Other characters

Salim Malik

Salim is an opportunist who will stop at almost nothing to get what he wants

Salim is Jamal’s older brother in the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008) directed by Danny Boyle. We do not know exactly the age difference between Salim and Jamal, but it does not seem to be too big, as we see them attending school together. However, Salim always uses his status as the elder brother to make decisions for both him and Jamal.

From the start, Salim seems to be an opportunist and also sometimes a bully as well. He is much less concerned with morality than Jamal seems to be and goes to lengths that frighten and distress Jamal. Salim will stop at nothing to gain influence or wealth and there seems to be no line he is unwilling to cross. An example of this is how he locks Jamal in the public toilet, even though he knows that Jamal wants to have his picture of Amitabh Bachchan signed. Afterwards, Salim steals the picture and sells it, which will be the first of many other betrayals towards Jamal.

Throughout the film, Salim continues to use force and betrayal to get what he wants. He threatens to shoot Jamal and even abandons him so he can stay with Latika. He joins forces with Javed, Maman’s rival, and betrays Jamal and Latika again by leading Javed’s men to take Latika away just as she is trying to escape with Jamal. Salim seems to see no problem in using others to get what he wants, even when his actions obviously hurt his brother.

Salim seems to enjoy having power and control over others

While he is working for Maman, we notice that Salim seems to follow his orders to the letter and rule over the other street children. He tries his best to increase their chances of getting more money while begging, even if that means humiliating them or having them do things that ...