USA/INDIA: "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle defends himself against accusations of exploitation

Record ID: 343722

  • Title: USA/INDIA: "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle defends himself against accusations of exploitation
  • Date: 30th January 2009
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JANUARY 28, 2009) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHRISTIAN COLSON, "SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE" PRODUCER, SAYING: "I'd like to get the facts across, if I may, which is the children shot for 30 days. They were well paid for the work that they did. The figures quoted in the U.K. press are inaccurate. The suggestion that they worked for a ye
  • Embargoed: 14th February 2009 12:00
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  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA7UR3VKMVL57UPPSV90Z2HU59P
  • Story Text: The critically acclaimed "Slumdog Millionaire," which has swept award shows and even garnered 10 Oscar nominations, has come under fire. In the past two days, accusations of child exploitation and Indian cultural humiliation have caused protests on the subcontinent. But "Slumdog's" director and producer are defending themselves against the attacks, saying they've done nothing wrong or inappropriate.
    British newspapers have run stories suggesting that the child actors in "Slumdog" were not compensated appropriately, citing the parents of the actors who supposedly demanded more money for their children's efforts.
    While that news has since been refuted, it has blemished "Slumdog's" fairytale rise to glory. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson cleared the air about the actors' compensation.
    "Immediately after we cast the kids, we put in place a plan of action for their future welfare, over and above the money we paid them; we did that in consultation with their parents. The essential plank of that was education; they never attended school. We enrolled them in school for the first time in their lives, a fund was established to pay for any costs associated with their education, and medical emergencies, other emergencies, basic living costs," said Colson.
    The parents of Rubina Ali on Wednesday (January 28) told Reuters Television that they did not make additional money demands to British film director Danny Boyle as claimed in British Newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
    "We never said that he did not pay us money or that he should pay us more money, we don't want that. They really look after our child, they are getting her educated, they are doing so much. We don't want to say anything more about him. What else can we ask for?" her father said.
    While the rumors of exploitation may be untrue, protests have mounted in India over another aspect of the film: its name. Slum dwellers took to the streets to object to the word "dog," citing that it caused humiliation and on Monday (January 26) a theater showing the film was ransacked.
    Boyle stresses that while he appreciated the right to protest, he said the name "Slumdog" never was meant to offend.
    "For us, "slumdog" was always a very affectionate term because for us it was a hybrid, a mixture of underdog and rooting for the underdog, and obviously he comes from the slums."
    Outrage or not, the film has done well in India. It's also walked away with a Best Picture award at the Golden Globes and Best Ensemble Acting, the highest award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
    Many say it's a shoe-in for the Oscar's biggest honor, Best Picture.
    Boyle says he's not getting his hopes up.
    He quoted Benjamin Franklin, 'nothing is certain in life except death and taxes,'" said Boyle.
    So while "Slumdog" seemingly is winning the world over, there are still some who wish to dog down its popularity. Boyle is taking the accusations in stride, but says he just hopes the protests and strikes against his film cause no injuries.
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