The movie Slumdog Millionaire begins with a scene where Jamal, the leading character of the movie, is seated in the hot seat of India’s most famous show, and he wants to be a millionaire. The show has a format where the host ass questions from the guest who qualifies to be on the hot seat after competing with several other candidates. The guest has to answer several multiple-choice questions before moving to the final reward of twenty million Indian rupees. Each question is associated with the prize money. There are three milestones in the entire game.
Once one milestone is achieved, the preceding money cannot be taken back. Jamal is lucky to have crossed all three milestones and reached the final question of twenty million Indian rupees. However, Jamal was later caught by the Indian police. The Indian police accused Jamal of cheating in the game. Jamal, after being caught by the Indian police, narrates his story about his childhood and how he was able to answer each question in the show.
Jamal and Salim are two brothers. They were kept in an orphanage. They both succeeded in escaping from it. They both met Latika when they escaped the orphanage. Later, they were caught by a gang. This gang forced Jamal and Salim to beg on the roads of India. Three of them, including Jamal, his elder brother Salim, and Latika, whom they met on the way to escape, were forced to sing and beg. However, both Jamal and Salim were to escape from the custody of this gang. But Latika was left behind. Jamal wanted to find Latika, who had been left behind when boarding the train. Salim left him behind to take revenge for the joke Latika had made with him. But Jamal wanted to find her. Later, they discovered that she was still with the gang, and the gang was training her to be a prostitute. The gang used to charge a huge amount since she was a virgin. Jamal and Salim were successful in finding Latika. However, Salim shot Maman dead. Later Salim met Javaid. He was one of Maman’s rivals. Salim agreed to work with him. He even told Jamal to leave him and the girl alone. However, Jamal was desperate to rescue Latika. When Jamal disagreed, Salim pointed out his gun towards Jamal. Latika pleaded and asked Jamal to obey his brother.
Many years passed, and Jamal started working as a tea man. He decided to search for Latika again. But he failed to find her through a database search. Jamal had yet to succeed in locating his elder brother Salim. Salim was still working with Javaid. Javaid apologized for whatever he had done. Jamal was later able to find Latika in the residence of Javaid. Jamal requested her to escape with him, but Latika refused. Jamal used to wait for her every day at the station. Whenever Latika tried to meet him, she was caught by the men of Javaid. Javaid changed his residence and moved on to a new place. Jamal and Latika again lost their contacts.
Latika sees Jamal on the channel. Salim wanted to repent of his behaviors. He helped Latika to escape the house of Javaid. He gave him the keys and his mobile phone. Jamal was stuck on the final question. He calls Salim. His phone was picked up by Latika. Latika didn’t even know the answer, but she told Jamal that she was safe and could escape. Jamal was relieved and luckily picked the right answer. He was able to win the prize of twenty million Indian rupees. He and Latika finally met at the station, and the movie ended up at this reunion. Salim was able to kill Javaid after Javaid discovered that Salim had helped Latika escape from his residence. The movie had a happy ending (Boyle, 2009).
Born into Brothels
Born into Brothels is a documentary film. The film used both photography and film to demonstrate the life of a prostitute in the red-light district in Calcutta. The filmmaker shows the miseries of prostitutes and how they are forced to work in the red-light city of Calcutta. The documentary films demonstrate the story of Zana. She has hope and aims to improve and change the lives of the children of prostitutes. She started teaching the children the art of photography. The children who learn photography from Zana aunties are much more skilled than any other professional photographer. The women exhibited photographs of the children at various exhibitions. One of them was even selected to represent India as a photographer. Many children were able to secure seats at renowned boarding schools. But many at the end of the documentary film returned to the brothels. Many children were not even allowed to leave brothels by their guardians (Zana Briski, 2004).
Comparison and Contrast
Both movies show the miseries of India. Slumdog Millionaire represents the life of children in the slums of the country. Born into brothels specifically focus on prostitution in the red light city district of Calcutta. Born into brothels focuses primarily on the life of a prostitute in India, while Slumdog Million represents the life of children in infamous slums covering several areas, such as the life of children as beggars, the rule of gangs, and prostitution. Slumdog Millionaire is a film that demonstrates the life of people in slums, however, in a much more glamorous than realistic way. Not many children can escape a gang and earn a prize of twenty million rupees at a famous Indian show with minimal education. Born into Brothels is a realistic representation of the life of prostitutes in the country. The documentary firm does not have a fairy tale ending since it focuses on true aspects of the life of a prostitute and what they go through in their lives. The documentary film throws light on the children of prostitutes who are unable to escape the brothels and earn a respectable living. Born into Brothels is a realistic representation of the issue of prostitution, while Slumdog Millionaire takes an unrealistic approach to present the life of people in slums by coming up with a fairytale ending.
Born into brothels depicts the life of children in the red light district. The movie is a depiction of miseries, hopelessness, cruelty, and disparities faced by children belonging to red-light districts. The documentary film highlights the hardships that children of prostitutes go through yet throws light on the skills, creativity, and talent of children born in areas where children have little opportunities for hope. The film illustrates a ray of hope for children who are not even allowed to step outside the brothels. The movie beautifully yet realistically throws light on the children who have much more to do than follow in the footsteps of their guardians and parents.
On the other side, Slumdog Millionaire is a movie with an unrealistic ending yet a more attractive way of catching the attention of the audience by depicting the story of a boy from the slums who ended up being a millionaire. The movie delivers excellent dialogue with songs to keep the audience attracted. However, the movie has presented the life of people in slums in a dramatized way. Reality is quite different. Not many people living in slums have this opportunity to beautify their lives and to meet the love of their lives.
References
Boyle, D. (Director). (2009). Slumdog Millionaire [Motion Picture].
Zana Briski, R. K. (Director). (2004). Born into Brothels [Motion Picture].
Cite This Work
To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below:
