Stage production of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in the works

Another box office hit is getting the stage treatment.

Producer Ken Davenport announced Friday he’s developing Slumdog Millionaire, the Oscar-winning film that proved to be a breakout role for Dev Patel, into a musical with help from the film’s composer, A.R. Rahman.

Slumdog Millionaire is based on the Indian novel Q&A, and followed Patel’s Jamal and his brother as they struggled to survive on the streets of Mumbai. The movie also starred Freida Pinto as Jamal’s love interest in her first major film role.

In announcing the new production, Davenport said he was inspired to bring the story to the stage as a way to honor his father, who grew up in India.

“My father … never talked much about growing up in India, until I took him to see Slumdog Millionaire. Immediately after the credits rolled, the stories, the love, and the pride of where he was from poured out of him,” he said. “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.”

The stage production will reportedly feature new music, as well as the film’s famous “Jai Ho,” for which Rahman won a Best Original Song Oscar.

The English-language single “Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny),” sung by Rahman and The Pussycat Dolls, became a top-20 Billboard hit in the U.S.

More details about Slumdog Millionaire: The Musical will be announced in the coming months.

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