Slumdog Millionare child star still living in slums!
05-14-09, 03:48 PM
#1
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Slumdog Millionare child star still living in slums!
This is just sad:
MUMBAI (Reuters) - City authorities in Mumbai demolished the shanty home of a "Slumdog Millionaire" child star on Thursday, forcing his family into the streets months after the Oscar-winning film shot him to global fame.
Azharuddin Ismail, 9, played the character of Salim as a child in the film, a rags-to-riches romance about a poor Indian boy competing for love and money on a television game show.
Ismail's tarpaulin-covered home in a teeming slum was one of several shanties, illegally built along a drain, that were demolished by local authorities in Mumbai, India's financial capital and entertainment hub.
"When they came I was sleeping, they shook me awake and one policeman even threatened me," Ismail, surrounded by half-broken suitcases filled with clothes and utensils, told Reuters.
"What can I do if they have demolished my house? I will sleep out in the open."
A poster of "Slumdog Millionaire," signed by director Danny Boyle, fluttered from the only wall of Ismail's shanty still standing. Open sewers run nearby and it had no running water.
Authorities said the shanties had been demolished earlier but had sprung up again on the same spot.
"The shanties are all touching a drain that has to be cleaned before the advent of the monsoons," said U.D. Mistry, the local official in charge of the demolition drive.
Earlier this year, there was an outcry after pictures emerged of "Slumdog Millionaire's" child stars living in squalor despite the movie's box-office success and eight Academy Awards.
The film also sparked controversy for its name, deemed by some to be offensive to slum dwellers, and its treatment of the cast. Its depiction of the lives of poor Indians was dubbed "poverty porn" by sections of the media.
In February, the housing authority of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said they would give Ismail and fellow child star Rubina Ali new houses. But Ismail's mother, Shameem, said the family is now at the mercy of the rains.
"We also heard that the government had promised us houses, but what happened? We are still homeless," she said. "My son has brought glory to the country, shouldn't he get some credit?"
(Writing by Tony Tharakan; Editing by Matthias Williams and Paul Tait)
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies....n-down-reuters
-I searched for the original movie thread, but the damn search engine didn't give any matches back. Anyways, I thought Danny Boyle, or someone working on the film was gonna help this kid and others out?
edit: Crap! I guess i should check my spelling next time
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...le-2008-a.html
mods please merge if possible.
MUMBAI (Reuters) - City authorities in Mumbai demolished the shanty home of a "Slumdog Millionaire" child star on Thursday, forcing his family into the streets months after the Oscar-winning film shot him to global fame.
Azharuddin Ismail, 9, played the character of Salim as a child in the film, a rags-to-riches romance about a poor Indian boy competing for love and money on a television game show.
Ismail's tarpaulin-covered home in a teeming slum was one of several shanties, illegally built along a drain, that were demolished by local authorities in Mumbai, India's financial capital and entertainment hub.
"When they came I was sleeping, they shook me awake and one policeman even threatened me," Ismail, surrounded by half-broken suitcases filled with clothes and utensils, told Reuters.
"What can I do if they have demolished my house? I will sleep out in the open."
A poster of "Slumdog Millionaire," signed by director Danny Boyle, fluttered from the only wall of Ismail's shanty still standing. Open sewers run nearby and it had no running water.
Authorities said the shanties had been demolished earlier but had sprung up again on the same spot.
"The shanties are all touching a drain that has to be cleaned before the advent of the monsoons," said U.D. Mistry, the local official in charge of the demolition drive.
Earlier this year, there was an outcry after pictures emerged of "Slumdog Millionaire's" child stars living in squalor despite the movie's box-office success and eight Academy Awards.
The film also sparked controversy for its name, deemed by some to be offensive to slum dwellers, and its treatment of the cast. Its depiction of the lives of poor Indians was dubbed "poverty porn" by sections of the media.
In February, the housing authority of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, said they would give Ismail and fellow child star Rubina Ali new houses. But Ismail's mother, Shameem, said the family is now at the mercy of the rains.
"We also heard that the government had promised us houses, but what happened? We are still homeless," she said. "My son has brought glory to the country, shouldn't he get some credit?"
(Writing by Tony Tharakan; Editing by Matthias Williams and Paul Tait)
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies....n-down-reuters
-I searched for the original movie thread, but the damn search engine didn't give any matches back. Anyways, I thought Danny Boyle, or someone working on the film was gonna help this kid and others out?
edit: Crap! I guess i should check my spelling next time
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/...le-2008-a.html
mods please merge if possible.
Last edited by mhg83; 05-14-09 at 03:57 PM.
05-14-09, 03:51 PM
#3
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Re: Slumdog Millionare child star still living in slums!
they've been covering this and the little girl's story on Access Hollywood for some time now. i don't think this is new news.
05-14-09, 04:45 PM
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Re: Slumdog Millionare child star still living in slums!
Ugh. maybe the little guy or his family need to get back to work and stop relying on pity money from Fox.
05-14-09, 05:26 PM
#6
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Slumdog Millionare child star still living in slums!
Yeah, all parents try to sell their kids
It's a shitty situation but really I don't get the coverage. Yeah, they made a movie, the movie made money, they made scale. The producers set them up a trust fund and offered them houses which were declined by the parents.
It's a shitty situation but really I don't get the coverage. Yeah, they made a movie, the movie made money, they made scale. The producers set them up a trust fund and offered them houses which were declined by the parents.
05-14-09, 05:27 PM
#7
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Re: Slumdog Millionare child star still living in slums!
What's the problem? The kid is just, "Keeping it real".
05-14-09, 06:08 PM
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