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freedom holy spirit love courage romance entertainment resistance beauty culture justice respect

This composition is inspired by an eighteen-year-old, named Jamal Malik, an Indian Muslim from the Juhu slum of Mumbai, who becomes a contestant on the nationwide televised show ‹ Kaun Banega Crorepati ›, and is one question away from the grand prize.

However, before he can answer the ₹20 million question, he is detained and tortured by the police, who suspect him of cheating.

Through a series of flashbacks, Jamal recounts the incidents in his life that provided him with each answer.

His memories begin when he is five years old, when Jamal managed to obtain the autograph of Bollywood star, Amitabh Bachchan, after jumping into a cesspit.

Jamal's elder brother, Salim, later sells the autograph.

Their mother is killed during the Bombay riots, and as the brothers flee the riot, they meet Latika, a girl from their slum.

Salim is reluctant to take her in, but Jamal suggests that she could be their "third musketeer", a reference to the Alexandre Dumas novel The Three Musketeers, which the two brothers had learned about in school.

The brothers refer to themselves as Athos and Porthos, but do not know the third musketeer's name.

The three children are found by Maman - a gangster woman, who trains street children to become beggars.

When Salim learns that Maman is blinding the children to make them more effective beggars - « blind singers earn double » -, he escapes with Jamal and Latika towards a running train.

The brothers successfully board the moving train, but Latika is unable to keep up. Salim grabs her hand, but purposefully lets go, leaving her to be recaptured by the terrible Maman.

For the next few years, Salim and Jamal travel around on top of trains, making a living by selling goods, picking pockets, washing dishes, and pretending to be tour guides at the Taj Mahal.

At Jamal's insistence, they return to Mumbai to find Latika, where they discover that she is being raised by Maman to be a prostitute.

The brothers rescue her, Salim shooting the terrible pimp Maman deader than a door nail !

Salim then gets a job with Javed - a rival crime lord. In their room, Salim orders Jamal to leave him alone with Latika, presumably to sexually assault her.

When Jamal refuses, Salim draws a gun on him, and Latika persuades Jamal to leave.

Years later, Jamal, now working as a chaiwala tea server in a call centre, searches the centre's database for Salim and Latika.

He learns that Salim is a high-ranking lieutenant in Javed's crime organization, and confronts him.

Salim pleads for his forgiveness, and Jamal lies his way into Javed's residence to reunite with Latika.

But although he professes his love for her, she tells him to forget about her.

Despite her refusal, Jamal promises that he will wait for her every day at five o'clock at the Victoria train terminus.

Latika eventually attempts to meet him there, but she is captured by Javed's men, led by Salim.

They cruelly cut and scar her face as they drive away.

Jamal loses contact with Latika, and in a final attempt to reach her, he decides to become a contestant on the Kaun Banega Crorepati television show, because he knows she watches the show.

Jamal is extremely successful on the show, and becomes popular across India, much to the dismay of the show's host, Prem Kumar.

Kumar attempts to trick Jamal by feeding him the wrong answer to the penultimate question. However, Jamal uses his 50/50 lifeline, and answers correctly, raising suspicion that he is cheating.

When the episode ends, Jamal is arrested.

After an initial beating, the police inspector listens to his explanation of how he knew each answer.

Finding his stories "bizarrely plausible", and that he must admit to himself that Jamal is "too truthful" to be a liar, the police officer allows him to return to the show.

Latika sees Jamal on the news.

In an effort to make amends for his past behavior, Salim gives Latika his phone and car keys, asking her to forgive him, and to keep the phone near her at all times.

After Latika leaves, Salim fills a bathtub with money, and sits in it, waiting for Javed to realize Latika is free.

For the final question in the nationwide televised show, Jamal is asked the name of the third musketeer.

He laughs at the irony, and admits he does not know, but chooses to try to answer the question anyway. So he uses his "Phone-A-Friend" lifeline to call Salim, because it is the only phone number he knows.

Latika answers the call, and tells Jamal that she is safe, but that she does not know the answer.

Javed hears Latika on the show, and realizes that Salim betrayed him.

He and his men break down the bathroom door, but Salim kills Javed before he is shot and killed himself by the rest of the evil gang.

Relieved about Latika, Jamal guesses, and picks the first answer, Aramis !

He is correct ! And thereby wins the grand prize.

Jamal and Latika meet on the platform at the train station, and kiss, free to be together and to love one another, without all the dangers that once surrounded them mercilessly.

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