Slumdog Love

I am sorry I waited until after Slumdog Millionaire won 8 Academy Awards to watch it. Either way, it was a wonderful movie, to say the least. The love story depicted in this movie, expressed how beautiful true love could be and how much one must work when tying to achieve their relationship/life goals. The "slumdog", Jamal, played by Dev Patel is completely in love with Latika, played by Freida Pinto. He falls in love with her when they are between the ages of 4 and 6 and spends the rest of his youth trying to find his lost love. In Mumbai, a city populated with over 18 million people, Jamal sets out to find Latika and is quite successful at doing so (I guess anything is possible in "Bollywood"). Unfortunately, Latika experiences a rough break when she falls prey to deceitful men that use her for her beauty and later take advantage of her femininity to the ultimate level. The abuse she endures, leaves her mind believing that she is worthless and only good for pleasing men in one way: sexually. On various occasions, when Jamal finds her and expresses his genuine love, she shuns him because she does not know what love truly is. Her life has been reduced to men violating her physically, mentally & emotionally, which is what she considers normal. It is not until Jamal becomes a contestant on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," that she realizes that he would do anything to be by her side. He gets beaten up numerous times, risks his life over and over and is later jailed while being accused of fraud so that Latika could see what he is capable of for her love.

I know that movies tend to be fairy tales, but one day, I too will find a slumdog that would do nearly anything to live happily ever after by my side.