Jamal (Dev Patel (younger Jamal played by Tanay Hemant Chheda and Ayush Mahesh Khedekar))’s Timeline and Summary
- When we meet young Jamal, he's about five years old. We see him in the slums of Mumbai, playing cricket with his brother and some other neighborhood boys.
- Jamal conducts "operation Amitabh," jumping down the latrine to get the autograph of his favorite movie star. His day gets a lot worse, however, when Salim steals the autograph and sells it for a few rupees.
- Jamal and Salim's mother is killed in the Bombay riots, so the brothers are forced to fend for themselves, setting out on their own.
- Soon they find Latika, who appears to be in a similar situation. Jamal invites her to share their shelter.
- The trio, now living in a garbage dump, are captured by the gangster Maman, and become child beggars as a part of his racket.
- Unbeknownst to our hero, Maman has plans to blind Jamal in the hopes of making him a higher earner. However Salim saves him at the last minute, and the two escape, while Latika is left behind.
- Jamal and Salim hit the road, stowing away on trains, until they reach the Taj Mahal in Agra. There they are able to survive by posing as tour guides.
- Fast forward several years, and Jamal decides to return to Mumbai in search of Latika. Salim grudgingly agrees to help.
- Sure enough they find Latika, who is being groomed by Maman to become a high-class prostitute. The three are able to escape together after Salim kills Maman who tries to intervene.
- The "three musketeers" head to an abandoned hotel to hide out, but the reunion is short lived.
- Salim asserts his dominance, wanting to be alone with Latika. After threatening Jamal with his gun, our hero is forced to leave.
- Time passes again, and Jamal is now working as an assistant in a telemarketing office. Using the call center database, he's able to contact Salim.
- For the first time in years, Jamal reunites with Salim, who reveals that he now works for the slumlord Javed Khan. Salim invites his (not so) little brother to stay with him in his cushy apartment.
- Jamal follows Salim to Javed's compound, which he promptly infiltrates, posing as a dishwasher. He finds Latika inside, explaining that he will wait for her every day at the train station until she can meet him there.
- Sure enough, later on, Latika is there at the train station looking for Jamal. However, she's unable to outrun Salim, who shows up with some of Javed's men to bring her back. Jamal looks on in horror.
- With nowhere else to turn, Jamal applies to become a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, knowing that Latika enjoys watching the show.
- Much to everyone's surprise, Jamal excels on the show, closing in on the final question.
- It appears that Jamal has finally hit a wall on the second-to-last question.
- He uses the 50/50 lifeline to narrow the possible answers down to two.
- During a break, the host, Prem, attempts to feed Jamal an answer. But Jamal, skeptical of Prem, chooses the opposite answer. He's correct.
- As time runs out for the day, Prem escorts Jamal to a waiting police van, where our hero is bound, gagged, and sent to an interrogation room under suspicion of cheating.
- After a fun night of torture at the hands of Constable Srinivas, we arrive back at the very first shot of the film. Soon the Police Inspector arrives, and he begins his interrogation of Jamal.
- Over the next several hours, Jamal reveals his life story to the Inspector, who eventually releases him.
- Jamal is returned to the game show, where he resumes his spot on the hot seat.
- Facing the final question about the third musketeer, Jamal decides to use his final lifeline: phone-a-friend.
- He reaches Latika on the phone, who, despite her status as the "third musketeer," doesn't know the answer either.
- Knowing at least that Latika is safe, Jamal guesses correctly, winning the grand prize of 20 million rupees.
- Jamal waits at the train station for Latika—and sure enough she arrives. The two share a tender moment together in peace, before getting freaky on the dance floor.