“Slumdog” becomes a Millionaire, but leaves its child actors in the slums
“… The story follows Jamal Malik, played by the British Dev Patel, from his beginnings in the squalid slums of Mumbai, India, to his hard-earned win on India’s version of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’
The movie itself is a rags-to-riches production. Its projected cost was only $15 million, but it has since made more than $120 million, accumulated numerous awards and was nominated for an enviable 10 Oscars.
Despite the overwhelming success of the film, at least two participants in the film have not been well paid. Rubina Ali and Mohammed Azharuddin Ismail, the two memorable child actors who play Latika and Salim, respectively, still live in dire poverty in the slums. Azhar’s family lives in a makeshift tent, and Rubina lives in a hut by an open sewer, hardly the abode of movie stars.
When the startling truth was revealed, Fox Searchlight responded with a press statement using such justifications as “the children were paid three times the average local annual adult salary.” What it did not mention was how much the children were paid, which was a meager £1,700 ($2,454) for Azhar and £500 for Rubina ($722); obviously, three times the average local salary isn’t much.”
This is an excerpt from an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle by my friend Nafees Syed. She is certainly using her journalistic abilities in a positive way, and I’m glad to hear about the way that “Slumdog” deals with its own millions. It seems so natural to spread the wealth, when the movie has been subject to such good fortune. It also seems that Danny Boyle ought to have some say in the matter, and it would be a shame if he did not step up and urge the production company to modify the contract.
Addendum: as my friend Natasha pointed out, it would be a terrible idea to simply give two poor children a large sum of money without further support. Perhaps it would be a better idea to follow the suggestion of one commenter on the original article — to donate a sum of money to some local, community-oriented organization instead.
