle throughout his career and was well known for discovering new talent. Meredith Tucker was appointed to cast out of the US. The film-makers then travelled to Mumbai in September 2007 with a partial crew and began hiring local cast and crew for production in Karjat. Originally appointed as one of the five casting directors in India, Loveleen Tandan has stated, "I suggested to Danny and Simon Beaufoy, the writer of Slumdog, that it was important to do some of it in Hindi to bring the film alive [...] They asked me to pen the Hindi dialogues which I, of course, instantly agreed to do. And as we drew closer to the shoot date, Danny asked me to step in as the co-director." Boyle then decided to translate nearly a third of the film's English dialogue into Hindi. The director fibbed to Warner Independent's president that he wanted 10% of the dialogue in Hindi, and she approved of the change. Filming locations included shooting in Mumbai's megaslum and in shantytown parts of Juhu, so film-makers controlled the crowds by befriending onlookers. Filming began on 5 November 2007.
In addition to Swarup's original novel Q & A, the film was also inspired by Indian cinema. Tandan has referred to Slumdog Millionaire as a homage to Hindi commercial cinema, noting that "Simon Beaufoy studied Salim-Javed's kind of cinema minutely." Boyle has cited the influence of several Bollywood films set in Mumbai. Satya (1998) (screenplay co-written by Saurabh Shukla, who plays Constable Srinivas in Slumdog Millionaire) and Company (2002) (based on the D-Company) both offered "slick, often mesmerizing portrayals of the Mumbai underworld" and displayed realistic "brutality and urban violence." Boyle has also stated that the chase in one of the opening scenes of Slumdog Millionaire was based on a "12-minute police chase through the crowded Dharavi slum" in Black Friday (2004) (adapted from S. Hussein Zaidi's book of the same name about the 1993 Bombay bombings). Deewaar (1975), which Boyle described as being "absolutely key to Indian cinema", is a crime film based on the Bombay gangster Haji Mastan, portrayed by Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan, whose autograph Jamal seeks at the beginning of Slumdog Millionaire. Anil Kapoor noted that some scenes of the film "are like Deewaar, the story of two brothers of whom one is completely after money while the younger one is honest and not interested in money." Boyle has cited other Indian films as influences in later interviews. The rags-to-riches, underdog theme was also a recurring theme in classic Bollywood movies from the 1950s through to the 1980s, when "India worked to lift itself from hunger and poverty." Other classic Bollywood tropes in the film include "the fantasy sequences" and the montage sequence where "the brothers jump off a train and suddenly they are seven years older".
Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan, the host of the 2007 series of Kaun Banega Crorepati (the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) which aired before filming had begun on Slumdog Millionaire, was initially offered the role of the show's host in the film, but turned it down. The role is played by another Bollywood star, Anil Kapoor. Paul Smith, the executive producer of Slumdog Millionaire and the chairman of Celador Films, had previously owned the international rights to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Following the film's success at the 81st Academy Awards, the film topped the worldwide box office (barring North America), grossing $16 million from 34 markets in the week following the Academy Awards. Worldwide, the film has currently grossed over $377 million, becoming Fox Searchlight Pictures's highest-grossing film ever (surpassing Juno).
Slumdog Millionaire was first shown at the Telluride Film Festival on 30 August 2008, where it was positively received by audiences, generating "strong buzz". The film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2008, where it was "the first widely acknowledged popular success" of the festival, winning the People's Choice Award. Slumdog Millionaire debuted with a limited North American release on 12 November 2008, followed by a nationwide release in the United States on 23 January 2009.
After debuting on a Wednesday, the film grossed $360,018 in 10 theatres in its first weekend, a strong average of $36,002 per theatre. In its second weekend, it expanded to 32 theatres and made $947,795, or an average of $29,619 per theatre, representing a drop of only 18%. In the 10 original theatres that it was released in, viewership went up 16%, and this is attributed to strong word-of-mouth. The film expanded into wide release on 25 December 2008 at 614 theatres and earned $5,647,007 over the extended Christmas weekend. Following its success at the 81st Academy Awards, the film's takings increased by 43%, the most for any film since Titanic. In the weekend of 27 February to 1 March, the film reached its widest release at 2,943 theatres. The film has grossed over $140 million at the North American box office.
