Before Slumdog... made its millions

I met Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle at the JJ School of Arts, Mumbai in July last year. For five straight hours. Way before he finished shooting for the film. Way before the film became too big. And Danny Boyle was still accessible. For some reason, this interview was never published... Well, better late than never!


What is Slumdog about, in your own words.
There’s this guy. He wants to be a millionaire but he’s uneducated and the questions are very, very difficult. And the questions, I have to say, on the Indian version of the show are very, very difficult and much tougher than say, on the American version and I was surprised… And then it gets really tough, really quickly. He wins this and everyone thinks he’s cheated. But he hasn’t and the real reason he’s gone on the show isn’t to win the money. He’s gone on the show because he has lost the girl of his dreams (Latika, played by Freida Pinto) somewhere in Mumbai and the only way he thinks he can find her is that he knows she always watches the show. So if he gets to be on the show, he knows he can get back in touch with her.

A little more about the story, please...
It is a coming of age story in a way. He’s not pulling any tricks. Everyone seems to think he’s cheating. The host of the show, played by Anil Kapoor ‘knows’ he’s cheated. No way he could know the answers. He lets the police arrest him.

We heard you had problems with casting? You were turned down?
I did meet Shah Rukh Khan a couple of times and it didn’t work out. He presents the show, so he’s in a way compromised by the fact that he’s still on the show. So what was wonderful about getting Anil is that he’s an extraordinary actor who has a connection with Amitabh in terms of a generation. He slightly belongs to Amitabh’s (who presented the show originally) generation and is still in SRK’s world. So he has a foot in both worlds. He’s had such a long career. But the thing I found about him is that he’s such a bold and brave actor. He’s fantastic. It’s very tough pretending to be presenting a show. It’s actually a very difficult thing to do. You need a very good actor to do it.

How does Mumbai feature in Slumdog?
It’s quite a tough picture of Mumbai. It’s also incredibly invigorating. It’s very positive in way. And true love does triumph in a way. Thank goodness for that!

So it’s a regular love story?
There’s a bit of everything in the film. There’s music, good laughs , a lot of drama… quite dramatic, quite emotional, I hope. And you have Rahman who’s done the music.

Tell us something about the cast…
There’s an entirely Indian cast, so it’s been a privilege for me. There are very good actors here. So many films get made here. There’s Irrfan Khan, Saurabh Shukla… loads of good actors. Freida Pinto, who plays Latika when she’s 18. Madhur Mittal, who plays Jamaal’s (played by Dev Patel) older brother, Salim (when he’s 18).

Any anecdotes from the sets?
There’s a very famous scene in Trainspotting. The hero goes down the toilet in one scene. There’s a very good toilet scene in this film as well with Aayush Mahesh Khedekar (the youngest Jamal) as well, where gets to meet Amitabh very briefly.

So Amitabh plays something like a cameo?
The story is set 12 years ago, so you barely see him. It’s kind of like a trick. You think you’re seeing Amitabh. It’s a very lovely scene. Amitabhji is very gracious. It’s the funniest scene in the film I think. We filmed a lot in the slums of Juhu and in Dharavi. We had a fantastic time. The people have been wonderful to us. It’s been a very difficult film to make. There’s a lot of work on trains. They’re very difficult to film on, but we got a lot of lot of help, it’s been a wonderful experience for me. I’ve really enjoyed it.

What locations did you shoot at?
We shot in and around Mumbai, Agra and Pen.

So how has it been shooting in Mumbai… in India?
It’s an extraordinary time to be here. More and more international films will be made here. And more and more money will come from America, especially to be invested here in films. And they will try to make films that both combine an Indian audience and an international audience.

So what is the spirit of Slumdog Millionaire?
The spirit of the film is a good one. It’s a cheesy film but also a very optimistic one. There are some tough things in it but it actually has a big heart. When you’re here, there’s that thing about a billion hearts beating… and a film should have a big heart to go with the city. A third of the film is Hindi and the rest is in English.