MUMBAI, India — Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail, two of the child actors to appear in the Academy Award-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire,” have plenty to look forward to upon their return home from Hollywood.
Indian authorities have announced that the two young stars, who portrayed the younger versions of the film’s central characters, Latika and Salim, will be receiving new homes in Mumbai, according to Reuters.
MUMBAI, India — Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail, two of the child actors to appear in the Academy Award-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire,” have plenty to look forward to upon their return home from Hollywood.
Indian authorities have announced that the two young stars, who portrayed the younger versions of the film’s central characters, Latika and Salim, will be receiving new homes in Mumbai, according to Reuters.
“These two children have brought laurels to the country, and we have been told that they live in slums, which cannot even be classified as housing,” said Gautam Chatterjee, head of the state-run Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority.
Ali and Ismail joined their fellow castmembers in attending Sunday’s Oscar ceremony, in which the film topped all others with eight victories, including best picture and best directing honors for Danny Boyle. Their trip to California has also included a visit to Disneyland.
The film has also drawn its share of controversy, with many questioning why its young actors were living in squalor after appearing in a feature that has earned nearly $100 million in North America on a budget of just $15 million.
Boyle and producer Christian Colson have denied claims that children were exploited by pointing out that they were paid above local Indian wages. In addition, the “Slumdog” filmmakers say the young actors were also enrolled in school for the first time with a fund established to provide for their education, medical emergencies and “basic living costs.”
