Mumbai Slums Cheer Millionaire

Filmmakers deny they underpaid children

(NEWSER) - The creators of Slumdog Millionaire are taking the offensive to rebut accusations that the young Indian actors in their film were exploited, People reports. Claims surfaced earlier this week that two of the child actors, still living in the slums of Mumbai, got a raw deal. But director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson say “painstaking attention” was paid to ensure that the actors would get a good education through age 18. More»

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»

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»

(NEWSER) - Azharuddin Ismail, the child actor who played the main character’s brother in Slumdog Millionaire, moved into a new home in an upmarket Mumbai suburb today, the BBC reports. A trust set up by the film’s producers paid for the house and is hunting for a similar abode for co-star Rubina Ali. Both were forced to leave illegal homes in the city’s slums. 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»