The story of “Slumdog Millionaire”
A scene from “Slumdog Millionaire.”
If you caught the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards, you'll know that the big winner of the night was the unlikely blockbuster film, "Slumdog Millionaire", which won Best Director and Best Motion Picture (Drama), not to mention Best Score and Best Screenplay.
Joining "The Takeaway" to discuss the accolades is Vikas Swarup. While his day job is pretty impressive as India's Deputy High Commissioner to South Africa, his current claim to fame is writing the novel "Q & A," which is the basis for the film.
The movie and the book sets up a premise about knowledge and understanding, where a young man wins an enormous prize on a quiz show and is accused of cheating because he couldn't possibly know the answers. But his explanation of how he came to know those individual bits of knowledge is an amazing story of what it's like to grow up poor in India.
Swarup: "For me, this was the central message … sometimes street knowledge can be as important as book knowledge. So let's not pretend that those of us who go to universities and read newspapers — we are the only ones who know. And those that serve us … they don't know anything. I wanted to show that life experiences can sometimes also give you the clues to the answers on a quiz show."
Watch a clip of the film:
At The World, we believe strongly that human-centered journalism is at the heart of an informed public and a strong democracy. We see democracy and journalism as two sides of the same coin. If you care about one, it is imperative to care about the other.
Every day, our nonprofit newsroom seeks to inform and empower listeners and hold the powerful accountable. Neither would be possible without the support of listeners like you. If you believe in our work, will you give today? We need your help now more than ever!