Many might have seen the Oscars, a few months back and must have known that the multi-million dollars earning and multi-Oscar award winning movie was “The Slumdog Millionaire”. The story was based on an Indian book ‘Q and A’ by Vikas Swarup and was filmed by British director Danny Boyle, who had made films like Millions, Sunshine and The Beach. The movie was filmed in India, focusing on the lives of three Orphan kids (Jamal Malik, Salim and Lathika) who grew up in the slums of Mumbai, India and how one (Jamal) of the three kids becomes a millionaire by winning the Indian version of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ based on his experiences alone. When casting for this film, two (Lathika and Salim) of the three orphan kids’ role was played by actual slum-dwellers (Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail) respectively. Many of the other kids who played a part in the file were also actual slum-mers.
To film this movie, wages above norms were paid for these kids. These kids, if they had played a role in the local Bollywood movies would have earned far less than what they had in this Hollywood movie. At the time the movie was made, the kids or their parents or their guardian did not know that this film would be such a hit. To be paid a high wage and to be treated respectably was a dream come true for these folks. When the film earned millions and bagged many Oscars, filmmakers were accused of exploiting the two kids from the slums, when in reality a trust fund for the two kids were set up. Also, filmmakers donated about $750K to charities to help them develop their lives and to get them off the streets of Mumbai.
Before the advent of this film nobody knew of the two kids living in shanties of Mumbai. Because of this films’ success, these families have got the name and the money to live reasonably well. But the color of money always makes people greedy beyond their reach. Their families and neighbors are complaining of exploitation and that they are not given enough money for survival. Recently their slum was razed because their shanties were built on land that was not approved by the Indian Government for dwelling purposes. This is a recurring process in India, just not in Mumbai but in other cities like Chennai as well. Their huts will be razed, new proper houses elsewhere will be given to them by the government to these people but these people would rent those houses to someone else and come back to the same spot in their slums and start building their shanties again, because it is close to whatever business or work they do around the slums.
Recent news stated that these kids are in Hong Kong now, to perform for a charity fundraiser ‘The Community Chest’. Their expenses are paid for and they get a small honorarium by the show organizers given the fact that it is for charity. These kids and their families who turned celebrities overnight are flabbergasted and are trying to make use of it in any ways they can. Father of Rubina Ali is charged for trying to sell her off for adoption to another family for a high price since she is a famed child now. Selling his daughter is in itself a crime and in addition to it, trying to make the most money because she is known is yet another. It does not matter that they are paid generously, that they have a trust fund in their names, there education is paid for, they are famous because of the movie, they get to travel around the world to perform making an earning (I have not been to Oscars or to Hong Kong or to anywhere, expenses paid for) but still these people complain that their living conditions have not improved. I guess Danny Boyle should write off his property and savings on these kids’ name and hopefully that will be enough for them.
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