When he first opens his mouth, the UK based ‘desi’ debutant Dev Patel seems all wrong, because of his clipped cadences. But almost immediately he settles into his groove, and, along with the marvellous young kids who play the leads’ younger selves, grows into being the film’s high point : Jamal is vulnerable yet strong, the fragile skin peeling off to reveal the steel underneath. Pinto is real, and keeps him able company. Irrfan Khan and Saurabh Shukla as the hectoring cops, and Mahesh Manjrekar as the brutal ‘bhai’, fit right in. Anil Kapoor, as the devious host of the game-show, turns in one of his most vivid, precise performances. And A R Rahman’s score is a triumph.

The romance and rags-to-riches story of a Mumbai slum dweller comes to India via it’s meteoric sweep of the world, having ratcheted up applause and awards at break-neck speed. ( Last evening, it was nominated for 10 Oscar awards, including three for A R Rahman, one for Resul Pookutty for Best Sound Design, and the three biggies - Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay).

The fact that it has a director ( Boyle), screenplay writer ( Simon Beaufoy) and producer (Christian Colson) owing allegiance to the West could have made this is a bloodless, distanced copy of a fun book, but one look at ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, and you know that its spirit and soul is flagrantly, proudly Indian : the Empire has been finally, overwhelmingly trounced.

It’s not about poverty pornography. It’s not about a White guy showing us touchy Brown-skins squatting by the rail-tracks. In the end, it’s just about a film, which sweeps you up and takes you for an exhilarating ride on the wild side. Jai Ho.