Cinema Without Borders BLOGS – Hollie Miller – Following up to the latest post highlighting the plight of young Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, now homeless after his shanty town was demolished by Indian officials, his 9 year old co-star Rubina Ali, who played the young Latika is in the same situation.
This time , it has been reported the government demolition team used force to remove residents of the slum village. Rubina’s father Rafiq Qureshi was allegedly beaten with bamboo sticks and needed hospital treatment. This situation is a rough injustice for any human being, and yet these children quite cruelly got a taste of a privileged life only to be dumped back into poverty once the cameras ceased to roll.
We at Cinema Without Borders do not find Danny Boyle and the team behind Slumdog Millionaire responsible for every individual from the film but we do believe that they are owed at least an existence outwith a shanty town. We would love to hear your comments.