The Indian government has announced it is to move Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail, stars of Slumdog Millionaire from slums and into new houses. “Since the children have made the nation proud, they must be given free houses,” Local housing association chairman Amarjeet Singh Manhas told the BBC. “The chief minister of the state has approved this. They have brought laurels to the country.” The pair play young versions of the film's stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto and have been subject to numerous press stories about how much they’d been paid to appear in the film. "We have barely got any money from the film-makers. In fact, whatever came, has already been spent,” Ali’s father Mohammed told The Times of India. “This decision is a piece of good news for us.'' Slumdog director Danny Boyle has strongly denied the child actors were exploited and said the two children were paid above local wages for 30 days of work on the film and funds had been set up to pay for their education. The filmmakers had also promised to provide housing for the two families before authorities stepped in.
