Slumdog Millionaire: A Paradox Explained Through Picture and Sound

I've been dying to see "Slumdog" since I heard that MIA contributed generously to the soundtrack. The kick-ass, British-Sri Lankan musical artist, noted for her heavy, sociopolitical lyrics, often juxtaposed with a clubby dance beat, offers an authentic sound and message that is perfectly compatible with the movie's agenda. The film itself is full of juxtapositions and contradictions, as noted in the title. Indian super-producer AR Rahman crafted a brilliant soundtrack, named Best Original Score by the Golden Globes, that juxtaposes new and old by fusing genuine Indian sound with modern influences from the Western world. Hearing the soundtrack is half the experience of absorbing the plot line of the Best Picture of the Year.

Through a series of intense flashbacks, the film tells the painful life-story of an 18-year old from the slums who luckily ends up on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire". Young Jamaal Malik's tale, with an interwoven love story, reveals the sharp contrast between the urban and industrialized, Bollywood-deluded India that tourists flock to, and the dirty, crime-riddled life of the poor in the shantytowns. The masterful cinematography captures this contrast by catching brightly colored clothing and fresh produce against dismal piles of debris, and showing warm bursts of light shine in the eyes of struggling children in the darkest of situations.

Though religion, power, and love are other dense topics explored by the movie, the motif of money, and the theme of seemingly justified thievery and deception, are most central to the film. MIA offered her hustler anthem "Paper Planes", as well as the DFA remix of it, to a scene in which 6-year old Jamaal and older brother Salim hop trains selling cheap, stolen goods. The Academy Award-nominated song "O...Saya" also conveys life on the run through MIA's hasty verse and AR Rahman's fast, booming drum beats from the Indian instrument called a tabla. The track mixes a poignant hook in Hindi with electronic manipulations to paint a picture of raw hustler spirit set to the pace of the big city.

"Liquid Dance" is another great example of Rahman's genius. The track opens with a high-speed Hindi chant and morphs into an electro masterpiece. The suspenseful "Mausam and Escape" begins with a flurry of pleasant notes from the Indian classical instrument the jaltarang, and then suddenly becomes the superior fusion of typical Bollywood string arrangements and steady, hip-hop beats.

"Slumdog Millionaire" is a sensuous combination of color, sound, and emotion. It has an idealist's ending, and leaves us believing that love can prevail, even after a lifetime of struggle. The music will guide you through this tumultuous journey. And at the end, you'll understand how the dark and light of life experience is 100 times more valuable than book smarts.

"O... Saya": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDXiCsP576I