India celebrates real-life Slumdog Millionaire winner

A POOR government clerk from a desolate region of eastern India has become the first person ever to win $1 million (€705,000) on an Indian game show.

Sushil Kumar’s staggering win on the popular Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire has transformed him into a role model for millions of aspiring youth, yearning to escape from lives of poverty and find a role in India’s burgeoning economy.

Kumar’s win echoes the plot of the 2008 Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, whose impoverished protagonist won the grand prize on the show.