Psychological Reading - The Differences Between Jamal and Salim
All through the film, as Jamal and Salim are growing up, we can see the differences in their characters. Salim has different morals to the ones Jamal has, and often they do not see eye to eye. But both of them share a strong bond only brothers can have.
We first see this brotherly bond the first time Jamal flashes back to his childhood. The two are running from the cops and Jamal sprints to catch up to Jamal, where the two smile at each other and high five. You can instantly tell they are brothers from the way they stick together and look out for each other.
Also in this scene the boys turn around together and make fun of the cop, and the way they are in sync really shows the fun-loving brotherly bond they share, and we can see they are quite happy kids.
In the scene where Jamal is on the toilet we first see how Salim takes advantage of Jamal. Jamal loses Salim a sale at the toilet booth, so when Amitabh Bachchan, a famous movie star arrives, he blocks the door so Jamal can not leave the toilet. This is the first appearance of the revengeful side of Salim which we also see later. If you mess with him, he will mess with you.
In Jamals case though what we see is his perseverance. Even though he is locked in the toilet, he is still determined to meet his favourite movie star. So instead of admitting defeat, he jumps down into the poo, disgusting as it is, and gets his autograph. This is the same sort of attitude Jamal has the entire film - he keeps going till he finds Lat ika, and never stops looking for her.
Of course after Jamal receives the photo we see Salim sell it for a few extra coins. He is spiteful and jealous of the fact that Jamal an autograph, and that he lost money. You can see on his face afterwards that he is happy that he sold it, and doesn't feel guilty at all, and this lack of conscience is with Salim for a lot of the film. Even though he and Jamal are brothers, he is not beyond selling one of his favourite things, knowing it will upset him.
In the scene where the slums are attacked Salim and Jamal see their mother die. This kind of thing can be very traumatic for a child and can lead to them feeling vulnerable. They can also lose their sense of security. The death of their mother effects both the children a lot, although Salim doesn't act that way with Jamal.
Salim now realises he is the top of the family, and he has to take responsibility. He misses his mothers presence, and both him and Jamal have trouble sleeping on the first night. It is hard for Salim now, as he feels like he has to be like a father to Jamal, and he doesn't want Latika to come in and be a part of their family like a replacement of their mother so he tells Jamal not to let her in. It makes him seem kind of selfish in a way, like he doesn't want anything else to mess up his life, but he has good reason at the same time. We can see that Salim isn't really a positive thinker - he often expects the worst to happen.
Jamal however, after not being able to sleep, lets Latika in. It shows the good heart he has, and the kindness and warmth he has that Salim doesn't possess. Jamal doesn't have his mother any more and neither does she, and they comfort each other. Salim sleeps far away from Jamal and does not try to comfort him, so we can see he doesn't have the same kindness Jamal has. Jamal is a positive thinker.
Later on the kids are "adopted" by Maman, who gives them food and helped them when they had nowhere to sleep. But he actually trains them to sing on the street for money. Because Salim can not sing, he is given the role of supervisor. He abuses this role, yelling at the children who are his own age and just like him to get back to work. Jamal tries to defend Latika when Salim yells at her, and he tells Jamal to shut up. Salim abuses power. He likes to be the leader and will not tolerate people questioning him. He isn't even lenient with his own brother, so it shows that what has happened to his mother has really affected him. He has gone from being mean before, locking Jamal in the toilet, to being really cruel. He is trying to be the parent, but he doesn't really understand as he is still just a young kid.
We see later that Salim will not really let anything bad happen to Jamal. He protects him from having his eyes burned out by Maman, and helps him escape. So we see this moment of love for his brother, and, like from the start of the film, they still have a good bond.
But this moment of redemption for Salim is short lived, because as him, Jamal and Latika are boarding the train, he lets go of Latikas hand, leaving her to be re-captured by Maman. He still doesn't want her as a part of their family, and he is jealous of the bond she and Jamal have, so he lies and tells Jamal that she let go.
Jamal convinces Salim they should go back and look for Latika. This is evidence of his perseverance and his positive thinking. Even though she was taken by Maman he still believes she could be alive. He asks everyone he can find where she is.
In the meantime him and Salim are working at a job, where Jamal is working hard and Salim is lying down, doing as little as possible.
Jamal reminds him they came back for Latika, but Salim says he doesn't care about her, which has been evident the whole film. Jamal goes to find her anyway, showing that even though he generally respects what his brother says, he doesn't always listen to him - he knows his own morals, and he is going to save Latika.
When he finds out Latikas location, Salim goes with him to get her. He refers to Latika as sexy, which shows he does not respect her, and Jamal is angry at him for saying it, showing how deeply he cares about her. They go in to get her, but Maman finds out and stops them, and tries to capture them once again.
