Genre
Drama, comedy, romance
Setting and Context
Modern-time India
Narrator and Point of View
First-person limited
Tone and Mood
Light, humorous, realistic
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Ram; he fights against the producers of the quiz show.
Major Conflict
After winning the grand prize in the quiz show, Ram is accused of cheating. He needs to prove that he really knew the answers to all the questions.
Climax
Just before the last bit of the show is to be recorded, there is a commercial break in which the quiz master reveals the last question to Ram, who admits that he does not know the answer. However, when both of them go to the restroom during a commercial break, Ram threatens to kill Prem because he abused Neelima. Prem begs for his life and gives Ram a hint, which eventually leads to Ram winning the grand prize of one billion rupees.
Foreshadowing
When the alleged war hero tells his story, he mentions that he tried to reassure a Muslim soldier, telling him he was not going to die, but he was adamant that he should be properly cremated. Shortly after, the Muslim soldier dies.
Understatement
When Ram sees Armaan massage Salim's crotch, he tells Salim that the man is "getting frisky," which is an understatement because it is sexual abuse.
Allusions
Ram is able to work for upper-class people and diplomats because he speaks English. He even advertises himself as an English speaker, which alludes to a sense of Western or British superiority.
Imagery
The author paints a vivid picture of Dharavi, Asia’s biggest slum. He describes it as “a two-hundred-hectare triangle of swampy urban wasteland,” which emphasizes the low value of the land. The inhuman conditions are highlighted by describing the dwellers there as creatures who “live like animals and die like insects.” These creatures live in the “grim landscape of urban squalor,” “its open drains teem with mosquitoes.” After reading about the “stinking, excrement-lined communal latrines” and their smell, the reader thinks that there is nothing worse than that, but then follows the description of the “rats, which make you think less about the smell and more about protecting your backside. Mounds of filthy garbage lie on every corner, from which rag-pickers still manage to find something useful. And at times you have to suck in your breath to squeeze through its narrow, claustrophobic alleys.”
Paradox
When Shankar is critically ill, his mother denies him the lifesaving treatment. The paradox lies in the fact that Ram's condition with his mother having abandoned him at birth is presented as a better option than Shankar's mother physically present.
Parallelism
Ram points out that appearances can be deceptive. For example, he finds out that the Catholic priest has a child, and Najmi, the bearded poet, is a bank robber.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
Throughout the novel, Ram encounters "flashing red lights," which represent the police.
Personification
When Ram and Nita are at the Taj Mahal, "the moon struggles to break free of the cluster of low buildings and foliage."
