Slumdog Millionaire filmmakers after innumerable promises have finally bought Azhar a 250-square foot (23 square-meters) one-bedroom apartment on the ground floor of a building in the SantaCruz neighborhood of Mumbai.
Azhar was overwhelmed with his new surroundings, and seemed pretty pleased with his new home. He chirped, "I like it here, it is really nice. But I will miss my old friends back in Bandra. Maybe I will go and visit them once in a while."
"We have lived on the road for so many years, " said Ismail's mother, Shamaam. "I had never dreamed that we would have a roof over our heads."
The Rupees 25 lac apartment will be transferred to Azhar's name when he turns 18; provided he finishes school. The "Jai Ho" trust would be overseen by Nirja Mattoo. The trust is set up by "Slumdog Millionaire" director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson with an aim to provide education, housing and a living allowance for the two children.
Though Rubina Ali is yet to find a shelter, things seem not as dismal for her as Mattoo says, "The trust is looking for an apartment for Rubina, who has lived with relatives in the slum since the demolition."
Hopefully the children will have a happy ending as iterated in "Slumdog Millionaire"; and keep alive the hope for an underdog who wins despite all odds.