"Slumdog Millionaire" Scenario Happens in Real Life

Aimee Herd : Oct 28, 2011
AP Staff - Associated Press

"We're happy of course but mostly we're just really stunned."

(New Delhi, India)—The 2008 blockbuster movie Slumdog Millionaire was not only a well-crafted rags-to-riches kind of film; it was also a startling window into the lives of some of India's most poverty-stricken people—and the dangers poor children there are faced with every day.

Recently, however, the basic movie plot became reality when 26-year-old Sushil Kumar, a poor government clerk from a "desolate region" in the eastern part of the country, correctly answered every question on India's version of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, making him the first grand prize winner of 50 million Rupees (just over $1 million).

Kumar and his wife (they are newlyweds) reportedly wept when he won, as host Amitabh Bachchan told him, "You have created history. Your grit and determination has made you come so far in this show."

Kumar told reporters, "We're happy of course but mostly we're just really stunned."

According to the AP report, Kumar does have specific plans for his winnings and they're more about helping those around him than himself.

He plans to pay off his parents' debts, and extend some "start-up" money to his brothers to set up small businesses. He also plans to take a prep course for the Civil Service exam so he can land a secure job, and purchase a new home for him and his wife.

Kumar said he also plans to use the money to build a library in Motihari, "so the children of his village will have access to the books and knowledge he so desperately craved."

The show was filmed on October 25th, and is slated to air in India on November 2nd.