Post-Oscars, The 'Slumdog' Kids Head Back to the Slums
Filed under: Awards, Celebrities and Controversy
When we think of child actors, it's easy to think of rich, overly indulgent scenarios like the one Don McKellar outlined in Childstar. But that's not always the case -- especially for the tykes of Slumdog Millionaire. It only lost two of its ten Oscar nominations, but for the young Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubina Ali, post-Slumdog life isn't coming up roses.
On the heel of news that the kids were getting trust funds and school funding, The Telegraph reports that they are reeling after their whirlwind taste of luxury life at the Oscars. Azhar has been suffering from a 103 temperature and vomiting since returning home, a condition which isn't helped by the fact that he doesn't have a physical home to rest in (although neighbors are trying to build a metal structure for the kid to rest in out of the sun). Meanwhile, Rubina still wears the now-stained gown she wore to the Oscars, wishing to live in America and sleep in "a proper bed and live where the air does not smell of poo."
The piece, which includes a lot of heart-breaking words from the children, points out how challenging it is for these kids to see and experience the absolute opposite of their lives, only to return to it and feel forgotten. So far, there have been no flats for the families to move to, and reports say that Azhar has even been beaten for wanting to sleep rather than talk to a journalist offering his family money.
I can only hope that the promises of money and flats comes to fruition soon, because this story is just heartbreaking. It's also a good reminder that there is a world outside of Hollywood, and as much as we watch films like Slumdog for entertainment, there is a reality behind it. I just hope that in the future a little more thought is put into how children are used on the big screen -- especially when they're plucked out of poverty for the chance.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-05-2009 @ 8:31PM
Jonathan Kuhn said...
Calling this situation anything but heartbreaking would be lying. However, before anyone attacks the people behind the movie for everything that's happened to the children, there are some things to consider.
Should they have cast all American-Indian children, regardless of how authentic the film would have been? I think that any of these children got the opportunity to do this is a good thing.
One of the debates seems to be that a large part of the money is in a trust fund the children won't get until a certain age. It's obvious that they could use it now, but they wouldn't legally be in charge of it if they got it now. So which one is the right solution?
I think the worst part is all of the Oscar hoopla that they got swept up in. Sure, it's great that they got to experience it, but now it seems to be making their lives that much worse.
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3-05-2009 @ 11:01PM
cinematical said...
If they got the money now then it's highly likely that they'd never benefit from it or benefit less than if they got it as adults. The problem is usually with the family. Last study I read (done in 2006) indicated that almost 71% of all slum dwellers had somebody in their family who was addicted to alcohol or drugs. It's not easy simply to hand over the money when there's a very good probability that it will disappear.
There is a solution but it requires long term management as well as directly confronting the odds (which their already doing by placing the money in a trust the kids get when they're adults).
Placing the money in a trust now that provided for education and some expenses for the kids as well as providing a small allowance to the family as long as the kids keep attending school. Providing an education is the best way for the kids to avoid the temptation that keeps people in the slums.
3-05-2009 @ 11:01PM
Monika said...
I think the issue is authenticity v. the welfare of the children. To give them this job, some promises, zip 'em off to the Oscars, and then leave them quite upset and hoping is just poor planning that shouldn't happen in the first place. It's not like these results are surprising.
3-06-2009 @ 1:29AM
Jonathan Kuhn said...
But what exactly were they promised? At the time the film was made, I imagine they worked out a deal to give some money up front, some trust fund money, and the money for school. Danny Boyle and the other filmmakers didn't know the movie was going to be such a big hit.
So then it becomes super successful and gets nominated for a bunch of Oscars. They could have just ignored the kids, but they paid all of the expenses to let them experience the Oscars. I doubt the kids thought ahead of time about how hard it would be to go back to their previous lives afterward, but it's not as if they thought they were moving to America permanently.
As I said before, I hate the current situation. But I don't think the filmmakers can be blamed. I have no idea what they could have or should have done differently.
3-05-2009 @ 10:03PM
Stan Wingson said...
