Celebrities: 'Slumdog' child stars yet to breathe 'Million' air

By Gopal Ethiraj from Chennai

'Slumdogs' don’t make it to Millians; maybe one 'slumdog' out of millions go millionaire. In films, it is possible; in reality making few bucks is sure. Being exploited is more than sure. But the makers of "Slumdog Millionaire" sure made millions with the film. The child stars who fetched them millions are not on their 'pillions' yet.

The child stars of "Slumdog Millionaire" which won eight Oscars and brought in more than US$326 million for its makers, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubina Ali, are still underdogs. Both of them are in the streets now.

The success of "Slumdog Millionaire" has done little so far to improve the lives of the film's two impoverished child stars. The shanty slum house of Rubina Ali was torn down by Mumbai authorities a few days back as they demolished part of the slum where she lived.

Dozens of police with bamboo batons patrolling the lane where Rubina's house was located, the corporation workers wielding sledgehammers and metal rods tore down the shanty homes.

The stepmother of 9-year-old Rubina Ali, who played the film's heroine Latika in the Oscar-winning film, Munni Qureshi said her husband was beaten up by police who were supervising the demolition. She said he was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. "How can they do it without giving us notice" Qureshi asked, as she wept and wept.

"I'm feeling bad," Rubina said. "My house has been demolished. I'm thinking about where to sleep," she said after the demolition was over, standing amidst the debris.

A week before bulldozers demolished the house of child star Azhar, who played as Salim in the film, in a similar cleanup drive as part of pre-monsoon drive. He lived in a different part of the same slum. "There is no point protesting. We will continue staying as we used to be," he said.

Both the demolitions were telecast on all electronic media, and all print media published them. For they are celebrities now. They caught the media attention, things should improve around them.

Rubina and Azhar were discovered on the Mumbai streets by the film-makers and cast them in the film. Whereas, the film's adult stars, Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, have since shot to international fame. May be their purses fattened. The lives of the two poor child stars, who live in the slum called Garib Nagar (the town of the poor), haven't changed much so far.

Trust created for them, still at rest?

It is said that after the runaway success of their film, the director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson had set up a trust in the name of Jai Ho to ensure the child stars received proper homes, a decent education and some money for their future when they finish their schooling.

They have also donated $747,500 to a charity to help the slum children in Mumbai. But they are yet to reach them. Even in such critical situation. There should a monitoring agency.

But the demolition of both the child stars homes brought them a little more favour. At least as a news. The film-makers, it seems, have agreed to raise the amount of money they will spend on new apartments for each family from $30,000 to $50,000, according to the Jai Ho trustee Nirja Mattoo.

In addition, the film-makers have agreed to give each family a stipend of $130 a month and a lump sum of $3,000 a year to support the children while they are in school, the trustee said.

The City authorities have also promised the children and some of their neighbours new homes. The Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said he would expedite the process now that national elections are over. "The elections delayed the process."

- Asian Tribune -