In home after home, star parents rejoice in one voice: proud of our kids

The Slumdog Millionaire cheer was perhaps the loudest at Garib Nagar slum in Bandra. After all, it was the slum’s own Rubina and Azhar whose lives are closest to the characters they play in the movie that bagged eight Academy Awards.

Since daybreak, half-clad children at the congested slum in Behrampada had been glued to the TV. They erupted in a thunderous applause each time Slumdog Millionaire bagged a statuette.

In the Bandra slum near the railway tracks, neighbours had swarmed to Rubina Ali’s tiny house since 4 am, all crowding before a brand new plasma TV.

“Each time Slumdog Millionaire was heard, we’d all be alert and wait for a known face to come on stage, which would be followed by a loud cheer when an award was bagged,” says Rafiq Qureshi, Rubina’s father.

Friends and relatives of Rubina, who plays little Latika in the movie, had not slept because they wanted to catch a glimpse of the nine-year-old on TV at LA. “Finally, I saw my Rubina on screen; she was looking very pretty in the silver dress,” her mother, Munni Qureshi says amidst squeals from Rubina’s friends.

“I’m proud to be an Indian and proud of my daughter,” says her father, a carpenter.

But now, the slum may lose Rubina. Qureshi plans to hunt for a home in plush Bandra (West) once Rubina returns. “The production house had promised a home, but we will know about that later. By the grace of God we will find a decent home,” he says.

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