But Salim draws a gun. The fact that he has a gun says that his character is violent, but also cautious and protective of himself and Jamal. Jamal looks frightened that Salim owns a gun, and Salim uses it to make people do as he says. He always wants the power, and if he doesn't have it, he finds a way of getting it.
Even though it seems like they are just going to use the gun to escape, Salim actually kills Maman, because he can't let him hurt other people like he has been doing. So although he kills for the right reasons, it still shows that his character has a very violent nature, and again is very revengeful.
Later on, back at their hotel, Jamal is very respectful of Latika, not looking at her when he passes her a towel, and the two of them share stories with each other. Jamal is kind and gentle towards her, happy to have her back.
At the same time though, Salim goes to talk to Maman's rival, and gets a job working for him.
When he comes back he tells Jamal to leave. Then he goes down to pick up Latika and Jamal rushes at him. He is not usually a violent boy, but after losing her, and losing his mother, he is very protective of her.
Salim kicks him out and tells him to get lost. He no longer cares about the brotherly bond the had. He holds a gun to his head and tells him he is number one now, and Jamal should stay away. Jamal can not believe this is happening to him, that his own brother has turned on him, but much to his own unhappiness, he leaves.
The next place we see Jamal is working at a call centre. He gets a chance to go on the computer directory and search Latika. It shows his persistance, the fact that he never gives up on her, because even though he is now 18 he is still looking for her. There are over 26,000 results for Latika, so he instead decides to search for his brother, hoping it would lead him to her. He is intelligent, more brains then physical strength, whereas Salim is the opposite, and this scene shows how he is resourceful and clever, using the resources the best way possible.
When Jamal goes to meet Salim later, we see the underlying anger in him come up again. He contemplates killing Salim, but he isn't like Salim - he can not kill. But he does get angry, and punches Salim. Surprisingly, when he says he will never forgive Salim for abandoning him at the hotel, 
Salim says "I know." We can see he is gradually developing a conscience; he still loves his brother, and regrets leaving him.
He tells Jamal he has to leave because his boss is coming. He is still cocky, thinks he is great because he works for a powerful gangster, and still thinks he is better then Jamal. But he does show his brotherly love by offering his place for Jamal to stay at.
Of course he has not stopped lying. He is surprised to learn that Jamal has co me looking for Latika, and tells her she is long gone, even though it is not the truth. He doesn't understand love the way Jamal does. It links back to the death of his mother - he has never really loved someone the way
Jamal loves Latika, because he fears that the person he loves will just disappear from his life the way his mother did. He comes close to that love with Jamal, and Latika has always gotten in the way of them, so he doesn't tell Jamal he knows where Latika is. In a way he is also doing it to protect him, because if Jamal tries to save Latika he will most likely be killed.
Jamal follows Salim to see where he is going, and sees Latika there. He tells her they should ;eave, she should get out but she says it can't happen. He is still thinking positively, he believes in their happily ever after, but she doubts it will happen. When Jamal insists that Salim will help them, Latika can't believe he trusts Salim. He tells her he will never forget her, because he loves her, but she says it is too late for them. 
He tells her to meet him at the train station, and even after she says that it is too late he still holds onto the hope that she will be there. She escapes and meets him there, but is recaptured by Salim and others from the gang, confirming her belief that they cannot trust him, and that he has low respect for her.
On the night of Jamals big question, Latika cannot stop thinking about Jamal, and Salim sees this. He, in a last attempt to redeem himself to Jamal, offers her his keys and tells her to go. He promises to take care of the boss, because he knows she has to go. He also gives her his cellphone, then asks for forgiveness. He is showing that he is still the leader, still in control, but at the same time admitting he has weaknesses, and shows that underneath he does have a conscience, and has a heart for Latika and Jamal.
Jamal being on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire really works for getting him what he wanted. He knew that Latika watched it, so he used that as a way for her to find him, and him to help her, and it ultimately lead her to him. We can it see on the "phone a friend" scene, where even though Latika doesn't know the answer, Jamal is just so excited to hear that she is safe. He answers the question as A, even though he doesn't know if that is right or not, but he no longer cares. He only cares for Latika, and knowing she is safe brings him joy.
They end up finding each other, and Jamals hard work has paid off. All the searching, the looking for her, all the perseverance, and now he has her. It is inspiring for the audience to watch his hard work pay off. They know all the pain and heartbreak Jamal has been through, but it was worth it, because he gets what he wanted all along - Latika. He even wins the top prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, which is like good karma - good things happen to good people.
But for Salim, who was not such a good person, his ending is not so good. He redeemed himself by letting Latika go, but also he sacrifices himself to stop his boss. He kills him, knowing he will be shot for doing it, but he sees no point to his life so much any more. He lets Latika go and live the happy life with Jamal, but for him, there is nothing worth living for in his life, so he lets himself go.
