‘Slumdog Millionaire’ star Rubina Ali, 9, offered for sale by father
Well…on one hand you can understand it, but on the other it makes you sick.
“Slumdog Millionaire” star Rubina Ali is back in the news – but not for her acting skills.
The 9-year-old’s father, who lives in a Mumbai slum along with his star daughter, offered to sell Ali for nearly $300,000 to undercover reporters from Britain’s News of the World, the paper says.
Her father says that he has to do what is best for her and his family. According to him their family received nothing from her role in the immensely popular film Slumdog Millionaire. The family still lives in the Mumbai slum and the money isn’t flowing like you would have thought. They are definitely still trying to find better deals for insurance online, of course they can’t afford that even according to the father.
Despite the stardom, Ali’s father reportedly said the family “got nothing out of this film,” although director Danny Boyle has set up apartments for Ali and fellow “Slumdog” child star Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and their families, which will be available soon.
Boyle has also set up a trust fund for Ali for her education.
“I have to consider what’s best for me, my family and Rubina’s future,” cash-strapped dad Rafiq Qureshi told the journalists, who posed as a wealthy Middle Eastern family.
Qureshi allegedly upped his asking adoption price for his apple-cheeked little girl during the negotiations because of Ali’s star status.
“The child is special now,” Qureshi’s brother said, per the paper. “This is an Oscar child!”
Just sad really.
