Kenny Mann

I loved the movie, especially the riveting music and was fascinated to hear that the composer, who most of us have probably never heard of, much to our shame, is such an enormous blockbusting success in India yet also understands the synthesis between Indian and western music enough to create exactly the right score for Slumdog. I traveled through southern India alone a few years ago and loved every minute of it. I had wonderful adventures in Mumbai, much to my surprise, because I thought I would really hate the city and had planned to get out of it as fast as possible. But I wandered around, went to the incredible cloth market, stayed in an old and lovely guest house down in Colaba, on Mumbai’s southernmost tip and yes – I was shocked and angered at the incredible poverty, the beggars selling their children (yes!), the filth, the pollution, the unbelievable numbers of people – just as you see in Slumdog. But I loved the energy, the kindness of people, the colors, the street food and the general mayhem. In fact, I loved India altogether and can’t wait to go back and visit the northern provinces.