A searing view of reality

Slumdog Millionaire has all the elements that make a typical drama: love, commitment, brotherhood, betrayal and atonement. But a young man's climb from rags to riches is what makes it riveting.

I watched it on a Saturday night, expecting predictable Indian fare and hoping for a two-hour escape from reality. But the sense of relaxation never materialized as I was transfixed from the very beginning - throughout Jamal's journey from a Mumbai slum to the contestant's seat on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

I was taken on a roller-coaster ride that never seemed to end. For each question in the contest Jamal could trace the answer to his past, which is told through flashbacks. I was amazed at the way the story unfolded.