IS IT FAIR PAY FOR PLAY?

When it comes to an unjust situation and taking advantage of people the stories that surround the child actors of Slumdog Millionaire has been making the news of late. With a $15.1 million budget the film has grossed over $370 million through July 9th. In part much of the films success is due to the acting talents of its unknown child actors whose performances capture a viewer's interest from the onset of the film.

It's known in the movie business that you should capture the audience's attention within the first 15 minutes of a film. For journalists the capture must be within the first three or four paragraphs. These children did their job well but as a result of their fine work they haven't received much in return for the fruits for their labors. In short they have been ripped off or to put it politely… they've taken advantage of.

According to the UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (who played Salim as a child) was paid £1,700 during filming, while The Economic Times of India claims he was paid £700 and Rubina Ali (the girl who played Latika as a child) received £500 for a year's work on the film.

In a conflicting report according to the United Kingdom newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, Rubina Ali was paid £500 during filming for a month's work and not a year working on the film. A Fox Searchlight spokesman responded that for their one-month work on the film, she was paid three times the amount of an average annual salary for an adult living in their neighborhood.

At the conclusion of their acting in the film, both of the child actors continued to live in makeshift shacks in the slums of Bandra, a suburb of Mumbai, according to The Daily Telegraph and ABC News. 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 a box hit.

Previously 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 (the film's director) 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.

On 26 January 2009, Danny Boyle and Christian Colson the film's 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 have stated that they have "set up trust funds for Rubina and Azharuddin and paid for their education," although the exact amount of the trust funds is not known. This has also been met with criticism as there is question as to how children growing up in the slums have any expectation of being able to attend higher education, making the trust fund potentially useless.

Critics have claimed Rubina and Azharuddin had been underpaid for their part in the film. This has been disputed by the film's producer, who says the actors had been paid the equivalent of a monthly salary payment for the production company's senior staff in Britain. What has recently been reported is the Indian government has provided housing for the two child stars and their family. Azharuddin's father says they will move but Rubina's father doesn't want to leave the slums and their friends while stating that the homes being provided are too far away from where they presently reside.

Boyle has explained that, "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."

Like her on-screen character, Rubina comes from one of the slums of Mumbai, living in the Garib Nagar slum near Bandra station. She continues to live in a makeshift shack in the slums. She lives with her father Rafiq and her stepmother Munni. Rubina's biological mother, Khushi, left her father, along with Rubina and her two siblings, five years ago to marry "some rich person" and never returned until recently. Her father remarried and Rubina was raised by her father and stepmother.

Following the announcement of a house for Rubina her mother returned to claim Rubina and wishes to move in with her to the new flat. Soon after the success of Slumdog Millionaire, her life was again media focus when her father was arrested for allegedly attempting to sell her for USD $290,000 which he denied.

Rubina won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role as Latika in the film. Due to her success, she has been cast in the upcoming Bollywood film Kal Kisne Dekha. Azharuddin is also to appear in the film which is to be directed by Vivek Sharma and will feature the Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla in cameo roles. This past week Azharuddin and his father moved into a new flat but Rubina and her family continue to live in the slums. Stay tuned…

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