Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Amy (class of 2025) and features the soundtrack to the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. Thanks, Amy!
“What can a Slumdog possibly know?”
When I think of a powerful and incredibly well-made movie, Slumdog Millionaire is one that comes to mind. The 2008 drama stars Dev Patel as Jamal Malik, a teen on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
Slumdog Millionaire flashes between Jamal’s life as a teen and his childhood, showing the realities of living on the streets of Mumbai as a young child. The story is compelling, and the acting is phenomenal, but the thing that makes this film is the soundtrack. With artists like M.I.A. involved, it is easy to understand how this film won the Golden Globe for best soundtrack in 2009. A. R. Rahman, the score’s creator, wanted to create a mix of both modern and old India in the soundtrack.
A. R. Rahman’s original song “Jai Ho” for the movie won an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture. The song was an international success with remixes and covers of the song coming from across the globe. The song was also the Indian National Congress’s official campaign song in 2009.
While this movie discusses and portrays hardship and is not indicative of every success story, I think it gives hope to those who feel stuck and like they won’t succeed. You can check out the soundtrack for Slumdog Millionaire at the Music Library!