Prediction- in the years to come Slumdog Millionaire will be seen as the ultimate exploitation flick and the Birth of A Nation of the 2000s...
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3-05-2009 @ 10:53PM
Batzarro said...
That's depressing. Hopefully some celebrities will get wind of this and help them. That's tough, but many, many, many more children have it just as bad or worst. One kind of doesn't think about it, but it's true.
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3-06-2009 @ 1:21AM
Cale said...
The fact she is still wearing her oscar gown brakes my heart.
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3-06-2009 @ 7:20AM
cc said...
I saw an interview yesterday w/ Danny Boyle (forget where) in which he stated that the offer to buy the families housing (flats) was turned down -- the families wanted cash or nothing. Boyle said they were trying to work something out so the children would benefit in the best possible way. He doesn't want these kids treated as a temporary ATM, when long term they will still be in the same mess.
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3-06-2009 @ 8:51AM
techstar25 said...
I'd like to get philosophical and a bit political for moment....
Sure, we as Americans, look at their situation and consider not fit for human habitation, but it is THEIR CULTURE. We think it's so horrible because from birth we've been taught that we have to live in an "MTV Cribs" McMansion and drive a BMW. That's our culture, and it "smells of poo" for it's own reasons. They have an environment that they are living in and it's the same their families have lived in for generations. That's just the way it is. Sure, we can thank God we were dumb-lucky enough to be born here in the USA, but if we had been born over there, we would wouldn't know any better, and would be happy as a clam. I'm not saying we should blindly accept their plight, but it's their culture and we should not compare it to the old United States of commercialism. Ours is a culture of disgusting over-indulgence, and consumerism. Theirs is one of simply meeting life's necessities.
All I'm saying is that we need to be careful when looking at other countries and assume that because they don't have Blu-Ray players and Plasma TVs, that there must be a humanitarian crisis. If anything, the producers made a huge mistake by bringing them over here, and teaching them that life in USA = good, life in Mumbai = bad. In reality, life in Mumbai = different.
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3-06-2009 @ 10:34AM
WillTheSecond said...
Cissa's comment below just proved you wrong.
Grinding poverty has nothing to do with their culture. Culture can't exist when you live in a rubbish heap and spend most of your time working for shit wages.
The United States of Commercialism, as you call it, and the poverty in India are intimately connected. Who do you think makes your clothes? The same kind of children that played Jamal et al in the film.
You don't think they don't know how people live in the west? Or in other words: how the rich live in India too? There are rich and poor in every country, including the USA too, of course. And in every country a rich elite celebrates itself and its 'achievements' while denying even the most basic of living standards to its poorest citizens.
3-06-2009 @ 10:48AM
techstar25 said...
Good post, Will. I agree.
This turned into a good discussion.
3-06-2009 @ 9:17AM
cissa said...
"how challenging it is for these kids to see and experience the absolute opposite of their lives, only to return to it and feel forgotten"
I've felt like that from the first day I understood what third world meant, and that was before I turned ten. We feel like that every day, every time we watch US soaps and Hollywood movies. Every time we use the internet, read the news, and so on.
It's not only movie producers that need to change, it's the entire developed world and their growing need to buy and consume things fabricated by people who usually have less than what's basic to eat and to live in.
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3-12-2009 @ 6:03PM
DJ Steve said...
Hard to believe this would happen, that the kids who we all fell in love with come from such a tough situation. EW's reporting that Boyle and Co. are helping them out though...
http://liftingfogblog.com/2009/03/12/ews-tip-for-rising-out-of-the-slums-star-in-an-award-winning-film/
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4-08-2009 @ 8:00PM
Jennifer said...
I just saw the film last night, and walked away very depressed that there are places in the world where children have to defend themselves almost from the moment they are born, watch their parents beaten down, get taken in by "good" adults who only turn on them and blind them so they can beg in the streets. Is Man's inhumanity to man really Oscar Worthy material if all that is done is to exploit the people who live this life as reality?
We've got a long way to go to lift up the human race, if children have to learn how to beg and steal just to survive.
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