Slumdog Millionaire in the context of "Dev Patel"

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⭐ Core Definition: Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel Q & A (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Patel in his film debut as Jamal, and filmed in India, it was directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and produced by Christian Colson, with Loveleen Tandan credited as co-director. As a contestant on Kaun Banega Crorepati, a Hindi Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Jamal surprises everyone by answering every question correctly so far, winning 1 crore ($USD210,000, equivalent to around $300,000 in 2023), and he is one question away from winning the grand prize of 2 crore ($USD420,000, equivalent to around $590,000 in 2023). Accused of cheating, he recounts his life story to the police, illustrating how he was able to answer each question.

After its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and later screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and the London Film Festival, Slumdog Millionaire had a nationwide release in United Kingdom on 9 January 2009, in India on 23 January 2009, and in the United States on 25 January 2009. Regarded as a sleeper hit, Slumdog Millionaire was widely acclaimed, praised for its plot, soundtrack, cinematography, editing, direction, and performances (especially Patel's). It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 2009 and won 8—the most of any 2008 film—including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It won seven BAFTA Awards including Best Film, five Critics' Choice Awards and four Golden Globes. However, reception in India and among Indian diaspora was mixed, and the film was the subject of controversy over its depiction of poverty in India and other issues. The Hindustan Times called it "an assault on Indian self-esteem".

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In this Dossier

Slumdog Millionaire in the context of Silicon Imaging

The Silicon Imaging (SI-2K) was a 2K digital video camera built on a single 16 mm sized CMOS sensor manufactured by Altasens. It was able to record direct to disk in the compressed CineForm RAW format, and was notable for its tiny detachable camera head, which can be positioned up to 100m from the recording unit through an ethernet cable. Danny Boyle and his director of photography Anthony Dod Mantle used the camera on the films Slumdog Millionaire (Academy Award for Best Cinematography) and 127 Hours. The head and the recording unit together cost (c.a. 2011) $23,000. The head by itself costs $13,750, and could be used to record to a laptop that had appropriate specifications and software.

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Slumdog Millionaire in the context of Danny Boyle

Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer, active in film, television, and theatre. He has been described by the British Film Institute as "one of the liveliest and most unpredictable of British directors, adept at shifting genres and bringing a personal quality to whatever he tackles."

His debut film Shallow Grave (1994) won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film. The British Film Institute ranked Trainspotting (1996) the 10th greatest British film of the 20th century. Boyle's 2008 crime drama film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), the most successful British film of the decade, was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won eight, including the Academy Award for Best Director. He won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Director. Boyle received two more Academy Award nominations for writing and producing the survival drama 127 Hours (2010).

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Slumdog Millionaire in the context of 127 Hours

127 Hours is a 2010 biographical drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Danny Boyle. The film mainly stars James Franco, with Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, and Clémence Poésy appearing in brief supporting roles. In the film, canyoneer Aron Ralston must find a way to escape after he gets trapped by a boulder in an isolated slot canyon in Bluejohn Canyon, southeastern Utah, in April 2003. It is a British and American venture produced by Pathé, Everest Entertainment, Film4 Productions, HandMade Films and Cloud Eight Films.

The film, based on Ralston's memoir Between a Rock and a Hard Place (2004), was written by Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, co-produced by Christian Colson and John Smithson, and scored by A. R. Rahman. Beaufoy, Colson, and Rahman had all previously worked with Boyle on Slumdog Millionaire (2008). 127 Hours premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on 4 September 2010, and was released in the United States on 5 November 2010 and in the United Kingdom on 7 January 2011. It was acclaimed by critics and audiences and grossed $60.7 million worldwide. It was selected by the American Film Institute as one of the top 10 films of 2010 and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Franco and Best Picture. The film also received nominations for eight British Academy Film Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.

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Slumdog Millionaire in the context of Searchlight Pictures

Searchlight Pictures, Inc., formerly known as Fox Searchlight Pictures, is an American arthouse film production and distribution company, which since 2019 has been owned by Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 29, 1994 as a division of 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios), the studio focuses primarily on producing, distributing, and acquiring independent and specialty films.

Searchlight is most successful for distributing the films Slumdog Millionaire, 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, The Shape of Water, and Nomadland, all of which have won an Academy Award for Best Picture. The studio has grossed over $5.3 billion worldwide and amassed 51 Academy Awards, 30 Golden Globe Awards, and 56 BAFTA awards. Slumdog Millionaire is the studio's largest commercial success, with over $377 million (US) of box office receipts, against a production budget of only $15 million.

