Genre and Slumdog Millionaire

The film Slumdog Millionaire is more of a hybrid genre rather than just one
genre, overall the film would be classified as romantic drama but has a large influence
form Bollywood, Social realism and also Danny Boyle himself. 
One key concept influenced by Bollywood film is the idea that they never show the final
kiss scene, this is shown in the film as the second Jamal and Latika’s lips touch the image
is frozen and dissolved into a painting like fashion which is a nod to the Bollywood no
kissing rule. In addition to this major conventions of Bollywood involve; star-crossed
lovers, sacrifice, fate, fortune and sibling rivalry which are all themes explored in the film
Slumdog Millionaire. These themes are also prevalent in romantic dramas but the main
theme throughout this film is love or money as it is the question of whether the want is
for the money or the want is to find Latika. Another signifier that this is a romantic
drama is the line of dialogue “she’s my destiny” as it shows Jamal will fight for her and
fate will bring them together once again reinforcing key themes. This film can also be
considered social realism because it shows the tragic and brutal lives lived by children
and families who grow up in the Indian slums, this is shown through the attack on the
Muslims in the slums as Salim, Jamal and Latika all see people being murdered right
before their eyes which signifies the gritty and dark truths of the slums. 
The game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire is perfect for the narrative of this film as
it introduces pop culture to a classic love story. This is very important to the film as in
the game show a character is built and we get to know the person and they personality
and this is exactly how we get to know Jamal. In addition to this the game show already
has a foundation which is adaptable which can be manipulated as a plot device as a
narrative. All of the life lines give insight into Jamal himself and the idea of having
multiple choice reinforces the theme of fate and destiny as although there are four
options he really only had one choice and destiny gives him the answers. It also shows
he is in a constant state of jeopardy as one false move can send him off the show and
back to normality.  
On the other hand this film can we seen as more of a Danny Boyle film as the stylistic
elements can be seen as if he is more of an auteur rather than a director and this film is
another part of his works. As a director Danny Boyle does highlight the gritty and gory
details of real life and uses images of the human body and bodily functions to show
vulnerability, in addition to this a key motif of Danny Boyle films are a close-up shot of
the protagonist upside down. There is also the theme of survival and a dystopian society
that run throughout his films which are also prevalent in Slumdog Millionaire. 
Overall this film can be seen as a work of Danny Boyle but it has much more conventions
of classic romantic drama films rather than something contained to him as a director.
The film includes pieced of many different genres but that does not distract for the fact
it is simply a love story witch typical stock characters and a typical narrative with a few
twists and turns.