- ‹ previous
- 363 of 1498
- next ›
Did Slumdog Millionaire Exploit its Slum-Dwelling Child Actors?
Their parents seem to think so. The mother of Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail—the 10-year-old who plays the lead character's brother, Salim, in the Oscar-sweeping film—still lives lives with her son in a hovel made of tarps and blankets in Mumbai's Behrampada shanty, where rats roam and sewage runs untreated. "He's supposed to be the hero in the movie, but look how he's living," she told Australia's Herald Sun. "We need money and help now. It is hard living like this. I am worried that after the Oscars are over they will forget us."
And then there's the movie's other slum star:
Rubina Ali, 9, who plays the young version of Latika, the film's heroine, lives nearby. Her shack is brightly coloured but an open sewer runs close by.
Her father, Rafiq Ali Kureshi, a carpenter, broke his leg during filming and has been out of work since.
"I am very happy the movie is doing so well but it is making so much money and so much fame, and the money they paid us is nothing. They should pay more," he said.
But British director Danny Boyle says he's trying to be smart about how he pays the child actors:
They said they paid painstaking attention to how Azharuddin and Rubina's involvement in the film could be of lasting benefit over and above the payment for their work.
The children, who have never received formal eduction, have been enrolled in school since last June at the production company's expense until they are 18.
Azharuddin and Rubina will receive a lump sum when they finish their education, and Boyle said money was in place to cover health care and emergencies.
They decided not to shower the children with cash because they could not handle it psychologically and practically.
For the most part, Boyle's approach sounds wise. But in addition, why not give the parents just enough money to move out of the slums into a half-decent apartment somewhere? They certainly deserve it now that the film has grossed $155 million. And even if the adults blow the cash, it's hard to see how that kind of modest aid would skew the kids' priorities.
UPDATE from the Daily Mail:
The filmmakers also claim they have now agreed to buy apartments for the two children and allow the families to move in, with the stipulation that they will not own the property unless the youngsters complete their education.
Tonight, however, a spokesman for the film was unable to provide further details about the apartment plans.
UPDATE #2: The Hindu reports that the Oscars have apparently shamed the Indian government into giving flats to the families.
I can't understand why they
I can't understand why they were not paid. A child actor in America, gets paid and their earnings go to the parents, to do with as they see fit for the family and child actor. All they were given is the American equivalent to HUD assistance and a free education. Something is seriously wrong here. It's quite disturbing and infuriating. Those kids were amazing in Slumdog Millionaire, and they deserve due credit.
And we've all seen how well
tagged as:- solution
And we've all seen how well American child actors do when presented with excessive money from an early age. Giving them flats, education and healthcare seems like a good way to keep their lives somewhat normal while aleviating the problems they were born into. The important thing, though, is how well they understood their own contracts. Frankly, I can´t imagine they would turn down the job even if they had to wait for their paycheck. Free education and healthcare and a deferred lump-sum payment is a better deal than most of the thousands exceedingly talented young urban Indians get from the Western companies they work for.
mother jones smart ferarless journalism
I see you chose to pull my comment of my first hand experience of exploitation in India, so much for smart fearless journalism!! Goodbye Mother Jones have a nice life being just another mainstream manipulator of thought.