‘Slumdog’ star falls ill after home demolished
Despite getting the golden ticket of starring in the Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionaire” film, things have gotten progressively worse for two of the young stars.
Both the homes of Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail where demolished by city authorities and now Rubina has fallen ill.
Nine-year-old Rubina Ali came down with a fever Friday and spent a few hours in a local hospital, according to family members.
“I’m fine now, but I feel tired,” Rubina said Saturday from her bed, resting at her uncle’s house.
Rubina’s block was razed Wednesday to make way for a planned pedestrian overpass at a commuter train station in Mumbai. Last week, co-star 10-year-old Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail’s home was demolished, part of a pre-monsoon slum clearance.
Rubina and her family have been staying with relatives while Azhar and his family have created a small tent-like home with tarps and blankets on a thin wood frame in Garib Nagar, “city of the poor” slum where both families live.
Fortunately these two (though none of the hundreds of thousands in the slums) have “Slumdog” director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson set up the Jai Ho trust to make sure the children receive proper homes, an education and a nest egg when they finish high school. They have also donated $747,500 to a charity to help slum children in Mumbai.
The filmmakers have agreed to raise the money for new apartments for each family from $30,000 to $50,000, a Jai Ho trustee and Rubina’s father, Rafiq Qureshi, both told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Family members had worried that $30,000 would not be enough to secure decent housing in Mumbai’s pricey real estate market. Plus, they’ll give the families $130 a month and a lump sum of $3,000 a year to support the children while they are in school, the trustee and Qureshi said.
That is far more than any of their neighbors in Garib Nagar make, where many bring home $4 a day as auto rickshaw drivers and maids.
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