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on 31 March 2009. The film opened at #2 in the DVD sales chart, making $14.16m off 842,000 DVD units. As of 12 November 2009, an estimated 1,964,962 DVD units have been sold, translating to $31.32m in revenue. This figure does not include Blu-ray sales/DVD rentals. It had previously been announced that 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment would be starting a new marketing program with two versions of each release: a stripped-down minimal version for the rental market, and a traditional full version with "bonus extra" features, such as commentary and "making of" material for the retail market. The release production was mixed up; some full versions were shipped in rental cases, and some retail versions were missing the extras despite their being listed on the outside of the box. Public apologies were issued by Fox and Amazon.
As of 20 February 2009, the film's UK box office gross was £22,973,110, making it "the eighth biggest hit at UK cinemas of the past 12 months." In the week ending 1 March 2009, following its success at the 81st Academy Awards where it won eight Oscars, the film returned to #1 at the UK box office, grossing £26 million as of 2 March 2009. As of 17 May 2009, the total UK gross was over £31.6 million. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 1 June 2009.
The film's success at the Academy Awards led to it seeing large increases in takings elsewhere in Europe the following week. Its biggest single country increase was in Italy, where it was up 556% from the previous week. The takings in France and Spain also increased by 61% and 73% respectively. During the same week, the film debuted in other European countries with successful openings: in Croatia it grossed $170,419 from 10 screens, making it the biggest opening there in the last four months; and in Poland it opened in second place with a gross of $715,677. The film was released in Sweden on 6 March 2009 and in Germany on 19 March 2009.
Fox Searchlight released 351 prints of the film across India for its full release there on 23 January 2009. It earned Rs. 23,545,665 in its first week at the Indian box office, or $2.2 million according to Fox Searchlight. Though not as successful as major Bollywood releases in India during its first week, this was the highest weekend gross for any Fox film and the third highest for any Western release in the country, trailing only Spider-Man 3 and Casino Royale. In its second week, the film's gross rose to Rs. 30,470,752 at the Indian box office.
A few analysts have offered their opinions about the film's performance at the Indian box office. Trade analyst Komal Nahta commented, "There was a problem with the title itself. Slumdog is not a familiar word for majority Indians." In addition, trade analyst Amod Mehr has stated that with the exception of Anil Kapoor, the film lacks recognisable stars and that "the film... is not ideally suited for Indian sentiment." A cinema owner commented that "to hear slum boys speaking perfect English doesn't seem right but when they are speaking in Hindi, the film seems much more believable." The dubbed Hindi version, Slumdog Crorepati, did better at the box office, and additional copies of that version were released. Following the film's success at the 81st Academy Awards, the film's takings in India increased by 470% the following week, bringing its total up to $6.3 million that week. As of 15 March 2009, Slumdog Crorepati has grossed Rs. 158,613,802 at the Indian box office.
In particular, the film was a major success in East Asia. In the People's Republic of China, the film grossed $2.2 million in its opening weekend (27–29 March). In Japan, the film grossed $12 million, the most the film has grossed in any Asian country.
Slumdog Millionaire is highly acclaimed, named in the top ten lists of various newspapers. On 22 February 2009, the film won eight out of ten Academy Awards for which it was nominated, including the Best Picture and Best Director. It is the eighth film ever to win eight Academy Awards and the eleventh Best Picture Oscar winner without a single acting nomination. At the same time, Taare Zameen Par (Like Stars on Earth), India's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, failed to make the short list of nominations and was frequently compared with Slumdog Millionaire in the Indian media.
The film also won seven of the eleven BAFTA Awards for which it was nominated, including Best Film; all four of the Golden Globe Awards for which it was nominated, including Best Drama Film; and five of the six Critics' Choice Awards for which it was nominated.
