Jai Ho! — 'Slumdog Millionaire' voted 'Best Picture of the Year (so far)' at bookofjoe

The returns were finalized about a half-hour into last night's DVD viewing here at boj World Headquarters™.

Sen-saysh-o-nal.

An Indian orthopedic surgeon recommended it to me last year, saying it was as close as you could get to being in Mumbai without actually visiting the "maximum city."

I took his word for it but then when he said it was kind of graphically violent I demurred.

But I kept reading about how great it was and finally took the plunge.

Suffice it to say that as these characters are being typed I'm listening to Amazon's MP3 download of the film's final track, "Jai Ho" [top].

That's only because the soundtrack itself won't arrive till tomorrow morning, my having it ordered it via overnight shipping before I went to bed last night.

I knew I wanted to hear nothing but that pulsing, driving music for the indefinite future.

Take a 99 cent trip to Mumbai from your own computer, right here, if watching and listening for free on YouTube isn't the cards for one reason or another.

How good is this film?

Not only did it easily past the boj watchability test with highest-flying colors but I didn't even look at the clock once during its 121 minute running time.

Long story short: It's Dickensian Victorian Oliver Twistian England catapulted into the early 21st century in a volatile, colorful country bursting with energy and potential and poised to rule the planet alongside China in the coming decades.

Great story, wonderful actors, superb direction and that music by A.R. Rahman, my God.

But the biggest star by far is Mumbai.

Maximum city, indeed.

As noted above, "Jai Ho" is the final track (of 13) on the soundtrack, accompanying the jaw-droppingly great closing credit sequence seen in abbreviated form up top.

When this film premiered last year in Mumbai and it came on I'll bet they tore down the house.

I'd have given anything to be there dancing with everyone.