The Triangle

Issue date: 3/13/09 Section: Ed-Op

Media Credit: Leonard Ortiz Orange County Register/MCT

My favorite movie of 2008 was "Slumdog Millionaire." A Dickensian tale of hope in a destitute situation and a commentary on the barriers to social mobility in India, the movie had mass appeal. Whether Jamal was crawling through a pile of human excrement or being tortured by the Mumbai police, he was engaging to watch. His character is a testament to all the things we find relatable as humans. Essentially, the movie was full of humanity.

But when the cameras turned off, the film rapped and the press tour was over, Azharuddin Ismail and Rubina Ali (the child actors who portrayed Jamal and Latika as children) returned home. Feb. 27, a photograph of Ismail being beaten by his father emerged publicly. A few days later he came down with a temperature of 103 degrees. Ali insisted on meandering about her urban slum in the blue dress she wore to the Oscars - reminiscing on the memories of an actual bed and a clean environment. "Slumdog Millionaire" does what all great movies do, and brings attention to such issues and inequalities that exist within our world.

It makes me uncomfortable to think of the two children hungry and tired, living under a tarp in a garbage ridden area. But these two children are two out of over a billion people who live in India. These two, obviously, are not the only two. According to the Associated Press, 65 million Indians, 25 percent of the urban population, reside in slums - areas that are geographically close to burgeoning Mumbai mansions.

Over the past hundred years, India has emerged as a world power. With businesses relocating to the country, factories going up and a strong workforce being created, many Indians now enjoy a higher quality of life. Technology has advanced exponentially within India, and the country now has copious educational opportunities for its citizens nationally or even abroad. But age-old conflicts often persist in poorer urban areas as well as deep rural areas.

A portion of the Indian population still believes in the caste system, which governs employment opportunities and marriage opportunities. Social mobility, as demonstrated in "Slumdog Millionaire," is a near impossibility. Many urban dwellers live in squalor without the hope of a better life.

"Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle has created a payment installment plan for the child actors that pays for them to attend school and releases their salary for the movie upon their completion of the curriculum or when they come of age. The parents of Ismail have publicly criticized Boyle for hoarding the pay from them. These parents are combating sub-human living conditions, so I see their sense of immediacy. However, the life long success of these lucky young actors gravely depends on their ability to get an education. For now, AP photographers may be wandering around the streets of Dharavi in Mumbai, still interested in the humanitarian issue of the moment, but soon the hype-factor will wear off, and the millions of children who can't even imagine a better life for themselves will be all alone once again.

Continued...

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