The much acclaimed title sequence has been honoured by a nomination at the prestigious 2009 Rushes Soho Shorts Film Festival in the 'Broadcast Design Award' category in competition with the likes of the Match of the Day Euro 2008 titles by Aardman and two projects by Agenda Collective
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, stating that it is, "a breathless, exciting story, heartbreaking and exhilarating." Wall Street Journal critic Joe Morgenstern refers to Slumdog Millionaire as, "the film world's first globalized masterpiece." Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post argues that, "this modern-day "rags-to-rajah" fable won the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year, and it's easy to see why. With its timely setting of a swiftly globalizing India and, more specifically, the country's own version of the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" TV show, combined with timeless melodrama and a hardworking orphan who withstands all manner of setbacks, "Slumdog Millionaire" plays like Charles Dickens for the 21st century." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times describes the film as "a Hollywood-style romantic melodrama that delivers major studio satisfactions in an ultra-modern way" and "a story of star-crossed romance that the original Warner brothers would have embraced, shamelessly pulling out stops that you wouldn't think anyone would have the nerve to attempt anymore." Anthony Lane of the New Yorker stated, "There is a mismatch here. Boyle and his team, headed by the director of photography, Anthony Dod Mantle, clearly believe that a city like Mumbai, with its shifting skyline and a population of more than fifteen million, is as ripe for storytelling as Dickens's London [...] At the same time, the story they chose is sheer fantasy, not in its glancing details but in its emotional momentum. How else could Boyle get away with assembling his cast for a Bollywood dance number, at a railroad station, over the closing credits? You can either chide the film, at this point, for relinquishing any claim to realism or you can go with the flow—surely the wiser choice. " Colm Andrew of the Manx Independent was also full of praise, saying the film "successfully mixes hard-hitting drama with uplifting action and the Who Wants To Be a Millionaire show is an ideal device to revolve events around". Several other reviewers have described Slumdog Millionaire as a Bollywood-style "masala" movie, due to the way the film combines "familiar raw ingredients into a feverish masala" and culminates in "the romantic leads finding each other."
Other critics offered more mixed reviews. For example, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film three out of five stars, stating that "despite the extravagant drama and some demonstrations of the savagery meted out to India's street children, this is a cheerfully undemanding and unreflective film with a vision of India that, if not touristy exactly, is certainly an outsider's view; it depends for its full enjoyment on not being taken too seriously." He also pointed out that the film is co-produced by Celador, who own the rights to the original Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and claimed that "it functions as a feature-length product placement for the programme."
A few critics outright panned it. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle states that, "Slumdog Millionaire has a problem in its storytelling. The movie unfolds in a start-and-stop way that kills suspense, leans heavily on flashbacks and robs the movie of most of its velocity.... [T]he whole construction is tied to a gimmicky narrative strategy that keeps Slumdog Millionaire from really hitting its stride until the last 30 minutes. By then, it's just a little too late." Eric Hynes of IndieWIRE called it "bombastic", "a noisy, sub-Dickens update on the romantic tramp's tale" and "a goofy picaresque to rival Forrest Gump" in its morality and romanticism.
Slumdog Millionaire has been a subject of discussion among a variety of people in India and the Indian diaspora. Some film critics have responded positively to the film. At the same time, others objected to issues such as Jamal's use of British English or the fact that similar films by Indian filmmakers have not received equal recognition. A few notable filmmakers such as Aamir Khan and Priyadarshan have been critical of the film. Author and critic Salman Rushdie argues that it has "a patently ridiculous conceit."
Slumdog Millionaire has stirred controversy on a few issues including the welfare and illegal housing of its child actors and its portrayals of Indians and Hinduism.
In a later blog entry, Bachchan stated that his remarks had been misconstrued. He wrote: "Fact is - some one mentioned the film on my blog...I merely put both of them up and invited debate [...] Media, in India has taken the pros and cons of OTHERS, as MINE, built their headlines and put it safely out, thereby, causing the consternation." In another entry, Bachchan also wrote that Anil Kapoor invited him by phone to the premiere of the film. During the same phone call, Bachchan spoke with Danny Boyle, whom he described as "gracious and complimentary to me and my work." Bachchan stated that he offered his "apologies" to Boyle for the critical comments "created by media" but attributed to him, and he noted that Boyle "understands and acknowledges my calling him." Following the film's release in India on 23 January 2009, Bachchan called the movie "wonderful" and praised the fact that A.R. Rahman had received three Oscar nominations. Bachchan wrote: "I feel this win by Rahman and Rasool is most deserving and feel extremely proud to be an Indian."
After learning of this campaign, Tandan sought to end it, stating, "I can't tell you how embarrassed I am by this [...] The suggestion is highly inappropriate, and I am writing to you to stress that I would not wish it to be considered."
Slumdog Millionaire's producer Christian Colson stated that Tandan's role as co-director was being misconstrued to place her on an equal creative footing with Boyle. Colson noted that the title of "co-director (India)" given to Tandan was "strange but deserved" and was developed over "a Coca Cola and a cup of tea" in order to identify her as "one of our key cultural bridges."
