Danny, irritated by the kidsCHANDNA ARORA , TNN 19 December 2009, 12:00am IST Text Size: | *Topics*:
- *Danny Boyle*<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topics.cms?query=Danny Boyle> - *Slumdog Millionaire*<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topics.cms?query=Slumdog Millionaire> - *Jai Ho* <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topics.cms?query=Jai Ho> It’s fittingly ironical, in a cliched sort of way, that one of the biggest ‘Indian’ phenomena to hit the world – and India as well – came out of [image: Danny Boyle]<javascript:openslideshownew('/slideshow/5352118.cms?imw=460','541','526')> <javascript:openslideshownew('/slideshow/5352118.cms?imw=460','541','526')> Danny Boyle Twitter<http://twitterapps.indiatimes.com/feedtweet/tweet?link=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Danny-irritated-by-the-kids/articleshow/5351911.cms&title=Danny, irritated by the kids - News & Interviews - Bollywood - Entertainment - The Times of India> Facebook <javascript:addto(2);> Share <javascript:void(0)> Email <javascript:openWindowmail("/mail/5351911.cms")> Print<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-5351911,prtpage-1.cms> Save <javascript:showdivlayer("5351911","b","close");> Comment<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Danny-irritated-by-the-kids/articleshow/5351911.cms#write> its slums . Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire was a huge talking point all over the world, but here at home, it was a season, months and months of Slumdog frenzy in which no one could talk about or read or watch anything else, and the makers and the cast and anyone else even remotely connected with the film became international stars. The underdog Slumdog, described as a ‘sleeper hit’ in the US, finally went on to become a huge grosser. It catapulted at least a handful of Indians into the international league of performers, turned a couple of slumkids into global celebs<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Danny-irritated-by-the-kids/articleshow/5351911.cms#>(who’re still buzzy, even if for all the wrong reasons), won 103 global awards and 45 nominations, including eight Oscars, and perhaps actually did create a few millionaires along the way. Beginning with the BAFTA awards last year, this time, the Slumdog fever that gripped India hasn’t ended. The Stars Danny Boyle : With his obvious passion for films<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Danny-irritated-by-the-kids/articleshow/5351911.cms#>, and SM, and India, Danny was someone whom Indian audiences, Bollywood and the global cine fraternity immediately loved. He was the star at every awards function. And he loved his India experience, good, bag and ugly included. He’s helping with Shekhar Kapur’s Paani and an Anurag Kashyap film too. AR Rahman & Resul Pookutty : Rahman was a Bollywood A-lister before; after SM, he became its second-biggest international star after Danny. These days, Rahman is busy with the Hollywood<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Danny-irritated-by-the-kids/articleshow/5351911.cms#>projects that have come to him, including Couples Retreat, with the promise of many more. Resul Pookutty, an unknown sound technician, like all other technicians in B-town, became the voice for them after his Oscar win. Anil Kapoor<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Danny-irritated-by-the-kids/articleshow/5351911.cms#> : Anil was always among the top actors in Bollywood, but SM made Mr India a phoren star. He bagged a role in the US TV series 24, and has had to move to LA temporarily to shoot for it. Dev Patel & Freida Pinto : Dev, 18, an actor, and Freida, 24, a model, went from being little-known to much-photographed. Freida’s now doing a Woody Allen film, having almost moved, lock, stock and barrel to the US. Simon Beaufoy, Vikas Swarup & Loveleen Tandan : Swarup, who wrote Q&A, on which SM is based, has had another one of his books snapped up for a film adaptation. Simon Beaufoy, the screenplay writer, won award after award, including the Oscar. Loveleen, an East Delhi girl and Jamia graduate, who’s worked as casting director for other ‘fusion’ film projects, shared in the glory as co-director along with Danny. Longinus Fernandes : The Jai Ho choreographer was lucky that his name was not in SM’s credits. If it were, Danny wouldn’t have mentioned him in his Oscars acceptance speech, and Longinus wouldn’t have become a star. He’s since worked on the Julia Roberts starrer Eat, Pray, Love, and won