Set in the streets of Mumbai, India, the movie Slumdog Millionaire vividly paints the story of three children, orphaned in a Hindu – Muslim riot, as they face numerous hardships on their path to adulthood. One of the few Western movies on India, Slumdog Millionaire has won accolades and hearts alike by its touching narration, artistic direction, brilliant acting, and of course, music that enhances every scene being played. The movie begins with a quiz show, in which Jamal, the protagonist, is about to win a million dollars for answering the final question. However, since he is merely a tea-seller, he is arrested by the police under suspicion for having cheated through the quiz. As he is questioned, he unfurls a saga explaining the incidents of his life that teach him the answers to the questions in the quiz. The tale takes us through the slums of Mumbai where Jamal and Salim, his elder brother, grow up. In a riot, they watch their mother die and flee for their lives. This is when they meet Latika, another orphaned girl-child. The story progresses as they are captured by a man who runs a racket of turning children into beggars by cruelly maiming them. Jamal and Salim manage to escape him; however, Latika is left behind. The two brothers earn a living through petty crimes in Agra for a while, before returning as teenagers to Mumbai. Jamal, who has been nagged by thoughts of Latika being left behind, starts searching for her. Eventually, they find her being trained for prostitution and rescue her. In the process, Salim commits a murder and the dark shades of his character, which were merely hinted at so far, start developing. In a drunken fury, he throws Jamal out and disappears with Latika. The story skips ahead a few years. Jamal is now a young adult working at a call centre as a chai-wallah or tea-seller. He manages to trace out his brother, who is now involved with a gang of criminals. Through him, he manages to trace out unhappy Latika, now a housekeeper for one of the senior criminals. From here onwards, the story is a tale of love, in which Jamal tries to rescue Latika in multiple ways but fails. As he answers the final question on the quiz show, Latika manages to escape with the help of Salim, who turns ‘good-guy’, and is reunited with Jamal. A beautiful movie, with love, pain, hope, misery, struggle and the enduring spirit of survival, Slumdog Millionaire is a realistic movie with just a tinge of fairy-tale optimism, a characteristic it borrows right from Bollywood. True that it paints a morbid picture of India; nonetheless, it does not exaggerate in its narrative. Instead of protesting against the frame from which the movie looks at India, people should accept that it portrays realities. Instead of directing indignation towards the movie, it would be more appropriate to direct it towards the issues it brings to light, and work to solve them. As far as selling the poverty in India is concerned, it is a baseless argument. Cinema is a form of art, and an artist is free to express and showcase what he may wish. Moreover, bringing such social issues to light is the most philanthropic purpose of art. The makers of Slumdog Millionaire have done a wonderful job. The movie is a must-see for one and all.