Prem Kumar is a character in Q&A and Slumdog Millionaire. In the film, he is the host of the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. During a commercial break for one of the questions, he tries to trick Jamal Malik into giving an incorrect answer, but Jamal ignores his advice and goes for the correct one.
Role in Q & A[]
Prem Kumar first appears when the protagonist, Ram, a boy who is unusual because he has a Muslim, Indian and Christian name, (Ram Mohammed Thomas) sees a strange man leaving the houses of Nita, a prostitute, and Neelima, a famous actress. Ram becomes suspicious seeing the same man leave the houses and thinks he may be involved in Neelima's suicide and he has his suspicions confirmed when Kumar's face is shown on the advertisement for a game host seeking a customer. Ram is angered at Kumar's treatment of the women he knew so he decides to go and confront him.
The game[]
During the game, Kumar appears civil enough. He greets Ram eagerly at the start and challenges him with different questions about life and everything, including what is the capital of India, to which Ram correctly answers New Delhi, to the surprise of the audience who bet he would not know. Kumar poses challenging questions such as what is the nature of dacoits (Indian criminals) which Ram had happened to meet in the past. Kumar's questions get more and more difficult until they get to the thirteenth question.
Revenge[]
Ram makes an excuse in the break to go to the toilet, and Kumar says he will go too. In the privacy of the toilet, Ram confronts Kumar, pulling out a gun he had been saving for the very purpose that this opportunity gave him. Ram aims the gun at Kumar who is confused why he is angry with him suddenly. Ram interrupts Kumar's pissing to say that he knows that Kumar killed Nita. Kumar lies and says the name means nothing to him. But then Ram presses him further and says that he killed Nileema, the actress, by raping her before she killed herself. Kumar finally confesses out of fear, and admits that he is indeed a master criminal, and that he was the rapist of both women, and he has been in league with big criminals to make Ram win the tournament from the start. Kumar pleads with Ram not to kill him, saying he will help him win the quiz. Finally, Ram reflects, and allows Kumar to live, and the man tells him how to win the show.
Assassination[]
Ram goes on to win the quiz with Kumar's "help" but the bosses aren't satisfied with the cheating and Kumar is called away by a criminal afterwards at the end of the tournament which Ram notices, saying "Houston, we have a problem."
Soon afterwards, Kumar is found dead in his car, suffocated by poisonous gas. People think he killed himself, but Ram is certain he was executed by the gangsters.
Role in Slumdog Millionaire[]
In the film, he is replaced as a likable, charming character but still has a small role as a villain. He became a millionaire even though he was born in a slum. As Jamal (the protagonist) becomes a wonder across India amid his appearance on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Kumar turns envious of his success and fears the possibility of him becoming a millionaire in the same way as him, so he plans something to prevent this. During a break before Jamal answers the penultimate question, Kumar tries to fool him by feeding him the wrong answer whilst in the toilet. After the break Jamal uses the 50/50 lifeline, leaving Kumar's answer and one other, but chooses the other one. Kumar becomes angered with this and leads Jamal out of the studio claiming he has cheated. Jamal is immediately forced into a police van. After an initial beating, the police inspector listens to Jamal's explanation of how he reached each answer. Finding all of them "bizarrely plausible", he allows him back on the show.
Trivia[]
- Originally, Danny Boyle wanted Shahrukh Khan, who had hosted the actual show for one season, to play the role of the Millionaire host in the movie, but Khan turned the role down. Despite the film's success, he does not regret his decision.
- In the Russian dub of the film, Kumar was voiced by Dmitry Dibrov, the host of Kto khochet stat' millionerom?, the Russian version of Millionaire.
- In a deleted scene, it's revealed that Prem himself was from the Mumbai Slums and escaped. It's unknown how exactly he would later go on to become the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionare.
- In the Czech dub of the film, Kumar was voiced by Vladimír Čech, the host of Chcete být milionářem?, the Czech version of Millionaire.