the Filmfare Best Choreography award 2009 for Pappu Can’t Dance<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Danny-irritated-by-the-kids/articleshow/5351911.cms#>Saala. The Controversies Reel to real : Dev and Freida were the hot topic of conversation for many months after reports emerged that the lead pair of the film were seeing each other in real life. The two denied the rumours, all the while praising each other. But Anil first let the cat out of the bag when he said, “When I meet them, I feel there is something happening.” It was cute, but just a link-up, until it emerged that Rohan Antao, Freida’s ex-fiance, blamed Dev for their break-up. Unaffected by the rumours, the couple has now begun to make public appearances together. They were spotted kissing during a night out in Israel, when Dev visited Freida during her shoot for the movie<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Danny-irritated-by-the-kids/articleshow/5351911.cms#>Miral. Slam man: Salman Rushdie said that he disliked SM, telling a newspaper in January, “I’m not a very big fan of Slumdog Millionaire. I think it’s visually brilliant. But I have problems with the storyline. I find the storyline unconvincing. It just couldn’t happen. I’m not adverse to magic realism, but there has to be a level of plausibility, and I felt there were three or four moments in the film where the storyline breached that rule.” In response, a website had asked, “Is Rushdie simply suffering from an unacknowledged book-to-film aversion?” Dukhwinder : Singer Sukhwinder Singh, who sang Jai Ho, had said that he wasn’t finally taken to the Oscars ceremony in the US, despite the fact that he was supposed to go and perform with Rahman. He said that he was told that his work permit didn’t come through (when there were no issues with the paperwork of the rest of the troupe The Troublemakers Show me the money : After the release of SM in India, there was a huge furore over the fact that the kids were still living in slums in Mumbai, and over the amount they’d been paid, which was less than that paid to the child actor from The Kite Runner, a smaller film. In January, after the film’s release, producer Christian Colson and Danny had to release a statement saying that they had “paid painstaking and considered attention to how Azhar and Rubina’s involvement in the film could be of lasting benefit to them over and above the payment they received for their work.” They said they had “set up trust funds for Rubina and Azharuddin and paid for their education,” including transportation to get the children to a non-profit school for the next eight years, and that both kids would receive £20 a month for books and food. Later, it was rumoured that Plan, an NGO, had received Rs 3.7 crore from the makers of Slumdog to support the kids’ education and welfare. Home run : Then the fight started over how much they were getting, with both Rubina and Azhar’s families claiming that their kids should be paid more. They were promised proper flats in Mumbai, and after the Oscars ceremony, the Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority (MHADA), also gave them flats. The back and forth, backbiting and general cribbing over the houses issue made Danny specially fly down to India to resolve things and assure the families that he was involved in the welfare of the kids. The sale of Rubina : Meanwhile, Delhi designers Ashima and Leena also started up a foundation for the kids, after having them walk the ramp at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in Delhi. Soon after, a UK tabloid reported that Rafiq, Rubina’s father, had reportedly tried to sell his “Oscar child” to a Saudi sheikh for a whopping Rs 1.8 crore. It brought relatives flocking to their home to grab a share of the pie. Rafiq hotly denied the charges, saying that the Saudi couple had just come to meet Rubina and out of the kindness of their hearts, he and Rubina’s stepmother had let them spend some time with her. There was also the small matter of Rubina’s mother – her biological mother turned up to have a catfight with Rafiq’s second wife, his adoptive mother, after her daughter became a star. Buzz, bahut hua : Recently, it was reported that Danny, irritated by the kids’ low attendance in school despite all his efforts, had said he was very disappointed with the whole process and would not continue to release money to their families unless that changed. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Danny-irritated-by-the-kids/articleshow/5351911.cms -- regards, Vithur
