Did the child stars ever get their trust fund? The very messy legacy of Slumdog Millionaire.

Danny Boyle’s film Slumdog Millionaire took the world by storm in 2008, winning eight Academy Awards, seven BAFTAS and four Golden Globes. 

Child actors Rubina Ali, who was 10 at the time, and Azharuddin Ismail, then 11, held the film on their tiny shoulders as they were cast straight out of one of Mumbai’s slums, picked from a large group of 300 children vying for the roles of young Latika and Salim.

Watch the trailer for Slumdog Millionaire here. Post continues below.

There was huge backlash against producers of the film after their explosive run during Award season when it was revealed that Rubina only received $US725 for her work on the box office record breaking film while Azharuddin received $US2,465.

However, director of the film Boyle defended his production company, revealing they had painstakingly planned a long-term solution to attempt to help the two out of poverty instead of paying them a lump sum of money.

In a CNN interview, Boyle stated, "We thought long and hard about how best we can benefit them and we decided to put in place an education plan for them." 

"We put them in school, a very good school, which they're paid for to stay in until they're 18."

"If they stay in school until they're 18, a substantial sum of money is released to them then, which will effectively change their lives for the better."

Image: Rubina Ali, Getty Images

Boyle also revealed that the film's financial investors had agreed to donate large portions of the profits to charitable groups that help children of the slums. 

"We've all agreed that we will sit down and dedicate a slice of the profits of the film to be distributed amongst people like those who run the school and other organisations who make a big difference to children's lives there."

"We gained from the city, both from these two children and from the city, in general, and we'll make sure the film gives back some of the enormous success it's had." 

So the Jai Ho Trust was set up to oversee and ensure that the two children would receive good education, adequate housing and social support. Three trustees with a long history in social services were appointed to manage the fund for the children, who will be able to access it after they turn 18 and graduate from high school. 

The fund paid for Rubina and Azharuddin’s education in its entirety and hired transportation for the children to get to and from school for the eight years they had left of attendance. The fund also covered their school books and food, but the exact amount of money they would receive upon turning 18 was never published. 

However, this was back in 2008. The children have long since turned 18 - so what happened to them? Did they stay in school? Did they receive their trust funds? Is shifting someone out of poverty really that simple?  

Image: Azharuddin Ismail, Getty Images

From Hollywood red carpets straight back to the slums.

One year after the film's success, the children were still living in the slums. Rubina lived in a hut with an open sewer line running next to it and Azharuddin’s family home was under some tarpaulin. 

While the trust had promised to find housing for them, it was taking time. The chairman of the Maharashtra housing authority, Amarjit Singh Manhas, promised to resolve this. Speaking to the Times of India in 2009, he said: "We felt that since the children have made the nation proud, they must be given free houses." 

Suddenly the children found themselves being offered two free houses, one from the fund and one from the government. But according to The Bangalore Mirror, they could only accept one offer in accordance to local laws.

By the end of 2009, both children and their families, social workers hired by the filmmakers were moved into proper housing provided through the trust and put in the name of the children.

Who was looking after the children?

With education being of utmost importance to Boyle, their school attendance was essential for them to be entitled to their funds. But it started to wane and the kids and their families were in danger of losing their monthly allowance, according to CP24. 

According to the news station, the families blamed the lack of attendance on the children dealing with deaths in the family, especially Azharuddin whose father passed away after a battle with tuberculosis, which a lot of his fund money was being used to treat. 

Prior to his death, according to NEWS18, Azharuddin’s father publicly demanded more money for his child, in light of the film’s success, stating: "My son has taken on the world and won. I am so proud of him but I want more money. They promised me a new house but it hasn't happened. I'm still in the slum. I want the money now, it is of no use later. Mr. Boyle should take care of my son."

While many supported the father, outraged at what seemed to be Hollywood taking advantage of these children, in reality, there was no guarantee that these children were seeing any of their monthly allowance, and it may have been used for other family expenses.

Image: Danny Boyle & Rubina Ali, Getty Images

Rubina Ali’s family began to in-fight, with her biological mother trying to gain custody of her from her father and stepmother to access her fund and housing according to Indian Express.

A number of tabloids falsely circulated that Rubina’s own father offered her up for sale for $300,000, which after being thoroughly investigated was found to have no evidence to support the accusations. 

He denied the rumours, telling Indian news wire service, PTI, "I will never sell Rubina. All these allegations are false. It is a conspiracy to malign my reputation," according to The Age. 

Where are the Slumdog Millionaire children now?

Rubina Ali is the success story that perhaps Boyle was hoping for when he initially set up the funds for the children. 

She eventually moved out of the Mumbai home gifted to her and moved in with her biological mother. Despite wanting to sell the house, she didn’t want to leave her ill father homeless with his five other children. In January 2020, Rubina’s father passed away from his battle with tuberculosis. 

Despite her struggles, Rubina pursued a Bachelor’s degree studying Fashion Design, published an auto biography called Slumgirl Dreaming and has started her own beauty parlour which you can support here.

Speaking to the Mumbai Mirror in 2020, Rubina said, "Uncle Danny Boyle has done a lot for me. I was staying in a slum. I completed my education thanks to him and the Jai Ho Trust, who have always guided me."

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Azharuddin’s story paints a different picture. After turning 18, the actor sold his house to fund a business venture that didn't seem to pan out according to the Mumbai Mirror, who quoted a trustee of the Jai Ho Fund saying, "Azharuddin wanted to start his own business and for financial support they wanted to sell the house. He is an adult now and I hope he will do well in the future."

There were rumours circulating that the child actor fell in with a bad crowd and began doing drugs, however Azharuddin cleared up those rumours with Entertainment Times. 

“It is completely false and there were some people who spread these baseless stories about me to the media. I am focussing on making my career and I have my mother who is always there to guide me.”

Unfortunately Azharuddin is back in the slums with his mother. The child actor, while grateful for everything Boyle had done for him, also confessed that he wished the director had invested in them as actors. 

“They gave us a home but did not treat us like artists and they didn’t help us become actors. I am struggling… Had they groomed us we would’ve become good actors in Bollywood…. I wish we had got that support.”

The child star has dreams to return to Bollywood but is still feeling the glass ceiling the class system in India creates. 

Image: Azharuddin Ismail, Mumbai Mirror

Feature Image: Pathé Productions