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Does 'Slumdog Millionaire' Want Tony Awards, Too?

Slumdog millionaire_jai-ho-dance

After sweeping basically every major awards show this year, Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire may now be headed to the stage.

From Broadway.com:

Several of the creators of the surprise Hollywood hit are in talks to adapt the film into a stage musical, featuring the Oscar-winning music of A.R. Rahman, who made his Broadway debut as composer of Bombay Dreams...

Talk has resurfaced of a stage translation, with Rahman, who won Oscars for Best Score and Best Song (for the closing-credit dance number “Jai Ho”), said to be ready to flesh out the score with additional songs.

Simon Beaufoy, who wrote Slumdog's Oscar-winning screenplay, said in December, “My dream is A.R. Rahman, who did the score, would write loads of fantastic songs,” he said. “I would do the book for the musical and Danny would direct it. That’s my dream. It begs to be a musical.”

Rahman's Bombay Dreams closed after nine months and was a critical disappointment after transferring to Broadway from London. The composer, one of India's most successful, also worked with Finnish folk music band Värttinä to create the score to the stage version of The Lord of the Rings.

Last fall, we recoiled at the idea of charming movie musical Once possibly making the leap to Broadway. But we imagine that a Slumdog Millionaire musical could be a large-scale Bollywood-flavored cross between Martin McDonagh and Mary Poppins.

Even though we didn't love the film, and now find it sort of forgettable a couple of months later, we think the Oscar-winning editing and flashback story structure -- not to mention a final redemptive climax -- could actually translate well to the stage. Now can we be promised that those adorable little kids from the film will reprise their roles and make some more money?

-- Daniel Lehman

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