Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada
# Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada

Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada (born 23 December 1997) is an Afghan former child actor.

He played the role of Hassan, the loyal friend and servant of the richer boy Amir, in the film The Kite Runner (2007). 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. Mahmoodzada 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. 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.

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.

After three years in the UAE, Mahmoodzada 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. He hosted a 90-minute episode of a long running summer radio show on Sweden's Public Radio on 1 July 2016, in which he tells his story.

## Sources

* "The Kite Runner". Official site of the film. Archived from the original on 2008-01-08. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
* Nelson, Dean (January 14, 2007). "Kabul kite boys feel Hollywood backlash". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
* Halbfinger, David M. (December 3, 2007). "'Kite Runner' Boys Are Sent to United Arab Emirates". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
* "The Kite Runner actors flee country over controversy". The Herald Sun. Melbourne. December 6, 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
* Stone, Jay (December 21, 2007). "Child actors' performances keep The Kite Runner aloft". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 8 January 2008 – via Canada.com.
* The Evening Standard (London), December 27, 2007. Accessed 8 January 2008.
