Entertainment | 02/25/2009 1:20 pm

'Slumdog Millionaire' Stars Get New Homes

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Rubiana Ali © AP

Rubiana Ali, 9, and Azharuddin Ismail, 10, two of the children who starred in the Oscar-sweeping film "Slumdog Millionaire," are receiving unusual bonuses: new homes.

The two children played younger versions of two main characters, who grew up poor in the slums of Mumbai, India. The plot, sadly, mirrors these young actors’ lives.

Ali has been living with her family in a tiny pink shack near a murky sewer. In the photograph above, the young star, who played Latika in the film, is straddling a blocked sewage drain near her home in a slum in Bandra, near Mumbai. Ismail, who portrayed a younger version of the film’s protagonist, Salim, was living under a tarpaulin that was recently demolished.

Considering the film’s success, the Indian government has decided to put roofs over the kids’ heads. A local housing association chairman said the new homes are rewards for bringing "laurels to the country." MSNBC reports that the money came from local politicians.

"Since the children have made the nation proud, they must be given free house," the chairman, Amarjeet Singh Manhas, said. "The chief minister of the state has approved this."

"Slumdog Millionaire" follows a poor Indian’s life to see how his experiences helped him win "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" — and brought the nation’s dire conditions to the big screen. About 65 million Indians live in slums, according to government surveys reported in the Hartford Courant. In addition to winning eight Oscars at the Academy Awards, the movie, which was co-funded by the European Union, has made a far greater impact. The Oscar triumph was celebrated in the streets of Mumbai.

Christian Colson, the producer of "Slumdog Millionaire," talked in his acceptance speech about how the film touched people’s hearts:

When we started out, we had no stars, we had no power or muscle. We didn’t have enough money, really, to do what we wanted to do. But what we had was a script that inspired mad love in everyone who read it.

12 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

"About 65 million Indians live in slums, according to government surveys reported in the Hartford Courant. "

I haven’t seen Slumdog yet. I will say if it can better people lives then go for it. No one need to live in a shack! I do realize they are only giving it to the 2 young charters; Rubiana Ali, and Azharuddin Ismail. To bad India couldn’t off this to the millions who live this way everyday.

By Grande Camper on 02/25/2009 2:11 pm

e-mail alert

You are exactly right, Debra! Maybe if we all go see the film, more will be done. That hope is a good enough to go.

By Green Tears on 02/25/2009 2:36 pm

e-mail alert

I was happy to read the young Slumdog actors will be given new homes. After seeing them so thrilled with their elevated lives, I worried about being them returning to slums and obscurity once Hollywood stopped calling.

By cynthia curnan on 02/25/2009 2:36 pm

e-mail alert

Those children were so sweet at the Oscars — what has become of the money they earned. Hopefully, they will be getting a fair share.

By Lucinda Herbert on 02/25/2009 3:12 pm

e-mail alert

We can only hope that this will also avail them of a good education and an opportunity to make significant contributions to their nation.

By Ms. Dee on 02/25/2009 4:06 pm

e-mail alert

What a moving film it was. Hard to watch but captivating. I took my 17 year old daughter w/ me and she was just horrified by the reality that the film portrays. It opened her eyes, which in this day and age is a good thing for American teenagers.

I was hoping they would be guaranteed an education as well Ms.Dee that was my wish for them. That is what changes lives

By CYNTHIA NEIL on 02/25/2009 5:01 pm

e-mail alert

Cynthia -I concur with you regarding the children’s educations. New homes are a good beginning, but education will open doors to a future without the threat of poverty.

By Maurine H on 02/25/2009 6:01 pm

e-mail alert

as i understood it, the producers were providing an education for these children until the age of 18..what disturbed me is that with all the money the film made, they were still ‘slumdogs’…. i questioned (on this site) the reason why the producers did not also provide these families with homes….while i am THRILLED that indeed they do have new homes, i am disappointed that it came from the indian govt. and not from the coffers of the movie company……to gramma harley………here is our answer

By M. Starr on 02/25/2009 7:23 pm

e-mail alert

" … inspired mad love in everyone who read it." That is wonderful. No wonder the film was a success. Such feelings, such inspiration, comes along only very rarely. And when it does, it is the doing that matters. "Winning" is just the icing on the cake. Would it be for all of life and all of us as well.

By rocky rocky on 02/25/2009 7:03 pm

e-mail alert

Great movie, I have seen it twice the second time with my mom and teenage daughter who both were amazed by it as well. I really want my 2 sons to see it as well but will wait til it comes out on dvd.

i agree about education being very important for these kids,are all of the kids getting education funds? I would also like to know why just 2 of them are getting homes? Were they the 2 whose living situations were the most dire. All of the children involved should be taken care of. Such a powerful movie and American teenagers should see it they need to open there eyes to the realities of many parts of the world.

By g c on 02/25/2009 7:38 pm

e-mail alert

Living in shacks is an accepted way of life in India. I’ve visited in many, shared home cooked meals with the families living there, and done what little I could to help. There must be a huge shift in attitudes before this can change. One of ‘our’ families, pottery makers, have a 2 room shack which floods during monsoon. FOr a couple of hundred $ they could raise the shack above water level, but they can barely make ends meet. Eldest boy is developmentally disabled, but 2 younger ones are honor students. We give them rice, wheat, sugar & salt monthly. They tolerate the discomforts of seasonal changes.

Another family lives in the cluster of shacks - the village - outside the walls of the enclave where we own a flat. When our enlcave was built, the builder offered the families a building with flats which they would own if they would move out of the shacks. They can’t agree to do that, instead just fight among themselves. It is so frustrating to watch. ..and every morning there’s a little parade of people carrying bottles of water crossing the road into the field to do their toiletting! Tiny children just stop and squat at the curb, chatting with each other as they empty their bowels, quite unselfconsciously!

Travel in India is exciting, a feast for all the senses, and mind expanding - I recommend it as a way to be more a part of the planet, to shed the xenophobia which afflicts us in the west!

By margameri margameri on 02/25/2009 10:36 pm