QUICK TAKES - April 16, 2009

The makers of “Slumdog Millionaire” have finalized plans to care for some of the poorest children in Mumbai’s slums, pledging 500,000 British pounds (about $747,000 at current exchange rates) over five years to a local charity.

The charity, Plan, has been working with children in need for more than 70 years and has been in India since 1979, according to a news release issued early Thursday in the United Kingdom by the filmmakers and the charity.

Christian Colson, the producer of the best picture Oscar winner, said the money would be used for education and healthcare. The funds are separate from what the filmmakers have raised for education of some of the film’s younger actors.

The filmmakers were criticized for not paying “Slumdog Millionaire’s” youngest actors more but said they had been very conscientious in how they compensated and treated their performers, specifically a young boy and girl who were cast directly from the slums.

“We are grateful to everyone who has supported this initiative and we are looking forward to working with Plan to ensure that the money is put to the best possible use,” Colson said in a statement.

Added director Danny Boyle, who filmed much of his movie in Mumbai’s slums: “Having benefited so much from the hospitality of the people of Mumbai, it is only right that some of the success of the movie be plowed back into the city in areas where it is needed most and where it can make a real difference to some lives.”

-- John Horn