A Mumbai-based tale of a slum-dweller's journey from rag to riches is creating buzz in the US. Slumdog Millionaire<http://www.apunkachoice.com/dyn/movies/english/slumdog_millionaire/>is rocking the US box-office with a record start. This Danny Boyle-directed Fox Searchlight's film reportedly grossed $418,000, i.e. Rs 2 crore, since it opened on Nov 12.
The critically acclaimed movie is paving the way for 18-year-old Dev Patel to win a nomination for Oscars. Former 'Skins' star, Dev Patel 'Anwar' plays the role of Indian teen Jamal Malik in the movie which shows how a slum-dweller who lives on breadline becomes a contestant on the Hindi version of 'Who Wants to be A Millionaire?' and goes on to win a huge prize money in an effort to prove his love for his friend Latika (Freida Pinto), who is a big fan of the show. Dev's performance in the movie is very subtle and natural. A London-based British actor of Indian origin, Dev was only 17 when he started his acting career with BBC series 'Skins'. While selecting the cast for his film, director Danny Boyle wanted someone who can look like an underdog and can emote. During his casting tour of India, he was unable to zero down on any actor suitable for the role. Danny was quoted as saying: "they're all beefcake". It was then, Boyle's teenager daughter suggested the name of Dev and Danny chose him to play the character of Jamal. The Los Angeles Times' awards site 'The Envelope' lists Dev Patel as one of the ten front-runners for a supporting actor category, alongside the late 'Heath Ledger' (The Dark Knight), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt), Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder), and Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, and James Franco from the movie 'Milk'. It has been reported that Fox Searchlight will campaign for Dev Patel as a supporting actor for Oscars. 'Slumdog Millionaire' is in the league of small, independent movies like 'Little Miss Sunshine' and 'Juno', those who make it big by getting nomination(s) in Oscars. The movie is about a coming-of-age theme and is slated for January release in India. The film stars Anil Kapoor<http://www.apunkachoice.com/celebrities/anil_kapoor/>as the host of the game show. Other supporting roles are played by Irrfan Khan <http://www.apunkachoice.com/celebrities/irrfan_khan/> and Madhur Mittal. http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/hollywood/can-slumdog-millionaire-dev-patel-get-an-oscar.html