We can see the difference between Jamal and Salim all through the film, and the audience is rooting for Jamal to come out on top, which he does. Salim seemingly gets the end he deserves, but because of the trauma he suffered in his life, it seems natural he would act out in this way. They are both complex characters who share a bond only brothers have.
We first see this brotherly bond the first time Jamal flashes back to his childhood. The two are running from the cops and Jamal sprints to catch up to Jamal, where the two smile at each other and high five. You can instantly tell they are brothers from the way they stick together and look out for each other.
Also in this scene the boys turn around together and make fun of the cop, and the way they are in sync really shows the fun-loving brotherly bond they share, and we can see they are quite happy kids.
In the scene where Jamal is on the toilet we first see how Salim takes advantage of Jamal. Jamal loses Salim a sale at the toilet booth, so when Amitabh Bachchan, a famous movie star arrives, he blocks the door so Jamal can not leave the toilet. This is the first appearance of the revengeful side of Salim which we also see later. If you mess with him, he will mess with you.In Jamals case though what we see is his perseverance. Even though he is locked in the toilet, he is still determined to meet his favourite movie star. So instead of admitting defeat, he jumps down into the poo, disgusting as it is, and gets his autograph. This is the same sort of attitude Jamal has the entire film - he keeps going till he finds Lat ika, and never stops looking for her.
Of course after Jamal receives the photo we see Salim sell it for a few extra coins. He is spiteful and jealous of the fact that Jamal an autograph, and that he lost money. You can see on his face afterwards that he is happy that he sold it, and doesn't feel guilty at all, and this lack of conscience is with Salim for a lot of the film. Even though he and Jamal are brothers, he is not beyond selling one of his favourite things, knowing it will upset him.
In the scene where the slums are attacked Salim and Jamal see their mother die. This kind of thing can be very traumatic for a child and can lead to them feeling vulnerable. They can also lose their sense of security. The death of their mother effects both the children a lot, although Salim doesn't act that way with Jamal.Salim now realises he is the top of the family, and he has to take responsibility. He misses his mothers presence, and both him and Jamal have trouble sleeping on the first night. It is hard for Salim now, as he feels like he has to be like a father to Jamal, and he doesn't want Latika to come in and be a part of their family like a replacement of their mother so he tells Jamal not to let her in. It makes him seem kind of selfish in a way, like he doesn't want anything else to mess up his life, but he has good reason at the same time. We can see that Salim isn't really a positive thinker - he often expects the worst to happen.
Jamal however, after not being able to sleep, lets Latika in. It shows the good heart he has, and the kindness and warmth he has that Salim doesn't possess. Jamal doesn't have his mother any more and neither does she, and they comfort each other. Salim sleeps far away from Jamal and does not try to comfort him, so we can see he doesn't have the same kindness Jamal has. Jamal is a positive thinker.
Later on the kids are "adopted" by Maman, who gives them food and helped them when they had nowhere to sleep. But he actually trains them to sing on the street for money. Because Salim can not sing, he is given the role of supervisor. He abuses this role, yelling at the children who are his own age and just like him to get back to work. Jamal tries to defend Latika when Salim yells at her, and he tells Jamal to shut up. Salim abuses power. He likes to be the leader and will not tolerate people questioning him. He isn't even lenient with his own brother, so it shows that what has happened to his mother has really affected him. He has gone from being mean before, locking Jamal in the toilet, to being really cruel. He is trying to be the parent, but he doesn't really understand as he is still just a young kid.
We see later that Salim will not really let anything bad happen to Jamal. He protects him from having his eyes burned out by Maman, and helps him escape. So we see this moment of love for his brother, and, like from the start of the film, they still have a good bond.
But this moment of redemption for Salim is short lived, because as him, Jamal and Latika are boarding the train, he lets go of Latikas hand, leaving her to be re-captured by Maman. He still doesn't want her as a part of their family, and he is jealous of the bond she and Jamal have, so he lies and tells Jamal that she let go.
Jamal convinces Salim they should go back and look for Latika. This is evidence of his perseverance and his positive thinking. Even though she was taken by Maman he still believes she could be alive. He asks everyone he can find where she is.In the meantime him and Salim are working at a job, where Jamal is working hard and Salim is lying down, doing as little as possible.
Jamal reminds him they came back for Latika, but Salim says he doesn't care about her, which has been evident the whole film. Jamal goes to find her anyway, showing that even though he generally respects what his brother says, he doesn't always listen to him - he knows his own morals, and he is going to save Latika.When he finds out Latikas location, Salim goes with him to get her. He refers to Latika as sexy, which shows he does not respect her, and Jamal is angry at him for saying it, showing how deeply he cares about her. They go in to get her, but Maman finds out and stops them, and tries to capture them once again.
