Controversies hound Slumdog kids

It was a fairytale journey for Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail who starred in Danny Boyle's Osacr winning movie Slumdog Millionaire.

One day the two were in rags staying in slums and on the other they were brushing shoulders with the who's who of Hollywood at the Academy Awards.

Despite all the big names strutting down the red carpet at Oscars, the two kids managed to hog the limelight.

Anchor Ryan Seacrest who was interviewing them could not even pronounce their names, but the interview turned out to be quite an interesting one.

On their return to India, the child stars were mobbed by media, relatives and supporters at the airport. That's not all, the people in their slums danced to Jai Ho to welcome Rubina and Azhar.

Months after their return to their slums, Azhar and Rubina were again homeless as their shanty in Garib Nagar in Bandra, a Mumbai suburb, was torn down by the Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika.

Later the Maharashtra government decided to give the two kids new homes and the <i>Slumdog</i> filmmakers decided to spend Rs 5 million to secure new housing for the children through a trust they set up to help them.

The little kids had to deal with one controversy after the other after their return from the Oscars. Rubina's mother Khursheed had lodged a police complaint against her ex-husband Rafiq Qureshi for allegedly trying to sell Rubina for Rs 1.47 crore. Despite the controversy, Rubina told the police that she wanted to stay with her father.

Azhar too had a tough time dealing with the media. Apparently, his father had slapped him for refusing to give interviews to media. Azhar’s father recently succumbed to tuberculosis.

After the film's success Boyle had set up Jai Ho Trust to help the slum children who featured in his Oscar-winner. But Danny Boyle made it clear that both Azharuddin and Rubina will not get any money if they do not go to school.

As per reports the two have been very irregular at school missing almost 75 per cent of their classes. But their parents do not seem to see education as a priority. Says Rafiq Qureshi, Rubina's father, "I am her father. I know what is best for Rubina. They called us and said they will stop helping us. I told them God will take care of us."