POSTED ON JANUARY 29, 2009

Wondered why the littlest versions of Slumdog Millionaire’s Salim and Latika were such naturals? Why, the kids seemed like they’d actually been picked off the streets of Dharavi? Where did they get all that precision from? Well, they didn’t have to look far for inspiration. Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail are actual inhabitants of the city’s gross, huge and shady underbelly. But unlike in the film, theirs is not a rags to riches story. If you think their lives have changed drastically post the film’s worldwide success, you couldn’t be more wrong. Rubina and Azhar are going places, alright. But after they’ve done the rounds of those star studded international award ceremonies, they have to go back to the shanties they call home. Their cardboard box houses narrate the acute poverty they’re still accustomed to. Sources suggest Danny Boyle, the director of their film hasn’t really paid them for their brilliant contributions to the 4 Golden Globes winning and 10 times Oscar nominated film. But Rubina’s father Rafique and Azhar’s relatives have a different tale to tell. Watch what they have to say.