But Salim draws a gun. The fact that he has a gun says that his character is violent, but also cautious and protective of himself and Jamal. Jamal looks frightened that Salim owns a gun, and Salim uses it to make people do as he says. He always wants the power, and if he doesn't have it, he finds a way of getting it.Even though it seems like they are just going to use the gun to escape, Salim actually kills Maman, because he can't let him hurt other people like he has been doing. So although he kills for the right reasons, it still shows that his character has a very violent nature, and again is very revengeful.
Later on, back at their hotel, Jamal is very respectful of Latika, not looking at her when he passes her a towel, and the two of them share stories with each other. Jamal is kind and gentle towards her, happy to have her back.At the same time though, Salim goes to talk to Maman's rival, and gets a job working for him.
When he comes back he tells Jamal to leave. Then he goes down to pick up Latika and Jamal rushes at him. He is not usually a violent boy, but after losing her, and losing his mother, he is very protective of her.
Salim kicks him out and tells him to get lost. He no longer cares about the brotherly bond the had. He holds a gun to his head and tells him he is number one now, and Jamal should stay away. Jamal can not believe this is happening to him, that his own brother has turned on him, but much to his own unhappiness, he leaves.
The next place we see Jamal is working at a call centre. He gets a chance to go on the computer directory and search Latika. It shows his persistance, the fact that he never gives up on her, because even though he is now 18 he is still looking for her. There are over 26,000 results for Latika, so he instead decides to search for his brother, hoping it would lead him to her. He is intelligent, more brains then physical strength, whereas Salim is the opposite, and this scene shows how he is resourceful and clever, using the resources the best way possible.
When Jamal goes to meet Salim later, we see the underlying anger in him come up again. He contemplates killing Salim, but he isn't like Salim - he can not kill. But he does get angry, and punches Salim. Surprisingly, when he says he will never forgive Salim for abandoning him at the hotel, 
Salim says "I know." We can see he is gradually developing a conscience; he still loves his brother, and regrets leaving him.He tells Jamal he has to leave because his boss is coming. He is still cocky, thinks he is great because he works for a powerful gangster, and still thinks he is better then Jamal. But he does show his brotherly love by offering his place for Jamal to stay at.
Of course he has not stopped lying. He is surprised to learn that Jamal has co me looking for Latika, and tells her she is long gone, even though it is not the truth. He doesn't understand love the way Jamal does. It links back to the death of his mother - he has never really loved someone the way
Jamal loves Latika, because he fears that the person he loves will just disappear from his life the way his mother did. He comes close to that love with Jamal, and Latika has always gotten in the way of them, so he doesn't tell Jamal he knows where Latika is. In a way he is also doing it to protect him, because if Jamal tries to save Latika he will most likely be killed.
Jamal follows Salim to see where he is going, and sees Latika there. He tells her they should ;eave, she should get out but she says it can't happen. He is still thinking positively, he believes in their happily ever after, but she doubts it will happen. When Jamal insists that Salim will help them, Latika can't believe he trusts Salim. He tells her he will never forget her, because he loves her, but she says it is too late for them. 
He tells her to meet him at the train station, and even after she says that it is too late he still holds onto the hope that she will be there. She escapes and meets him there, but is recaptured by Salim and others from the gang, confirming her belief that they cannot trust him, and that he has low respect for her.
On the night of Jamals big question, Latika cannot stop thinking about Jamal, and Salim sees this. He, in a last attempt to redeem himself to Jamal, offers her his keys and tells her to go. He promises to take care of the boss, because he knows she has to go. He also gives her his cellphone, then asks for forgiveness. He is showing that he is still the leader, still in control, but at the same time admitting he has weaknesses, and shows that underneath he does have a conscience, and has a heart for Latika and Jamal.
Jamal being on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire really works for getting him what he wanted. He knew that Latika watched it, so he used that as a way for her to find him, and him to help her, and it ultimately lead her to him. We can it see on the "phone a friend" scene, where even though Latika doesn't know the answer, Jamal is just so excited to hear that she is safe. He answers the question as A, even though he doesn't know if that is right or not, but he no longer cares. He only cares for Latika, and knowing she is safe brings him joy.
But for Salim, who was not such a good person, his ending is not so good. He redeemed himself by letting Latika go, but also he sacrifices himself to stop his boss. He kills him, knowing he will be shot for doing it, but he sees no point to his life so much any more. He lets Latika go and live the happy life with Jamal, but for him, there is nothing worth living for in his life, so he lets himself go.We can see the difference between Jamal and Salim all through the film, and the audience is rooting for Jamal to come out on top, which he does. Salim seemingly gets the end he deserves, but because of the trauma he suffered in his life, it seems natural he would act out in this way. They are both complex characters who share a bond only brothers have.
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