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Slumdog Millionaire in the context of Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organization behind the film festival is also a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Lightbox cultural centre, located in downtown Toronto.

The TIFF People's Choice Award – which is based on audience balloting – has emerged as an indicator of success during awards season, especially at the Academy Awards. Past recipients of this award include Oscar-winning films, such as Chariots of Fire (1981), Life Is Beautiful (1998), American Beauty (1999), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), The King's Speech (2010), Silver Linings Playbook (2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), The Imitation Game (2014), La La Land (2016), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Green Book (2018), Jojo Rabbit (2019), Nomadland (2020), Belfast (2021) and American Fiction (2023).

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Slumdog Millionaire in the context of 81st Academy Awards

The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2008 and took place on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and was produced by Bill Condon and Laurence Mark and directed by Roger Goodman. Hugh Jackman hosted the show for the first time. Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California held on February 7, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Jessica Biel.

Slumdog Millionaire won eight awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with three awards, The Dark Knight and Milk with two, and Departures, The Duchess, La Maison en Petits Cubes, Man on Wire, The Reader, Smile Pinki, Toyland, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and WALL-E with one. The telecast garnered almost 37 million viewers in the United States.

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Slumdog Millionaire in the context of Irrfan Khan

Irrfan Khan (Hindustani pronunciation: [ɪrfaːn xaːn]) (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 1967 – 29 April 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in world cinema, Khan's career spanned over 30 years and earned him numerous accolades, including a National Film Award, an Asian Film Award, and six Filmfare Awards. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour. In 2021, he was posthumously awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award.

Khan made his film debut with a small role in Salaam Bombay! (1988), which was followed by years of struggle. He acted in a few Film and Television Institute of India student films such as Reconnaissance (1990), directed by Sandeep Chattopadhyay. His first Hindi movie was Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1990), in which he portrayed a journalist and shared a major role opposite lead players Pankaj Kapur and Shabana Azmi. After this movie he acted in the British film The Warrior (2001). He had his breakthrough as a leading actor in the Hindi movies Haasil (2003) and Maqbool (2004). He went on to gain critical acclaim for his roles in The Namesake (2006) for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male, Life in a... Metro (2007), and Paan Singh Tomar (2011). For portraying the title character in the last of these, he won the National Film Award for Best Actor. Further success came for his starring roles in The Lunchbox (2013), Piku (2015), and Talvar (2015) and he had supporting roles in the Hollywood films The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Life of Pi (2012), Jurassic World (2015), and Inferno (2016). His other notable roles were in Slumdog Millionaire (2008), New York (2009), Haider (2014), and Gunday (2014), and the television series In Treatment (2010). His highest-grossing Hindi film release came with the comedy-drama Hindi Medium (2017), and his final film appearance was in its sequel Angrezi Medium (2020), both of which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in 2018 and 2021.

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Slumdog Millionaire in the context of Q & A (novel)

Q & A is a novel written by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup and published in 2005. The novel is also Swarup's first novel work. It tells the rags to riches story of Ram Mohammad Thomas, a young waiter who becomes the biggest quiz show winner in history, only to be arrested and jailed on accusations that he cheated. His lawyer is the only thing standing between him and the producers' and police' attempt to force a false confession that would deprive him of the prize. The only way to prove his innocence is by sharing the episodes of his life and travels in India which explain where and how he learned the answers to the quiz show questions.

The book was loosely adapted into the multiple Oscar-winning 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire, which features a new main character named Jamal and his brother Salim.

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Slumdog Millionaire in the context of Vikas Swarup

Vikas Swarup (born 22 June 1961) is an Indian writer and retired diplomat of the Indian Foreign Service who served as the Secretary (West) at the Ministry of External Affairs, India on 30 June 2021 and previously served as High Commissioner of India in Canada and has been the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs. He authored the novel Q & A, adapted in film as Slumdog Millionaire, the winner of Best Film for the year 2009 at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and BAFTA Awards.

Swarup joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986 and served in Turkey, the United States, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Japan in various Indian diplomatic missions. His other novels are Six Suspects and The Accidental Apprentice. In April 2015, he was appointed as the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India to head its Public Diplomacy divisions at New Delhi, succeeding Syed Akbaruddin.

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