It is written.
Hell yeah. There's something inherently satisfying about this statement, even for those who (like me) don't believe in predestination. Had Jamal simply known the answer to the final question, the smug host would have had no choice but to be gracious. Jamal didn't know the answer, but he knew he was going to win. His expression at the end says it all.
The irony is that winning the money didn't mean much to him. Money and any other comforts meant nothing to him compared to Latika's protection. He would have done anything for her, including making unsavory connections through his criminal older brother, Salim. The brother wasn't always a criminal, but after their mom is murdered he isn't left with much choice.
Salim reminded me a lot of my older brother, although he isn't nor has ever been a thug. There is a scene in the flashback where the two young brothers witness the brutal attack on their home. Had we been in the same situation, my older brother would have acted and I would have froze. So I can't be too hard on Salim ... he does what he needs to do (to a point) to assure their survival. Jamal wouldn't have been able to help Latika had he not been taken care of. Unfortunately, empathy for Salim can only go so far. You get the sense what happened to him would have happened sooner or later regardless of Jamal.
Anyway, back to the show. Jamal is not formally educated and blanks on an easy question likely from nerves. Most of the questions relate directly to an event in his life (the framing device of the film), which makes the answers hard to forget. And he is also savvy enough to manuever his way through questions that he does not know. He may not know cricket, but he sure as hell knows who *not* to trust. The look on the host's face was incredible
The acting is uniformly superb, from the delightful children (many who were living in poverty and might still be) to the pre-teens to the trio of Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, and Madhur Mittal. Patel should be singled out for being only 18 at the time of this performance - the other two were older and more experienced. In addition, the pacing is incredible, as there is not a dull moment in the entire film. (Maybe the opera scene which was superfluous. But that's reaching.) The scenery is amazing, especially the shots of Mumbai from an unfinished skyscraper.
About the only criticisms I can recall of this film are its portrayal of "poverty porn" and its unoriginal plot. Both have some merit, I guess, but I see no problems presenting actual living conditions of real people. And the rags-to-riches story is a bit overplayed, but it's never about the riches for him. It's just about taking care of Latika.
I watched this movie twice in the theater and didn't leave before the end of the credits either time. Partly it was because of the monumental dance scene at the end - only Bollywood could pull this off without looking self-indulgent - but mostly I just felt emotionally drained from this two-hour ride. I didn't see it until 2009, but knew immediately that it was the best film of the year. I don't get that sense too often, but in this case... it was written.