One Slumdog Kid Gets Apartment
Well, I trashed the producers for taking so long, but they finally at least got one of the child actors from Slumdog Millionaire into an apartment. It seems like it has been a year since they originally promised to find a place for Azharuddin Ismail to live and this weekend he and his family moved into a 250 square foot apartment. Yes, you read that right. 250 square feet for his entire family. It cost $42,000 which seems outrageously high and is probably the reason so many people can't afford to get out of the shantytowns. The apartment has running water and electricity and the family of course has their obligatory television all set up and ready to go although they don't have the rest of the furniture in yet.
What would we do without our televisions? "I like it here, it is really nice. But I will miss my old friends..." the actor told Reuters. "Maybe I will go and visit them once a while."
When he turns 18, the deed will go to his name. I haven't seen any word on whether Rubina Ali also got her apartment or not.
42 grand is chump change. this seems more like "give 'em something to shut up 'em up."
ReplyDeleteIs that 42,000 Rupie? that is like 200 bucks american.
ReplyDeleteMost movies you don't get people begging for handouts 2 years later.
This is why I stay out of India.
I'm astonished that housing would be that expensive in India?? That's about what you'd pay here in Chicago.
ReplyDelete250 sq ft is like a dorm room!
ReplyDeleteand that movie made over 350 million!
they aren't begging for handouts
boyle and co made promises of their own freewill
42,000 dollars? that seams out of line.
ReplyDeletedid these children get paid for their performances AND appearances? where is the money? why aren't they working/living in Europe or the US? I don't get it.
exactly, girly.
ReplyDeleteA visual: http://tinyurl.com/nhdfwq
ReplyDeleteWhat is the average apartment size there and how many people. It is hard to form an opinion with no comparatives.
India thanks you.
ReplyDelete42k? that's a car here. sweet, sweet boy, at least it's a steady roof over his head. god love him.
ReplyDeleteMumbai real estate is really expensive. Check out this article from Newsweek, published 9 August 2008.
ReplyDeleteShelling Out for Space in Mumbai - Manhattan apartments cost on average $1,263 per square foot — less than in some parts of Mumbai.
"Indeed, when it comes to real estate, Mumbai is India's Manhattan. Though thousands of kilometers apart, the two cities have similar characteristics: most important, both are financial and cultural centers built on islands, which means that they will one day run out of room. That point will likely come a lot sooner in Mumbai than in Manhattan, considering that it's already one of the most densely populated metropolises in the world. For its richest citizens, however, the space shortage is not much of a concern."
http://www.newsweek.com/id/151677
Having been in Mumbai for a few months I can say the reason the slums are so huge is because of the property values. The sad thing is they can bulldoze the slums at any time. The people who live there are essentially homeless and squatting on either private or government property. If someone can save enough for a home with an address there is a very long waiting list. Our driver lived in the slums with his parents and grandparents. They had a n apartment once but his father couldn't get work and it was back to the slums.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be to critical. They seem to be taking care of the kid but in India things can take a bit of time.