January 19th, 2009
MOVIE director Danny Boyle has set up a trust fund to save the child stars of Slumdog Millionaire from poverty.
Real-life street kids Rubiana Ali and Azharuddin Ismail were signed up for the film which won four Golden Globes last week.
Boyle grew close to the pair while filming the story of a teenager who wins the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.
And he admitted he wept when they sent him birthday cards.
Rubiana and Azharuddin joined child star Ayush Mahesh Khedekar as three pals in Mumbai.
The Trainspotting director told the Sunday Mail he was horrified to find Azharuddin had been made homeless while they were filming.
He said: "His family's house had been demolished and we found him asleep on a car roof.
"We've set up a system where the kids stay at school until they are 16. If they pass their exams, there's a large sum in a trust fund for them.
"We want to keep them in education as long as possible.
"They're learning English and sent me birthday cards. I started weeping when I opened them."
