As Danny Boyle checks into Juhu’s JW Mariott late tonight to play mediator between Slumdog Millionaire actor Rubina Ali and the Jai Ho Trust, the rift seems to have widened further.
On one hand, Rubina and her dad say that the amount of Rs25 lakh was “too little” to buy an apartment, and on the other, Jai Ho Trust officials allege the kids’ families are mounting unnecessary pressure on Danny for more money despite the Trust providing for them. Danny will be meeting both Rubina and Azharuddin in the presence of Jai Ho Trust officials to sort out the matter on October 29.
A slanging match has been ensuing between the parents of the kids and the trustees with the demolition of the tenements in Garib Colony, Bandra East, looming large. It’s where nine-year-old Rubina lives with her family of eight. Their unauthorised shanty was earlier demolished by civic authorities in May but restored after a public hue and cry.
“It is true that Rubina and me wrote to Danny that our homes were being demolished and we would be on the streets. The compensation (Rs25 lakh) that they (Jai Ho Trust) are offering won’t get us any apartment in the area. Rubina is scared of being homeless and so she wrote to Danny Boyle asking him to intervene. I am sure he will ensure we get a proper apartment in Bandra,” says Rubina’s dad, Rafiq.
Rubina, who is down with malaria and has been shifted to a relative’s residence, says, “I’m very sick but hope to be okay by the time Danny uncle comes visiting. I’m sure he will give us what we want. He is a very nice man. Now I can even communicate with him. Earlier, I did not know English.”
Meanwhile, one of the trustees of the Jai Ho Trust, Noshir H Dadrawala, claimed that the way Rubina’s father was putting pressure on Danny was “uncalled for”. “They have been offered Rs25 lakh, yet they are not satisfied. I think they are not going to stop at anything less than Rs1 crore. We don’t know what is the amount that will satisfy them. Rubina wrote to Danny without informing us. We will request Danny to increase the (grant) ceiling for Rubina. After that, it’s his call,” says Noshir. Sources at the Trust reveal that even the other child actor, Azharuddin, is planning to ask for a “small car” from Danny when he meets him.
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