Producer Ken Davenport is developing a stage musical of the 2008 Academy Award–winning film Slumdog Millionaire. Indian music icon A.R. Rahman, who composed the film's score, will return to supply new, original songs for the stage project. The musical is intended to also feature music from the film, including Academy Award winner "Jai Ho." Further creative team members are to be announced.
Rahman made his Broadway debut contributing music to 2004's Bollywood-inspired Bombay Dreams.
Based on Vikas Swarup's novel Q&A, Slumdog Millionaire follows a teenager living in Mumbai who nearly wins the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Police suspect him of cheating, and the rest of the events play out as flashbacks to the moments in which he learned each answer he's given on the TV game show.
Davenport is producing in association with Celador International. No production timeline has yet been shared.
“I’m incredibly excited to begin work on Slumdog Millionaire: The Musical," says Rahman in a statement. "This reimagined version will take you on an electrifying journey with new songs and a few unexpected twists. We can’t wait for you to experience it with us!”
"My father, Kenny Dipchand Hasija, never talked much about growing up in India, until I took him to see Slumdog Millionaire," adds Davenport. "Immediately after the credits rolled, the stories, the love, and the pride of where he was from poured out of him. It was one of the closest moments we ever had. Right then and there, I vowed to one day find a way to bring our Indian culture to the stage, as a way to honor him, and people of Indian descent all over the world. I just never imagined that I'd be able to do that with that very film, and with A.R. Rahman himself! I'm so grateful that this beloved story has been entrusted to me, with a special thank you to Paul Smith at Celador.”
