Underdog: one at a disadvantage and expected to lose

Slum: a district of a city marked by poverty and inferior living conditions

Dog: someone who is morally reprehensible; "you dirty dog"

Masala: a term given to films of Indian cinema that mix various genres in one film; especially action.
Typically these films freely mix action, comedy, drama, romance and melodrama. These films tend
to be musicals that include songs filmed in picturesque locations. The genre is named after
the masala, a term used to describe a mixture of spices in South Asian cuisine.

THEMES:

 Love
 Poverty
 Destiny
 Good vs Bad
 Prejudice
 Hope
 Bravery

Vamsee Juluri, author and Professor of Media Studies at the University of San Francisco,
identifies Indophobic and postcolonial/neocolonial discourse used in the film to attack and
demonize Indians as "barbarians" and "savages", and that the only Indian portrayed positively in the
film has a British accent.

Told from a child’s perspective – a perspective that it equates with a native understanding of truth –
this is a film about childhood. In this world, to be a child is to live like a free man even if you happen
to live in a prison.

With the exception of Jamal’s mother, who intervenes to save her boys first from the wrath of the
policeman and then from the wrath of the rioters who kill her, and one or two passing characters,
adults in this world are essentially malevolent. Children are seen primarily in economic terms, as
competition to be removed or commodities to be exploited.Policemen and gangsters alike mistreat
them.

Prejudice lies at the very heart of this film, articulated most clearly in the opinion that someone from
the slum could not possibly possess knowledge.

Developed vs. the happiness/freedom of the undeveloped

The movie is both encouraging and discouraging India.To the outer world it shows how poor we are
instead of showing our good sides in India.
The Encouraging part shows the life of poor people and can help the goverment solve this. It helps
us to understand how poor people lives in slums and encourages us to be good.