Monday, April 20, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire actress Rubina Ali "offered for sale" by her father

Rafiq Qureshi, who lives in a one of India's worst slums in the city of Mumbai, reportedly attempted to make an illegal adoption deal for the nine-year-old girl.

"We are considering Rubina's future," Mr Qureshi is alleged to have told a man posing as a prospective buyer.



"We've got nothing out of this film. They haven't looked after us. They gave some money at the start, but they gave nothing afterwards. They gave us around 150,000 rupees (£2,000). They've been talking about giving us a house, but all they do is talk."

He referred the caller to his brother-in-law, Rajan More, who said: "Rubina's life is miserable and she lives here with her stepmother. Most of the time she stays with me because she is not happy at her parents' home.



"Obviously if you wanted to adopt, we could discuss this, but her parents would expect some proper compensation in return. We are talking around £50,000 for this to happen." However at a subsequent meeting the price was said to have risen to £200,000.

His brother Mohiuddin was quoted as saying: "The child is special now. This is not an ordinary child. This is an Oscar child."

More here.

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