/> Dev Patel had to go through a longish period of training before he was ready to play the slum boy in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire.

He shot into fame with the British serial Skins. Playing the boy from Dharavi in Slumdog Millionaire was a bit of a culture shock for Dev Patel. Two young men from the slums were invited so Dev could observe them and imbibe their body language.

Says Patel, "It was a big challenge to play Jamal. We got two kids from the slums. I picked up a lot of characteristics and mannerisms from them. I spent a lot of time with them.They took me around their homes and I got familiar with their personality. I was in Mumbai for about three months to shoot the film. All of it was a huge learning curve for me."

Earlier Dev Patel had been to a family wedding. "When I was about 7 I had gone to my village in Gujarat for a wedding. That was an entirely different childhood family experience.

Shooting in Mumbai for Slumdog Millionaire was a different experience. My parents were born in Nairabo, Kenya.Then they moved to London. But playinga slum kid in Mumbai was a totally different experience for me."

After being selected as the lead in Slumdog Millionaire out of dozens of hopefuls young Gujarati-British actor Dev (pronounced 'Dave' by the actor) Patel is on to another ballgame altogether.

Tell him he's huge in Britain because of his series Skins and Dev demurs. "I wouldn't say I'm huge in Britian. But yeah, Skins has got quite a following in London. I can't say what Slumdog Millionaire would do for me. It's obviously a big privilege to be working with Danny Boyle.And I'm sure I'll be looked on differently."

The response to the film at the Toronto Film Festival has overwhelmed Dev. "At the world premiere we got a standing ovation. It was an awesome experience. Sure I've been popular on television in England, but this (Slumdog Millioniare) is a different experience altogether."

Dev Patel is hoping Slumdog Millionaire would make him a millionaire many times over. He'll be down in Mumbai again soon with the cast and crew for a very private screening of the film.