LATEST NEWS ABOUT THE SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE KIDS

The two child stars of "Slumdog Millionaire" risk losing their monthly stipend and their trust fund unless they start attending school more regularly, a trustee for the fund said on Thursday.


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 being lured away by endorsement deals, television appearances and other opportunities to cash in on their celebrity at the risk of losing the money set aside for them once they graduate.






"Our love got a little bit tougher today," Slumdog producer Christian Colson said. "We understand there are opportunities for both kids and for the parents of both children to cash in, in the short term, on their celebrity. We don't have a problem with that. But if they want to benefit from the trust, they have to get those attendance rates up."
Beneath the debate about school is a deeper tug-of-war between the impoverished families' urge for as much short-term gain as possible and the filmmakers' desire to endow the children with a secure future.
Rubina and 11-year-old Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail both grew up in one of Mumbai's most wretched slums. They shot to fame after starring in the rags-to-riches blockbuster, which won eight Oscars. Rubina was cast as the young Latika, who grows up to become the hero's love interest, and Azhar plays his brother, Salim.
After filming ended, director Danny Boyle and Colson got the pair placed in a Mumbai school that helps disadvantaged children. But these days, Azhar is showing up to class just 37 percent of the time and Rubina's attendance is only 27 percent, said Noshir Dadrawala, an administrator of the trust.






"It's pathetic," said Dadrawala, adding that a flurry of awards ceremonies, festivals and fashion shows that have taken the kids to Paris, Madras and elsewhere are detracting from their studies. These have included Rubina's Paris trip to promote a book about her life, "Slumgirl Dreaming: My Journey to the Stars," as well as a tea party at Westminster in London, a dance number on a Hong Kong TV show and, of course, a trip to Los Angeles for the Oscars.
"They are constantly going ... That's fine, but go over the weekend, not at the sacrifice of school," Dadrawala said. The parents were told Thursday that if the children do not get their attendance above 70 percent they would lose their monthly $120 stipend. And if the kids fail to graduate, they will forfeit the lump sum payment set aside to help them get a start in life, Dadrawala said.
The filmmakers have declined to reveal the amount of the trust for fear of exposing the families to exploitation. In addition, both families are covered by medical insurance, which the trust finalised on Thursday.
Azhar's mother, Shameem Ismail, said her son had missed school because he has been inconsolable since his father died in September from tuberculosis.
"He would cry often, so I kept him home from school for a while," she said, promising he would go to class more often. "As long as I'm alive, I will make sure my son gets an education," she added. Rubina's father, Rafiq Qureshi, said his daughter's absences were due to the destruction of the family's shanty last May and a cut on her leg that forced her to stay home.