‘Slumdog’ kids Ismail and Rubina gifted flats

June 10th, 2009 'Slumdog' child star gets new home in MumbaiMUMBAI, India — The makers of the hit movie "Slumdog Millionaire" have bought a new home for one of the two child stars discovered in Mumbai's slums. The purchase of a 250-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment for the family of Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10, was completed Monday, said Nirja Mattoo, who helps oversee a trust set up by the filmmakers to help Azharuddin and his 9-year-old co-star Rubina Ali.

May 30th, 2009 MUMBAI - On being offered houses by Maharashtra government and the 'Jai Ho' trust, the child actors of Oscar winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' have expressed their desire to keep both the houses offered to them. The Maharashtra government and Jai Ho trust had offered houses to Rubina Ali and Azharrudin Ismail after their slums were demolished by civic authorities.

May 14th, 2009 MUMBAI - Nearly 20 children who acted in the Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire", including Azharuddin Ismail, got a shock when civic authorities on Thursday demolished the polythene sheet-covered roof which used to house them in Garib Nagar slum area of Mumbai. Ismail shot to fame after his role as Salim, the young role of the movie's central character.

April 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Slumdog Millionaire trust has come out to the rescue of the film's child star Rubina Ali by hiring a social worker to look after her. The Jai Ho Trust was established with financial support from the filmmakers to ensure the welfare of the movie's child stars, including Rubina and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail.

April 17th, 2009 LONDON - Slumdog Millionaire bosses have donated 500,000 pounds to kick off a programme aimed at educating poor kids in India. The filmmakers have teamed up with Plan, an international kids' development organisation, to create the five-year programme targeted towards providing healthcare and education.

March 30th, 2009 LONDON - Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali is said to have been paid more than the Oscar winning film for a drinks commercial with Hollywood superstar Nicole Kidman. According to the nine-year-old slum dweller's father, the money Rubina is receiving for doing the ad is more than the total she got for the film.

March 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI -All dressed up and smiling from ear-to-ear, Rubina Ali Qureshi and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail Shaikh, the child stars of Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire', Thursday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and also walked the ramp at a premier fashion week. 'Soniaji today met the kids who had acted in 'Slumdog Millionaire',' Congress media secretary Tom Vadakkan told IANS.

March 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - It was an afternoon to remember for the child stars of Oscar winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' - Rubina Ali Qureshi and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail Shaikh who met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and gave her a letter, requesting they be given a house as soon as possible. The kids were in the capital to walk the ramp for designer duo Ashima-Leena at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) which began Wednesday.

March 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - All dressed up and smiling, the child stars of Oscar winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' - Rubina Ali Qureshi and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail Shaikh - came from the shanties of Mumbai and met Congress president Sonia Gandhi here Thursday. 'Soniaji today met the kids who had acted in 'Slumdog Millionaire',' Tom Vadakkan, media secretary of All India Congress Committee (AICC), told IANS.

March 14th, 2009 MUMBAI - Slum kid actors of Oscar winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire' Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail, were awarded scholarships for free education. The initiative by a self-help group called 'We Love India' in association with D.Y.

March 6th, 2009 MUMBAI - The Mumbai Congress will 'welcome' the two young stars from the Oscar winning 'Slumdog Millionaire', Azharuddin and Rubina, if they choose to campaign for the party during the Lok Sabha elections, a senior office-bearer said here Thursday. 'If they want to join us in the campaigning or support us like many other children, they shall be welcomed,' Mumbai Regional Congress Committee (MRCC) president Kripa Shankar Singh told mediapersons this afternoon.

March 2nd, 2009 MUMBAI - Hollywood stars like Meryl Streep and Brad Pitt were floored by the little kids who featured in Danny Boyle's Oscar winning 'Slumdog Millionaire', says Loveleen Tandon, the film's co-director. Rubina Ali, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Tanay Cheda were the cynosure of all eyes at the Oscars ceremony last week.

February 25th, 2009 MUMBAI - A day after the child actors Azharuddin Ismail and Rubina Rafiq of 'Slumdog Millionaire' walked the red carpet and shot to fame, the Mumbai Congress has proposed to gift a flat each to them. Azharuddin Ismail Shaikh Usman and Rubina Rafiq Asghar Ali Qureshi, both residents of Garib Nagar slum in Bandra East, Mumbai, played the youngest version of the lead characters in the Oscar-winning film and were flown to the US for Hollywood's biggest awards ceremony Sunday.

February 24th, 2009 LOS ANGELES - The six kids who played the youngest and middle versions of the main characters in Oscar-smash hit 'Slumdog Millionaire' are loving it as they have a whale of a time in Los Angeles. Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubina Ali from the slums of Mumbai as also Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Tanay Chheda, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala and Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar were flown to the US for Hollywood's biggest awards night by Fox Searchlight.

February 23rd, 2009 LOS ANGELES - Starry-eyed, excited and wearing little tuxedos and dresses for the first time, a motley of Indian slum kids from Academy award winning 'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Smile Pinki' walked the Oscar red carpet with panache despite the stark contrast between their everyday living and the glitzy event. It was a fairytale experience for nine-year-old Rubina Ali and 10-year-old Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, who starred in Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire'.