Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada

Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada
Born	1994/1995 (age 20–21) Kabul, Afghanistan

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Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada (born 1994/1995)^[1] is a child actor from Afghanistan. He played the role of Hassan, the loyal friend and servant of the richer boy Amir, in the movie The Kite Runner.

In one scene Hassan is attacked and it is suggested that he is raped. The filmmakers wanted Ahmad to take off his pants for the shooting, but his father refused to let him do that. The boy has said that he would never have taken the role had he known Hassan would be raped. Reports vary on whether he and his family were properly informed in advance.^[2] The scene has now been depicted in a less harrowing manner than originally planned, and there is no nudity in it. Nevertheless a body double was used to show the boy's pants being tugged slightly down.^[3]

Because of cultural misunderstandings there has been concern about the safety of him and the other two main boy actors. Therefore Paramount Pictures relocated them and their relatives to the United Arab Emirates.^[4]

After three years in the UAE Ahmad and his family had to move back to Afghanistan. People there were very negative towards him starring in the film and he received death threats. In 2011, he fled to Sweden and is now living in Borlänge where he is studying Swedish and intends to return to acting.^[5]

Sources

• Official site of the film The Kite Runner
• January 14, 2007 Dean Nelson, "Kabul kite boys feel Hollywood backlash", The Sunday Times. Accessed 8 January 2008.
• December 3, 2007 David M. Halbfinger, "‘Kite Runner’ Boys Are Sent to United Arab Emirates", New York Times. Accessed 8 January 2008.
• The Herald Sun (Melbourne) The Kite Runner actors flee country over controversy, December 06, 2007. Accessed 8 January 2008.
• Jay Stone, "Child actors' performances keep The Kite Runner aloft", The Vancouver Sun, December 21, 2007. Accessed 8 January 2008.
• The Evening Standard (London), December 27, 2007. Accessed 8 January 2008.

References

1. "Kite Runner rape scene worries boy actor". USA Today. 23 September 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
2. Family of boy in 'Kite Runner' fears attack
3. Inside 'The Kite Runner' Rape Scene
4. "Life In The Raw". The Age (Melbourne). 2008-01-06. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
5. "Han blev flykting efter filmsuccen". Dalarnas Tidningar (Borlänge). 2015-01-26. Retrieved 2015-01-26.

External links

• Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada at the Internet Movie Database