Colson's remarks triggered negative feedback from multiple organizations including WomenArts, the Women Film Critics Circle, and the Women's Media Center. Eventually, even though she was not present at any prior ceremonies (including Golden Globes, BAFTA, or DGA), Tandan was a member of the team which went up on stage to accept the Oscar for Best Picture of 2009.
On May 15, 2010, Huttner received a "Silver Feather" award from the Illinois Woman's Press Association commending her for her work on the 2009 Oscar controversy.
Newsweek magazine asked the film's director, Danny Boyle: "Some activists have claimed that the title is demeaning. What did you mean by 'slumdog'?" Boyle answered: "This is one of the saddest things for me.... Basically [the title] is a hybrid of the word "underdog"—and everything that means in terms of rooting for the underdog and validating his triumph—and the fact that he obviously comes from the slums. That's what we intended."
The Hindu organizations Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) and Shiv Sena protested against the film for its portrayal of the Hindu God Rama, who appears in the midst of an anti-Muslim riot. An HJS spokesman stated that the film's portrayal of Rama is derogatory and "hurts the sentiments of Hindus." Writing for the conservative Daily Pioneer, Kanchan Gupta reiterated the objections of the activist groups that the film provides a one-sided portrayal of the complexities of religious conflict in India, and that the film depicts Hindus as "rapacious monsters".
Vamsee Juluri, author and Professor of Media Studies at the University of San Francisco, identifies Indophobic and postcolonial/neocolonial discourse used in the film to attack and demonize Indians as "barbarians" and "savages", and that the only Indian portrayed positively in the film has a British accent.
On 26 January 2009, Danny Boyle (director) and Christian Colson (producer) released a written statement saying that they had “paid painstaking and considered attention to how Azhar and Rubina’s involvement in the film could be of lasting benefit to them over and above the payment they received for their work.” Boyle and Colson stated that they had "set up trust funds for Rubina and Azharuddin and paid for their education." The filmmakers noted that they had also hired transportation to get the children to a nonprofit English-language school for the next eight years, and that both children would receive £20 a month for books and food. The exact amount of the trust funds was not disclosed by the filmmakers. As Boyle explained, "We don't want to reveal exact figures about what's in the trust fund, what's in the bank account for them for when they leave school because it will make them vulnerable and a target really, but it is substantial, and they will hopefully gain benefit from the film long after the film has disappeared and long after the media who are chasing them at the moment sadly have lost interest in the film, and that's been our approach throughout and I think it's the right approach." According to The Economic Times, £17,500 had been placed into a trust fund for Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail which he will receive, plus interest, when he turns 18.
Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail’s father, Mohammed Ismail, demanded more money for his son in light of the film's success. He stated, "My son has taken on the world and won. I am so proud of him but I want more money. They promised me a new house but it hasn't happened. I'm still in the slum. I want the money now, it is of no use later. Mr. Boyle should take care of my son." He also claimed, “There is none of the money left. It was all spent on medicines to help me fight TB.” Defenders of the filmmakers noted that there was no assurance that any money given directly to Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail would not be used by his father for his own purposes, as had happened with previous Indian child actors from slums.
Both Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubina Ali attended the 81st Academy Awards on 22 February 2009, along with all the other actors who had played Salim, Jamal, and Latika. Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail was accompanied by his mother, Shameem Ismail, while Rubina Ali was accompanied by her uncle. On 25 February 2009, the Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority announced that both Azharuddin and Rubina would be given "free houses" so that they would no longer have to live in the Mumbai slum of Garib Nagar. The filmmakers stated that they had hired local social workers to facilitate this move for the children's families. In the wake of Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubina Ali's newfound relative affluence, the pressures upon them from the adults in their lives increased. Rubina Ali's custody became an issue, as her biological mother tried to gain custody from the stepmother who had raised her, apparently to get access to Rubina Ali's funds and improved lifestyle. The British tabloids reported that Rubina was also recently "offered up for sale by her father, demanding £200,000 ($295,560 USD; 14,715,959.15 Kr.) for the 'Oscar child'". The allegation has been denied by the father, who alleges that the British media has misrepresented his position and libelled him. He made a public statement decrying these accusations shortly thereafter, saying:
Authorities in India have conducted an investigation and have found no evidence to support the charges made by the British tabloids.
