Controversial Issues Surrounding Slumdog Millionaire - Child Actors Still Living in Slums

Child Actors Still Living in Slums

See also: Street children in India

According to the London newspaper The Daily Telegraph, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (who played Salim as a child) was paid £1,700 during filming, whilst according to The Economic Times of India, he was paid £700 and Rubina Ali (who played Latika as a child) received £500 for a month's work on the film. The children received considerably less than the Afghan child stars of The Kite Runner, who embarrassed their Hollywood producers when they disclosed that they had been paid £9,000, even though The Kite Runner was far less of a box office hit. At the end of the movie, both of the child actors continued to live in makeshift shacks in the illegal slums of Bandra, a suburb of Mumbai, according to The Daily Telegraph and ABC News.

On 26 January 2009, Danny Boyle (director) and Christian Colson (producer) released a written statement saying that they had “paid painstaking and considered attention to how Azhar and Rubina's involvement in the film could be of lasting benefit to them over and above the payment they received for their work.” Boyle and Colson stated that they had "set up trust funds for Rubina and Azharuddin and paid for their education." The filmmakers noted that they had also hired transportation to get the children to a nonprofit English-language school for the next eight years, and that both children would receive £20 a month for books and food. The exact amount of the trust funds was not disclosed by the filmmakers. As Boyle explained, "We don't want to reveal exact figures about what's in the trust fund, what's in the bank account for them for when they leave school because it will make them vulnerable and a target really, but it is substantial, and they will hopefully gain benefit from the film long after the film has disappeared and long after the media who are chasing them at the moment sadly have lost interest in the film, and that's been our approach throughout and I think it's the right approach." According to The Economic Times, £17,500 had been placed into a trust fund for Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail which he will receive, plus interest, when he turns 18.

Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail's father, Mohammed Ismail, demanded more money for his son in light of the film's success. He stated, "My son has taken on the world and won. I am so proud of him but I want more money. They promised me a new house but it hasn't happened. I'm still in the slum. I want the money now, it is of no use later. Mr. Boyle should take care of my son." He also claimed, “There is none of the money left. It was all spent on medicines to help me fight TB.” Defenders of the filmmakers noted that there was no assurance that any money given directly to Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail would not be used by his father for his own purposes, as had happened with previous Indian child actors from slums.

Both Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubina Ali attended the 81st Academy Awards on 22 February 2009, along with all the other actors who had played Salim, Jamal, and Latika. Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail was accompanied by his mother, Shameem Ismail, while Rubina Ali was accompanied by her uncle. On 25 February 2009, the Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority announced that both Azharuddin and Rubina would be given "free houses" so that they would no longer have to live in the Mumbai slum of Garib Nagar. The filmmakers stated that they had hired local social workers to facilitate this move for the children's families. In the wake of Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubina Ali's newfound relative affluence, the pressures upon them from the adults in their lives increased. Rubina Ali's custody became an issue, as her biological mother tried to gain custody from the stepmother who had raised her, apparently to get access to Rubina Ali's funds and improved lifestyle. The British tabloids reported that Rubina was also recently "offered up for sale by her father, demanding £200,000 (US$295k) for the 'Oscar child'". The allegation has been denied by the father, who alleges that the British media has misrepresented his position and libelled him. He made a public statement decrying these accusations shortly thereafter, saying:

"My children are with me, and I could give my life for them," ... "I will never sell them to anybody, no matter how much money they offer me."

Authorities in India have conducted an investigation and have found no evidence to support the charges made by the British tabloids.

More than two years after the movie's release in London, Rubina Ali continued to live in an illegal slum in Gharib Nagar.

On 14 May 2009, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation demolished the illegal slums where Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail was living. On 7 July 2009 The Guardian reported that Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and his mother had been given a new home. "I was shocked when I saw this house," Azhar is reported to have said, adding "I want to thank Danny Boyle for giving us this flat."