The Oscar Goes To ...

My favorite scene in Slumdog Millionaire comes toward the end, in the tense battle of wits between the supercilious game-show host, Prem, and the hero, Jamal. Prem expects Jamal to lose, and when he doesn't, assumes that he's cheating. Once Prem realizes that a kid from the slums might win — fairly — he angrily tosses him off to a waiting police van. "It's my show," he says. In two tight shots, with just a few lines of dialogue, the film manages to capture the ambivalence and, sometimes, anger that Indians often direct at those who don't...