'Kite Runners' Seek Refuge In UAE

The three boys who star in the film The Kite Runner will be moved from their homes in Afghanistan to Dubai thanks to Paramount Vantage, the studio releasing the movie, according to a Fox News report.

The movie, directed by Marc Forster and based on the 2003 best-selling novel by Afghan-American writer Khalid Hussaini, tells the story of a boy who witnesses the rape of his servant-friend, but does nothing to stop it. The sexual nature of some scenes has sparked fears this could prompt violence against the actors.

The film has already run into controversy in Afghanistan, where most of it is set.

Fearing a backlash against the three Afghan child actors, Paramount Vantage had already delayed the release of the movie by six weeks from the scheduled November 2.

"The kids have been offered to be taken to the United States, to stay out of the country for an extended period of time," Megan Colligan, head of marketing at Paramount Vantage, had told AP earlier this month.

According to BBC, Ahmad Jaan Mahmidzada – whose son Ahmad Khan plays Hassan, the raped servant – confirmed his family was leaving for the UAE this month, with all expenses paid by the film company.

The boys, along with their parents are going to be relocated before the film opens in the US on December 14. Once they've been moved to Dubai, Paramount Vantage hopes to bring them to the US to publicise the movie.

The Kite Runner, told mainly in Pashtun and Dari, Afghan dialects, with English subtitles, is considered a possible Oscar contender.