Jamal: Love.
This characterizes a direct comparison between reality and illusion. However, it is Jamal's delusional beliefs that result in him achieving a future with Latika, proving Boyle's idea that love really can conquer all if you believe it will. This is represented through Jamal's dialogue at the film's conclusion when he says to Latika, "I never forgot. Not for one day. I knew I'd find you in the end. It's our destiny." In a way, the text is representative of society's idealistic views on love. As the film is set in modern-day India, it promotes the contemporary belief that once you find true love, everything will fall into place. In our day-to-day lives, modern day media constantly portray this belief that we are all destined for unrelenting love, overlooking many of the sacrifices and consequences. While Jamal lives happily ever after in a fictional film, would this happen in the real world? The results of a US study published in the Journal of Family Psychology states, "It is rather remarkable that so many people would think that there is no possibility that their marriage will end in divorce when half or more of all marriages are terminated in divorce.positive illusions about marriage appear to be more powerful than illusions about other aspects of life."1 When the reality does not live up to our 'fairytale-Slumdog' visions, love can transition from being indestructible to destructible in a very short period of time.
In 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jay Gatsby pays the ultimate price for having strong, idealistic views on love. While this belief allowed Jamal to walk away with everything, Gatsby comes away with nothing, sacrificing his friends, his honour and ultimately, his life. Refusing to accept reality, Gatsby is seen throughout the entire text as striving for something utterly unattainable – the past. Having fallen in love with Daisy in 1917, prior to leaving to fight in World War I, he does everything he can to recreate the love he and Daisy had shared.
