Strollerderby
‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Kids More Slumdog Than Millionaire
You’d think starring in an Oscar-nominated movie would be enough to bring two child actors out of grinding poverty. But for the leads in “Slumdog Millionaire,” fame and relative fortune is rather complicated.
In fact, 10-year-old Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail lives in a lean-to in one of the sprawling slums of Mumbai.
Earlier reports that the kids were paid but a few thousand dollars weren’t the entire story. In fact, the filmmakers are trying to help the children without totally upending their lives.
They’ve set up trustfunds but refuse to disclose the amounts to lessen the chance they’ll be exploited. The secured both kids spots in a well-regarded school for children of the slums.
And they keep going back, again and again, to try to do something — anything — when their good intentions again turn bad. For example, after one of their homes was razed by the government, filmmakers gave the money for a new one. Where the money went is unknown, but the family now lives in the aforementioned lean-to.
There had been much debate about even using kids from the slums for the film but here’s how the director reasoned it:
From AP (via HuffPo):
“Part of your brain thinks, would it distort their lives too much?” said Danny Boyle,
the British director, by phone from London. “Then someone said, ‘These
people have so much prejudice against them in their lives. Why should
we be prejudiced against them as well?’”
Ugh. Even more heartbreaking than the movie. What do you think? Avoidable mess or just life?
Photo: ALTFG.com
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8 Comments
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 ami think these kids need a better school and home then an xbox or a psp and what is wrong if the parents want to improve their own lives with that money they must have gone through a lot of trouble bringing up these kids afterall it is indian culture for childre to take care of the parents
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amsend the kids to a good boarding school where they are away from the slums and the journalists and get a good education and better life and maybe the director should even cast them in his forthcoming films and give them the money when they grow up
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amRead this article for a better view of the situation:
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amJ-Man,
Please read this from Yahoo news.:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090217/ap_en_mo/as_mov_india_slumdog_kids
———————
“It’s my money and you are using it!” he shouted.“We have 200 rupees,” his mother said. “I’ll give you some later.”
He kept crying, twisting his body in small unhappy thrusts. “You’re not giving me money,” he yelled. “You’re spending it on other things.”
His mother grabbed a piece of brick and raised it over her head.
“Is it your money?” he shouted, daring her: “Hit me. You hit me!”
—————————–Somehow I do not think these kids are getting an xbox even if they do get their money.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amJust give the kids the damn money! Give them what they never had! They deserved it! The movie is obviously earning millions and yet the kids can’t even have a PSP or xbox. Good Gracious! Greed!
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amI read somewhere that all the money they gave to one of the child actors went to his dads medication. I can kind of understand that,i mean he needs a father well enough to take care of him. It also made me sad because im sure the child worked so hard for that money. to never see a dime of it for himself must have felt terrible!
There is always somebody ready to take your money when you get it. Just like the lottery. you win it and suddenly people you havent spoken to in decades come out and desperately need cash. or in some places there are people waiting to kill you to get to it.
its a horrible situation, but i think they did what they had to do to keep the children safe and still be able to see some money in the future.
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amDid you actually read the article NotBuyingIt? The kids were paid. And after their homes were razed money was immediately given to the families but they never bought a home. Now the filmmakers are giving them an apartment but will not allow it to be in the parents name until the kids are eighteen.
I can understand why the filmmakers are being careful about the money. Look at how many U.S. child actors coming from middle class homes end up being exploited and ripped off by their own parents.
it is always a challenge with children, because you never know if the kid you hired has parents that are going to do their best to help their kids or just see their kids as a quick buck
Anonymous commented on Jan 01 70 at 12:00 amThe film-makers could have paid the kids so that their families could have at least moved to a middle-class building/area (not a rich one), and enrolled them in a decent government school (not a preppy private one). At least that much could have been done without making a drastic change in their lives.
Its sad to see the western owners of the film making so much money out of showcasing poverty — and not even decently paying the poor actors!
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