Recently, media outlets around the world have report that the 10-year old child star of movie “Slumdog Millionaire” was still living in the slums! Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (the young Salim)’s shanty house was demolished by municipal workers who were ordered to cleanup a row of illegally built shanties. The workers had no idea the “celebrity child” lived there.
The movie “Slumdog Millionaire” grossed $326 million” and won a total of 8 Oscars.
According to the San Jose Mercury, “‘Slumdog’ filmmakers say they’ve done their best to help the kids and their families…They also donated $747,500 to a charity to help slum kids in Mumbai. Producer Christian Colson has described the trust [started for the child stars] as substantial but won’t tell anyone how much it contains–not even the children’s parents–for fear of making the youngsters vulnerable to exploitation.”
Azhar’s parents said that the filmmakers have budgeted $30,000 to get them a new apartment but deemed it an inadequate amount in Mumbai’s pricey real estate market.
Vulnerable to exploitation? Trust fund with an undisclosed amount? The movie grossed $326 million but you have two of its child stars (Rubina Ali, the young Latika) living in the slums, while I’m sure the producers and director of the film are living in lavish homes somewhere in the States!!! Have you really done all you can do to help?
I think it’s great that the producers have set the children up with private schools and have provided “a trust fund”. However, these children don’t have a place to live! According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, SHELTER, is a literal requirement for human survival. Out of $326 million you can only budget $30,000 to get them a new house? The average price of a house in the United States is about $200,000. That’s less than a 1/4th the price of an American home.
So you want to talk about exploitation? Your casting directors went to the slums of Mumbai, handpicked children to make millions for the movie. If their parents had to sign any contract, they probably understood very little and/or were obviously blindsided by the phrases “the best free education a child can receive” or “trust fund”, etc.
THE BOTTOM LINE: The producers and filmmakers did nothing but what Maman did to the children in the film; make them a part of their income operation.
I totally agree. That’s the side of globalization a lot of us do not experience. It’s happening everywhere.
Hey Soror its your number 27. This blog is nice. I’m so proud of you for doing big things. I hope you become a big time blogger someday.