Slum Dwellers Protest Slumdog

Fairy-tale film's take on 'real India' has 'conveniently fluid notion of reality'

(NEWSER) - Slumdog Millionaire wants to be a portrait of the “real India” and a fairy tale at the same time, but director Danny Boyle’s combination is “dissonant to the point of incoherence,” writes Dennis Lim in Slate. It portrays life in the slums in brilliant color, and “some would argue that Boyle is guilty of aestheticizing poverty.” More»

(NEWSER) - The makers of Slumdog Millionaire have bought a home for one of the film’s Indian child actors whose real-life shanty was demolished by the Mumbai government, Reuters reports. Azharuddin Ismail is now living in a “comfortable” apartment “in a good neighborhood near his school,” an exec from the fund established by director Danny Boyle said. It plans to do the same for another young star in a similar situation. More»

Ali's father beaten by police in demolition

(AP) - The shanty home of another Slumdog Millionaire child star was torn down by Mumbai authorities today as they demolished part of a city slum where she lived. The stepmother of 9-year-old Rubina Ali, who portrayed a young Latika, the Oscar-winning film's heroine, said her husband was beaten by police who were supervising the demolition. She said he was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. More»

Critics can't resist the brutal, yet 'upbeat,' slice of Mumbai life

(NEWSER) - Slumdog Millionaire's feel-good story is tough to resist, critics say. The hard-knock life of a boy who goes from the streets of Mumbai to game-show fantasyland is “one of the most upbeat stories about living in hell imaginable,” writes Manohla Dargis in the New York Times. Still, “its joyfulness feels more like a filmmaker’s calculation than an honest cry from the heart,” she notes. More»

Rubina Ali homeless again after blaze in Mumbai slum

(NEWSER) - Slumdog Millionaire child star Rubina Ali is out on the street after a blaze ripped through her Mumbai slum today. "It's all gone. Even my best clothes, everything," Rubina tearfully told the AP via phone; the 12-year-old also lost her awards, clippings, and photos from the Oscar-winning flick. "We just grabbed what we could and dashed out. The fire spread so fast we couldn't get back in," says Rafiq Ali, her father. Some 2000 people were also left homeless. More»