Trivia / Slumdog Millionaire

• Channel Hop: In North America, the film was supposed to be released by Warner Bros. through their subsidiary, Warner Independent Pictures. However, before it was released, Warner Bros shut down Warner Independent Pictures, and was looking for sellers to relieve themselves of the film. They were heavily considering releasing it Straight to DVD until they signed a deal with Fox Searchlight, releasing it together.
• Colbert Bump: The worldwide popularity of Bollywood films were already on a rise few years prior^note Which is also the reason why the movie was produced and even slowly disappearing, but after Slumdog, the whole Bollywood craze exploded once more. Depending on who you ask, this wasn't exactly a good thing.
• Dawson Casting: Latika's actress Freida Pinto was 25 when filming began.
• Director Displacement: This film had two credited directors (Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan) but Boyle got all the credit. Reportedly, Tandan directed much of the flashback sequences with Boyle while all of the present day scenes were done by Boyle himself. This because of the Director's Guild's rules. Tandan also was a casting director on the film.
• Direct to Video: Almost, until Fox Searchlight signed on to be the distributor.
• Fake Nationality: Downplayed. Dev Patel is ethnically Indian much like Jamal, but he's British and had to put on an accent for the role.
• Life Imitates Art: Actors Dev Patel (Jamal) and Freida Pinto (Latika) ended up as a real-life couple for six years.
• Playing Against Type: Hard to believe but Jamal is this for Dev Patel. His time in Skins and roles in the two The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel films have him playing campy Large Ham characters.
• Romance on the Set: Dev Patel and Freida Pinto became a couple while filming Slumdog Millionaire. Pinto was engaged to someone else at the time, but broke it off.
• Star-Making Role: For Dev Patel and Freida Pinto.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Danny Boyle desperately wanted Shah Rukh Khan — who had hosted the latest season of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? at the time — to play the host. However he wasn't available.
  • "Jai Ho" was written for another film, but its producer couldn't find a way to fit it in, so it was allowed to be used here.

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