http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/2009/02/25/2009-02-25_slumdog_millionaire_kids_will_be_slumdog.html
Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle, left, poses with
Rubiana Ali, who portrayed young "Latika."
Dovarganes/AP
Young cast members of the film 'Slumdog Millionaire' arrive for the
81st Academy Awards Sunday.
Related News
Articles
'Slumdog', Ledger shine at Oscars
Celebrations of 'Slumdog Millionaire' Oscar wins fill Mumbai
slums
Oscars 2009: A retrospective
They will be Slumdogs no more.
The two kid actors who broke our hearts in the Academy
Award-winning "Slumdog Millionaire" are being moved out of their
miserable Mumbai ghetto into real homes with roofs and doors and
walls.
Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail, who played the young versions of
the two main characters, won't have to worry about paying the
mortgage - their new digs are free. "These two children have
brought laurels to the country," said Gautam Chatterjee, head of
Mumbai's housing authority.
So for 10-year-old Azharuddin, it's goodbye to the tarp by a busy
road that was his family home. And for 9-year-old Rubina, it's
goodbye to the one room shack she shared with her family.
Details about when the families will be moved - or if they will
have things we take for granted like indoor plumbing - were not
known. Still, there was lots of joy in the actors'
households.
"We are happy that we will have a permanent roof over our heads,"
said Rubina's dad, Rafiq Qureshi, told The Times of India
newspaper.
Casting agents discovered Rubina and Azharuddin in the ghastly
Garib Nagar slum. There was a worldwide outcry when it was
discovered the kids were still living there even as the movie raked
in $100 million.
Director Danny Boyle, who also won a best director Oscar, denied
exploiting the child actors.
He said they were paid above local wages for 30 days of work,
enrolled in school for the first time ever - and had a fund was set
up to pay for their tuition, health care and "basic living
costs."
Also, Fox Searchlight Pictures flew the kids and seven of the
Indian children who appeared in the movie to Hollywood for the
Oscar ceremony. Indian media reported the sudden generosity by
Mumbai housing officials has more to do with politics than pride in
the kids.
The new homes will be paid for with money from a slush fund
controlled by local pols running for reelection.
Azharuddin's dad, Mohammed, said he doesn't care who pays for it.
"This decision is a piece of good news for us," said the proud pop,
who suffers from tuberculosis and claims the money his son earned
is gone.
About half of the 18 million people who live in what's been dubbed
the "New York of India" live in teeming slums that lack basic city
services.