Jai Ho!

So, I'm still catching-up on my DVD "to watch" list.

Tonight's feature was the big Academy Award winner "Slum Dog Millionaire."

As usual, I had already read the book. But, not per usual, I cannot say the book was better than the film adaptation. Rather, both are good for different reasons.

For ye socks who haven't picked up the book (originally entitled "Q&A," by Vikas Swarup), here are the differences:

1. The main character in the movie is named Jamal and is identified as a Muslim. In the book, he is called Ram Mohammed Thomas (Hindu, Muslim, and Christian names) and his ethnic/religious background is ambiguous.

2. In the movie, Jamal's mother is killed during a Hindu lynching of Muslims in the slum. In the book, he never knew his mother. She abandoned him at birth to be raised by a Catholic priest.

3. In the movie, Jamal's brother Salim plays a key role in advancing the plot. In the book, Salim is only his best friend.

4. In the movie, Jamal's love interest is Latika, who is also orphaned in the aforementioned lynching. In the book, the love interest is a prostitute that doesn't appear until the main character is a teenager.

I kinda liked the adaptation's linkage of the three main characters, tying them together with the "three musketeers" and the final question on the quiz show.

But, check it out for yourselves, and let me know what YOU think!