Directed by Scotland’s Danny Boyle ( Trainspotting ), and based on the page-turning novel Q and A by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup, the film has captured the hearts of audiences and critics around the world with its tale of a child from the slums, a tea-boy in a call-center, who wins a TV quiz show modeled on Who Wants to be a Millionaire . Exuberant, exciting, gaudy, and gritty in a way that can only be called Dickensian, Slumdog Millionaire brings contemporary Mumbai to life from the seamy side up, and it does so with brio, compassion, and all-round cinematic excellence.