Azhar and Rubina can now look forward to better days.

Never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined that life would get them to the Academy Awards, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep and other A-listers. The kids from the slums of Mumbai, who had no clue about the Oscars whatsoever, were phenomenal in their roles of Little Saleem and Little Latika in the Oscar winning movie , Slumdog Millionaire. They  are surely in for better days.

Ten year old Azharuddin Ismail and Rubina Qureshi, could not have hoped for better when they were  selected to play Little Saleem and Little Latika respectively, in the Danny Boyle directed movie, which is a take on Vikas Swaroop’s novel Q and A.

It looks like, Loveleen Tandon, the casting director, knew what she was doing. The kids were taken off of their real-life slum and put into a reel one. It was like the movie transposed their lives onto the screen and they just had to be as they were. Azhar and Rubina have now become household names, after giving an outstanding performance and winning accolades the world over, endearing themselves to millions including top stars such as Meryl Streep.

Slumdog Millionaire, which almost missed a theatre release altogether, was an underdog initially. Gaining popularity by word-of-mouth, the movie began its journey of awards, winning seven BAFTA awards, four Golden Globe awards and reached its final destination after sweeping the Oscars with eight awards.

At the Golden Globes, Anil Kapoor (who also starred in the movie), had said that the credit goes to the child artistes and it is they who deserved the award. On returning to India with his two Oscars, A. R. Rahman said that his winning the award was nothing compared to the slum kids walking the Red Carpet. It also symbolizes the equality of all men, he had added.

The movie also ran into a controversy involving the kids. It was alleged that Rubina and Azhar were underpaid. However, Rubina denied such rumours and said “(Loveleen) Aunty bahut pyari hai. (Loveleen Aunty is very sweet)”.

Post Oscars, life changed for the better for these two little stars. The Maharashtra government gifted each kid a flat in Mumbai. So now the kids can leave the squalor of their slums, from tiny one room huts to chic flats. Though not the same, their life reflects a little of the rags-to-riches story of Slumdog Millionaire.

FOX Searchlight, the production house of Slumdog Millionaire also insisted that they had the children’s welfare at heart. They got Azhar and Rubina enrolled in a school and set up a fund to take care of their educational expenses. Rubina’s father, Rafiq Qureshi was all teary-eyed when he said “Whatever a parent could have done, they have done much more.”

Rubina and Azhar, who until now had thought that education was for people with big bucks, are delighted to be attending school for the first time and receiving their last award from their school – for Best All Rounders. They are gradually adjusting to their new environment and star status at school. Though Azhar would like to do a movie again, his father wants him to have a decent job. As for Rubina, she would like to concentrate on her studies first and think about acting when the opportunity comes knocking again.

With stars and dreams – theirs and millions of other slum kids’ – in their eyes, Azhar and Rubina are on with their new life.  I hope to see them again, with all their cuteness.

After all – All is well that ends well.

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