Slumdog Kids At Risk Of Losing Their Trust For Truancy
Filed under: Film Flickers
More sad news for the child stars of Slumdog Millionaire. Both 11-year-old Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and 9-year-old Rubina Ali have had a chaotic year.
After Azharuddin almost lost his home, the makers of Slumdog Millionaire purchased him a new house.
The filmmakers also set up the Jai Ho trust to help Azharuddin and Rubina. Unfortunately, the two are at risk of losing their monthly allowance from their trust fund. That's about £100 monthly.
The reason? Turns out they've been skipping school too much!
According to a trustee, Azharuddin has only showed up to school 37% of the time, with Ali only showing up 27%.
WTF?!?
Noshir Dadrawala, who helps to administer the trust, reveals "It's pathetic. They are constantly going to Paris and Cochin and Chennai. That's fine, but go over the weekend, not at the sacrifice of school."
True!
And if the kids don't get their attendance above 70% soon they'll lose their monthly allowance. And if they don't graduate, they'll lose out on a lump sum payment that the filmmakers set aside for them.
As for Azharuddin, his mom blames his absence from school on the death of his father who passed away in September from tuberculosis. Says his mom, "He would cry often, so I kept him home from school for a while." But added, "As long as I'm alive, I will make sure my son gets an education," she said.
That's understandable, but why not use some of his allowance to pay for some therapy?
Hopefully he didn't make time for Paris instead of school.
[Image via WENN.]
…adorable!
They're doing everything to weasel out of paying these kids, aren't they?
Fucking "truancy"? Kids are absent all the time from school because they feel sick or their parents are dragging them around. Grow a sac and pay for these kids like you promised. Stop Polanski-ing out of it.
those %'s are horrible - shame on the parents for insisting education is soooo important and then not requiring them to go to school……
Just seems to me they're trying to weasel the kids out of the money they earned for the movie.
Yep, Pervez, the Mumbai slums are practically over run with child therapists. I can't imagine why they didn't just ring one up.
Come on Perez, you honestly think India has therapy? If you know culture differences, you would know that most Indians frown upon publicly seeking help regarding mental issues. Please. Not everyone is from LA
I actually agree, if they aren't going to school then they shouldn't get the money.
Then when their attendance gets to 100% they can get it returned.
Children working in movies are only allowed to work maxium of 4hrs a day so that they dont miss school, so wtf have they been doing?
That's bullshit to put conditions on paying these kids what they earned through the movie. Either give them the money with no strings attached or be the obvious bad guy for taking advantage of kids from the slums. I hate people who put conditions on things and hold them over other people's heads for years and years. Greedy power trippers.
These kids live in the slums of Mumbai and you want them to waste their precious resources on therapy? Wake up dumbass…Mumbai =/= Hollywood and not everything is solved by laying around on a couch, paying someone with a PhD an exorbitant amount of money to listen to your problems.
There's no fucking way kids that young have the wherewithal to skip school on a regular basis. Someone's trying to screw these kids out of their money.
Re: PerezHilton – "That's bullshit to put conditions on paying these kids what they earned through the movie."
They didn't. The kids were signed for a specific salary and they got paid. The movie made an ass-load of money and everyone started whining that the kids didn't get paid enough. The company set up a trust. The kids got evicted and everybody started whining. The company bought them a house. Those kids have gotten more care and benefits from being in that movie than 99.9% of anyone who's ever been onscreen, but people are *still* crying about how they've been so horribly mistreated. I think the producers should just build a school in Mumbai and see if they ever fucking show up.
Re: Zombie Hitler – @12 - another fantastic comment - "I think the producers should just build a school in Mumbai and see if they ever fucking show up" - precisely……..
Re: Zombie Hitler – I'll bet you shop at Wal-Mart, too.
mmmm therapy… the kids are living in the slums of India…. i dont think therapy is an option. Its so bizarre how you can assume that India is like America where you just send your kids to therapy!
GET SUPERNANNY!
Best. episode. ever
lol… ah who needs school anyway just a waste of time!!! But for real i feel that they are trying to screw these kids over give them their money
Perez, you ass. They live in a SLUM. Nobody there has even HEARD of therapy, they're too busy trying to find one square meal a day. You cannot even begin to imagine the lives they lead, asshole. One room that is probably smaller than the average American bathroom housing a family of seven. No sanitation, no electricity for most of the day either, if at all. 1000 people share one toilet. No voice, and no chance. These people fight hard every single day to barely survive. Cannot believe you were that insensitive and blind to ground realities.
Look at the kids on the left striking a pose.. work it boy.. he wants to be in twilight
cute~~~
Therapy? It's India not USA moron!
His allowance for therapy?
Those kids can barely afford food!! it's disgraceful, but those kids, are really living in the bottom of the barrel.
and that 'house' you mean the flat under a flight path? God bless those talented kids.
SAD!!! THOSE KIDS HAS NO CHANCE IF THERE PARENTS KEEP THEM FROM GETTING A GOOD EDUCATION…. THEY ONLY WANTS THERE MONEY AND USED THEM FOR THERE BENEFITS!!!! TOO MUCH POVERTY!!
perez, you're an ass.