I don't know about you, but I find this a bit disturbing.
According to this Vancouver Sun article, the child actors who starred in the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire (a film which has already made $45 million showcasing poverty in India) have returned to their own lives of poverty.
Rubina Ali (who played Latika in the film) was paid a mere $1,000 to act in the film and has now returned to life in a hut that she shares with her parents, brother and sister. Azhauddin Ismail (who played Salim) was paid $3,500, and now lives with his family under a plastic sheet by railway tracks.
The film's producer has supposedly arranged for $50 per month to be given to the children for food and books, and has told their parents about a trust fund that has been set up for their future, but has not given them any details supporting this.
Assuming this is true, you would think that a film that has generated that much success could provide better for its young stars, rather than getting away with what appears to be the bare minimum of compensation for their contribution.
Hopefully there really is a trust fund, and now that the media has gotten wind of the kids' scant remuneration, the monthly book and food allowance will increase...
Mar 14, 2009
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I really hope that this is wrong! Maybe 50 dollars to them is like a million to us...greedy American Bastards!
ReplyDeleteI'm really hoping it's a case of the media not knowing the entire story, and not an issue of western exploitation. The media can be very one sided and sensationalist... Let's hope this "trust fund" actually does exsist and will include a fair share of the film's earnings.
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