The film starts by showing the poverty in India. The way that it does this is in a humorous but serious way and therefore still getting the point across. The film then goes onto show how the poor and rich are living together; side by side and how there is a large divide between classes. Two Brothers Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) and Salim Malik (Mahur Mittal) are taken in by a villain who forces the children to beg so that he makes money. They escape from this villain leaving behind them there friend Latika (Freida Pinto). After living rough the brothers manage to find Latika but they then become separated. Jamal ends up working in a call centre as a tea boy and this is how he locates his brother. He then knows that if he gets onto "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" Latika will see him. Working at the call centre is then his gateway to "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire".