Setting

Time period

We are given a very specific time setting for the main events in the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008) directed by Danny Boyle. The writing on the screen at the beginning of the film provides context and states that Jamal takes part in the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in 2006. The show takes place in the evening over the course of an hour. Jamal’s interrogation takes place immediately afterwards and most likely lasts all night. Jamal is released the next evening and is allowed to take part in the final question of the show. The main events, therefore, happen over the course of a single day.

At the same time, we also have flashbacks from Jamal’s childhood that lead to multiple timelines. Most notably, we have direct references to the Bombay Riots which took place in 1992-1993 in present-day Mumbai. The Hindu-Muslim Bombay Riots were a series of bloody attacks between the Hindu and Muslim populations of Bombay. The riots started in December 1992 and ended in January 1993, which would place the death of Jamal’s mother somewhere around December or January. 

The riots were the results of larger tensions in India and escalated after a series of protests by the Muslim community in response to the demolition of the Babri Mosque on the 6th of December 1992. Several attacks included the killing of Hindu workers and attacks on Hindus in Muslim-populated areas. Hindu nationalist parties gave exaggerated accounts of these events, which resulted in heavy attacks from the Hindus against the Muslim population. Over 500 Muslims and around 300 Hindus were killed in the riots. In the film, Jamal offers a sober perspective on the riots: “I wake up every morning wishin...