FEBRUARY

National Review of Live Art

The annual festival of new performance, music. video and installation live art which has showcased many acclaimed creative names. Van'ous venues, Glasgow 1 1— 75 Feb.

The first hurdle was that every stage of shooting in the Bollywood capital had to be vetted by the Indian authorities. ‘You have to be creative in the way you present the material to them.‘ Boyle says. ‘although some things you can be surprisingly honest about. For instance. we told them there was a torture scene. They said. “That's no problem. provided there‘s no one above the rank of inspector involved".‘ Next. working with kids cast from the slums proved as difficult as it was rewarding. because they spoke only Hindi. which meant Boyle had to shoot in a language he didn’t understand. ‘In the end. it was a blessing shooting in llindi.‘ Boyle says. 'lior example. they have an expression for being hungry. which is: you‘ve got rats running around in your tummy. That‘s a wonderful expression.‘ Then. there was the constant threat of committing cultural gaffs to film. ‘l’eople tend to do what the director says.‘ says Boyle. ‘even if it's wrong. So we had Loveleen Tandan. who was initially the casting director. there every day. Ultimately. we decided to credit

her as the co-director.‘ But despite Boyle surrounding himself with local help. there was nothing to be

done about the sheer chaos of

Mumbai. ‘liverything is changing.’ Boyle says. ‘Nothing is the same from one day to another. You just have to go with the flow and you feed off the story and the people and the circumstances. I felt like there was this incredible energy in Mumbai and I wanted to capture that.‘

It's evident from the way Boyle turned negatives into positives that his experience in India was a good one. ‘Yes. I fell in love with India.’ he says. ‘I loved Mumbai and the people there. We had an amazing time making the film. I hope that comes across.‘

It certainly does. Watching the

film produces the same kind of

rush you get from the backpack- clad exploration of a foreign city and its alien culture. and Slumdog Millionaire is a genuinely optimistic crowd-pleaser. And for our troubled times this is no bad thing. The year in cinema starts here.

Slumdog Millionaire is on general release from Fri 9 Jan.

Dylan Moran: What It Is

This veteran master of deadpan, returns with more of his patented wry. but pointed comic observations. The Pavilion,

Glasgow, 78 Feb.

Russell Brand The naughty Mr Brand flees north to avoid more Sachs- relaled [xersecutiorr no actually it‘s his 2009 tour. SECC. Glasgow, I 4- I 5 Feb and Playhouse, Edinburgh, 22 Feb.

Glasgow Film

Snow Patrol

Aye Write! The

Fesfival

The festival returns with an eclectic range of blockbusters, shorts, independents. documentaries, and an Audrey Hepburn retrospective. Various venues, Glasgow. 12—22 Feb.

2009 brings the lads back to Glasgow, following the release of their fifth album A Hundred Buming Suns. SECC.

Glasgow, 24-25 Feb.

Bank of Scotland Book Festival

The fourth annual literature festival celebrates the best of Scottish and international authors as part of Scotland's Homecoming year. Glasgow. 6—14 Mar.

8- 22 Jan 7000 THE LIST 19