Q & A (2005) (edit title/settings)

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Characters edit see section history

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• Ram Mohammad Thomas: An orphaned, uneducated young waiter. Prior to the start of the novel, Ram has correctly answered 12 questions on the fictional game show Who Will Win a a Billion? and has won a billion rupees (about $22 million). However, show host Prem Kumar and the producers, who do not have the money to pay him, have had him arrested for cheating by the police; they had cast Ram because they figured an uneducated street lad would not be able to answer more than a few questions at most, and they find the police more than willing to believe them.
• Salim Ilyasi: Ram's best friend. They met when they were little, and were friends ever since. They met at at a juvenile home in Delhi. His parents were killed by a mob of angry Hindus because some one vandalized a statue of a Hindu god and they automatically blame the Muslim family with children. He was always by his side no matter what.
• Shankar: An autistic child who was believed to be an orphan who spoke in indistinguishable hard consonants. He was the love child of a queen and the king's uncle. He dies of rabies in the book.
• Neelima Kumari: A famous Bollywood actress that employs Ram for a while.
• Mrs. Shantaram: a lady who once lived next door to him at the chawl.
• Nita: The love of Ram Mohammad Thomas' life.
• Smita Shah: Ram's lawyer.
• Prem Kumar: The host of the show "Who Will Win a Billion?"

Quotes edit see section history

• “I have been arrested. For winning a quiz show.”

  Ram Mohammad Thomas

• “Unheralded we came into this world. Unheralded we will go out. But while we are in this world, we do such deeds that even the next generation cannot forget.”

  Balwant Singh

• “You men are all the same. One look at a woman's tits and your morals go out the window.”

  Nita

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• And I wonder what it feels like to have no desires left because you have satisfied them all, smothered them with money even before they are born. Is an existence without desire very desirable? And is the poverty of desire better than rank poverty itself?

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• Arrests in Dharavi are as common

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• I realized a long time ago that dreams have power only over your own mind; but with money you can have power over the minds of others.

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• “Unheralded we came into this world. Unheralded we will go out. But while we are in this world, we do such deeds that even if this generation does not remember, the next generation cannot forget.”

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• I HAVE BEEN ARRESTED. FOR WINNING A QUIZ SHOW.

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• That dreams have power only over your own mind. But with money you can have power over the minds of others.

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• They came for me late last night, when even the stray dogs had gone off to sleep. They broke open my door, handcuffed me,

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• with a flashing red light. There was no hue and cry. Not one

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• “Well, madam, we poor can also ask questions and demand answers. And I bet you, if the poor conducted a quiz, the rich wouldn’t be able to answer a single question. I don’t know the

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• us. So whenever the teacher asked us, “What do you want to become when you grow up?” no one said pilot or prime minister or banker or actor. We said cook or cleaner or sports teacher or, at the very best, warden. The juvenile home diminished us in our own eyes.

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Mumbai
• Delhi
• Agra

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Vikas Swarup (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Exclusive Books Boeke Prize (2006)
• Audie Award (2010: Fictoin)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 823.92

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › British › Contemporary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › Indian
• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › Australia & New Zealand
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Movie Connections edit see section history

• Slumdog Millionaire (IMDb)