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Because of his need to grow up quickly after the violent death of his mother, Salim Malik is a hard, and ruthless character, with animalistic survival instincts. He rises up as a superior to his younger brother, Jamal. Assuming the role of the decision maker, Salim is the one who navigates he and his brother through the rough streets of the Juhu slum during their childhood days. The pair beg, steal, and fight their way through life.
Stubborn and determined, Salim’s “never give up” mindset is something to commended, yet the choices he makes throughout life are less than honorable. Jamal, the younger of the Malik boys, is the one who is characterized in the film as a compassionate and forgiving individual. Even though this main character has been through hellish conditions, his disposition and zest for life remains unaffected. It is almost as if he holds onto his childlike innocence and belief that all in life is good. He is the one who provides shelter for Latika after the anti-Muslim violence that occurs in their slum. Taking this young girl under his wing, Jamal feels a fierce sense of protectiveness and affection toward Latika. His older brother, however, lost his innocence very early in life. No longer seeing the silver lining, Salim views life from a much more grim perspective. And when Jamal, Salim, and Latika are running from the wicked child-trafficker, Maman, Salim is the one who lets Latika’s hand go. If he had only cared enough to not that relinquish his grip, he would have saved this young girl from a life of prostitution, and his brother from a world of heartache.
With Machiavellian ideologies, this adolescent sees life as something to be conquered. He learns that he must become callous in order to survive, so he becomes greedy and money hungry. Salim becomes involved with one of the most powerful Indian gangster’s in his teenage years and participates in illegal activitiy, such as, childhood drinking, murder, theft, and even the raping of his brother’s childhood sweetheart, Latika.
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In his adult life, he is wealthy, yet unhappy. He lives a dangerous and unethical lifestyle. In the end, he feels guilt for his actions, and redeems himself somewhat by allowing Latika to escape the grips of the powerful gangster he works for, who merely uses this young woman. By giving her the keys to his car, Salim provides Latika with a way out, and a way to be reunited with his brother, Jamal. However, despite this thoughtful gesture, Salim Malik still feels remorse for all he has done and constructs a plan to end his life. Knowing that his boss will kill him for letting Latika escape, Salim fills a bathtub full of money, and with a loaded gun waits for the men to discover his whereabouts. When they enter the bathroom, a round of gunshots are fired, bullets fill Salim’s body, and ironically a bloodbath is created in the midst of that claw-foot bathtub. Perhaps, the money filling the tub symbolizes the fact that Salim was driven by money.
And ultimately, it was the death of him.
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