Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail

The slum kid stars of "Slumdog Millionaire" want a lot of things in life — new houses, a car, trips to London and Paris — but they aren't too interested in school. Ten-year-old Rubina Ali has missed nearly 75 percent of her classes and her co-star hasn't done much better — truancy that filmmakers say will jeopardize their trust funds and monthly stipends if it continues. Their parents blame the absences on deaths in the family or other misfortunes, including the demolition of Rubina's shanty by city authorities earlier this year, and have promised to do better. But the filmmakers say the children are ... Read Full Story

A trustee for the child stars of 'Slumdog Millionaire' says the kids' poor school attendance is putting their trust fund at risk. Trustee Noshir Dadrawala says Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail is only showing up at school 37 percent of the time and Rubina Ali has only a 27 percent attendance rate. He says if the children do not get their attendance above 70 percent, they will lose their monthly stipend of about $120. They also risk the lump sum payment they are to get at age 18 that is tied to them graduating school. The filmmakers set up the trust to provide education, housing and ... Read Full Story

Moving on up: Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail is shown around a new flat with his mother Shameem Ismail Slumdog Millionaire star Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail is finally leaving the slums of Mumbai. The child actor was given a guided tour of a new flat yesterday with his parents, his brother and brother-in-law. The 180-square foot apartment came from the Maharashtra Housing Authority Development Agency (MHADA), which is paying £5,125 for the property in the Malvani district of Mumbai. Getting to know the place: Azharuddin, his parents and brother walked around the 180-foot flat, gifted by the Maharashtra Housing Authority Development Agency However, since Azharuddin's visit to ... Read Full Story

How sad is this? The kids from “Slumdog Millionaire”, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and Rubina Ali may be losing their trust fund all because they’ve been skipping school too much. What the hell are their parents thinking? The producers had set up the Jai Ho trust to help these kids by giving them a $163 per month allowance each, but one of the conditions for the kids to receive their money was for them to stay in school. But Noshir Dadrawala, who administers the trust, has stated that Azharuddin has only gone to school 37% of the time and Ali has only gone 27% of ... Read Full Story

MUMBAI, India (AP) - The slum kid stars of “Slumdog Millionaire” want a lot of things in life – new houses, a car, trips to London and Paris – but they aren’t too interested in school. Ten-year-old Rubina Ali has missed nearly 75 percent of her classes and her co-star hasn’t done much better – truancy that filmmakers say will jeopardize their trust funds and monthly stipends if it continues. Their parents blame the absences on deaths in the family or other misfortunes, including the demolition of Rubina’s shanty by city authorities earlier this year, and have promised to do better. But the filmmakers ... Read Full Story