More than 2 years after the movie was released in London, Rubina Ali continues to live in an illegal slum in Gharib Nagar.
On 14 May 2009, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation demolished the illegal slums where Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail was living. On 7 July 2009 The Guardian reported that Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and his mother had been given a new home. "I was shocked when I saw this house," Azhar is reported to have said, adding "I want to thank Danny Boyle for giving us this flat."
The Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman, who planned the score for over two months and completed it in two weeks. Danny Boyle has said that he chose Rahman because "not only does he draw on Indian classical music, but he's got R&B; and hip hop coming in from America, house music coming in from Europe and this incredible fusion is created." Rahman won the 2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and won two out of three nominations for the Academy Awards, including one for Best Original Score and one for Best Original Song for Jai Ho. The song "O... Saya" got a nomination shared with M.I.A., and the song "Jai Ho" won the Oscar, which Rahman shared with lyricist Gulzar. The soundtrack was released on M.I.A.'s record label N.E.E.T.. On Radio Sargam, film critic Goher Iqbal Punn termed the soundtrack Rahman's "magnum opus" which will acquaint "the entire world" with his artistry.
Category:2000s drama films Category:2000s romance films Category:British drama films Category:British Indian films Category:Coming-of-age films Category:Nonlinear narrative films Category:Films about organized crime in India Category:Films about orphans Category:Films about poverty in India
Category:Films set in 2006 Category:Films set in the 1990s Category:Films set in Mumbai Category:Films shot in India Category:Films shot in multiple formats Category:Films shot digitally
Category:Films based on novels Category:Films directed by Danny Boyle Category:Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Category:Films whose director won the Best Director Academy Award Category:Films whose writer won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award Category:Films whose editor won the Best Film Editing Academy Award Category:Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award Category:Films that won the Best Sound Mixing Academy Award Category:Best Picture Academy Award winners Category:Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners Category:Best Song Academy Award winners Category:Best Drama Picture Golden Globe winners Category:BAFTA winners (films)
Category:Warner Independent films Category:Fox Searchlight Pictures films Category:Film4 Productions films Category:Pathé films
Category:Hindi-language films Category:English-language films
ar:متشرد مليونير (فيلم) az:Xarabalıqdan olan milyonçu (film, 2008) bm:Slumdog Millionnaire ca:Slumdog Millionaire cs:Milionář z chatrče cy:Slumdog Millionaire (ffilm) da:Slumdog Millionaire de:Slumdog Millionär et:Rentslimiljonär el:Slumdog Millionaire es:Slumdog Millionaire eo:Slumdog Millionaire eu:Slumdog Millionaire fa:میلیونر زاغهنشین fr:Slumdog Millionaire gl:Slumdog Millionaire gu:સ્લમડોગ મિલિયોનેર ko:슬럼독 밀리어네어 hi:स्लमडॉग मिलियनेयर hr:Milijunaš s ulice id:Slumdog Millionaire it:The Millionaire (film 2008) he:נער החידות ממומביי (סרט) jv:Slumdog Millionaire ka:ღარიბი მილიონერი la:Slumdog Millionaire lv:Graustu miljonārs lt:Lūšnyno milijonierius (filmas) hu:Gettómilliomos mk:Милионер од гетото (филм) ml:സ്ലംഡോഗ് മില്യണേർ mr:स्लमडॉग मिलियोनेर (चित्रपट) ms:Slumdog Millionaire nl:Slumdog Millionaire ja:スラムドッグ$ミリオネア no:Slumdog Millionaire – Han som hadde svar på alt nn:Slumdog Millionaire pl:Slumdog. Milioner z ulicy pt:Slumdog Millionaire ro:Vagabondul milionar ru:Миллионер из трущоб sa:स्लम्डाग् मिलियनेर् simple:Slumdog Millionaire sl:Revni milijonar sr:Милионер са улице sh:Slumdog Millionaire fi:Slummien miljonääri sv:Slumdog Millionaire ta:சிலம்டாக் மில்லியனயர் te:స్లమ్డాగ్ మిలియనీర్ th:สลัมด็อก มิลเลียนแนร์ คำตอบสุดท้าย...อยู่ที่หัวใจ tg:Миллионери зоғанишин tr:Milyoner uk:Мільйонер із нетрів vi:Triệu phú ổ chuột wuu:鸡窝生凤凰 (电影) zh:貧民百萬富翁This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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