Slumdog Millionaire and why Pinky doesn’t smile!

With all the fanfare and hype surrounding Azhar and Rubina, the child actors form the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire, one may feel compelled to think that the worst is probably over for these little kids from Mumbai slums. Afterall a trust has been set-up for the education and upkeep of kids. They would go to good schools, get educated, choose their own calling and become a doctor, engineer or may be a film star when they grow up. But, as some would know, a successful film as a child actor does not guarantee a good future.

There are numerous instances of child artists of the yesteryears in Indian cinema who just vanished from public memory. Some, like Urmila Matondkar, gained a lot of popularity, but this success of theirs was hardly built upon their prior success as chaild artists. They struggled and worked hard again to achieve stardom as adults. Truth is that attributes required for success as a child actor are very different from those required for success as the lead actor in mainstream cinema. The key difference being that former can be achieved to some extent by cute, innocent looks while the latter requires high levels of acting, the right look, carefully chosen roles, self-promotion and strong industry contacts.

The problem is even more acute with child actors like Azhar and Rubina who come from economically weak families. No one knows whether they will continue their education because the environment might not be condusive to studies. Then there is pressure from family and siblings who might try to take advantage of them. Just because Danny Boyle has given enough for them does not necessarily mean that the money will be put to good use of providing for the children. God forbid, but it is possible that Azhar and Rubina are forgotten and live a life that is very different from their glorious Oscar days. At least that’s what happened to Shafiq and Preeti.

Shafiq was the star of Meera Nair’s Oscar nominated ‘Salaam Bombay‘. He won the President’s medal for best child artist for his role of Krishna, a 12-year old boy who sells wada-pav in the movie. Today he is a rickshaw driver in Bangalore.Read Shafiq’s story

Preeti Mukherjee, who was part of the Oscar-winning documentary Born Into Brothels, directed by Zana Briski, today works as a commercial sex-worker. Read Preeti’s complete story

In case of Shafiq one can call it plain bad luck but Preeti seems to have stayed back because of family ties. Allegations of Rubina’s father trying to sell her are already afloat.

All said, it is laudable that some NGOs have come forward to help these kids and their families aftertheir homes were demolished by the municipal corporation. Danny has personally taken interest in the kids’ plight. He has helped them get new homesand also set up a trust for their education.

So are things looking up for Azhar and Rubina? May be. But let us not forget Pinky Sonkar who starred in Oscar Winning short film Smile Pinki. Despite tall claims from local leaders of ensuring a better life for the six-year-old, Pinki continues to be bereft of basic amenities.