His feelings for his parents also emerge in songs like "123 Goodbye, " which includes the line "I love you more in death than I ever could in life, " though Perkins prefers to sing about these thoughts rather than talk about them.
Jamal is played as an adult by Dev Patel, a hugely appealing young star, not conventionally handsome, who has mastered the art of suggesting by withholding -- you can almost see Jamal's thoughtsin process -- along with the risky business of putting his character heedlessly out there when love or danger demand it.