Daily Lesson from Life 19 April 2009

"Father tried to sell 'Slumdog Millionaire' girl
He wanted $600,000 for the girl and says that a Middle Eastern family is interested. -Sun, Apr 19, 2009 AFP

LONDON, ENGLAND - The father of "Slumdog Millionaire" child actress Rubina Ali tried to sell his nine-year-old daughter for adoption in a bid to escape the Mumbai slums, a British newspaper said Sunday.

News of the World alleged that Rafiq Qureshi wanted 20 million rupees ($600,000) for the girl, who played the young Latika in the British hit film set in India.


"Slumdog Millionaire", a rags-to-riches tale of children from the slums of Mumbai, won eight Oscars in February, including the best picture Academy Award.

News of the World said its reporters posed as a wealthy family from Dubai, employing its regular "fake sheikh" sting tactic. The weekly tabloid said a Mumbai informant told them that Qureshi was touting for the highest offer, having already been approached by a Middle Eastern family.

The newspaper published pictures of the actress, her father and uncle posing with their undercover reporter, plus video clips of Qureshi and his brother-in-law during their meeting last week. "Yes, we are considering Rubina's future," Qureshi was quoted as saying. He put the reporter in touch with his brother-in-law Rajan More.

"If you wanted to adopt we could discuss this, but her parents would also expect some proper compensation in return. "Whatever money is agreed by Rajan, I will accept. "We can discuss everything about this deal when we meet. There's a lot of interest in Rubina." Qureshi, Ali, More and some other relatives met the British reporters in a Mumbai hotel, the newspaper said."

First of all I did not watch the film: "Slumdog Millionaire". Second, I also not very sure why the film garnered 8 Oscars. That said, it is interesting to learn that, supposedly, all the actors and actresses went back to Mumbai, India, and lead their 'normal' lives!

Lessons for me are:

1. Hollywood can change life and fortune! The popular media if you like has the power to do that to ordinary people! Ms Rubina's story is one such amazing tales;

2. When you are poor, it is hard to resist a fortune, especially you supposedly did it for the best interest of the child. I did caught a glimpse of the film, come to think of it, on the plane, where I saw slums and very raw and primitive toilet facilities along the seaside. It is shocking to me though I know such conditions exist still in many impoverished countries, and impoverished cities in big economies like India and China, among others. It was just unreal! So the leaders need to really ask themselves why the commercial capital of India has such a sad human story to tell!;

3. the 'sting' operation is a good investigative reporting tactic. As long as it is not deliberately staged to entrap! Sometimes, we simple need a wake-up call by 3rd party who showed us our shortcoming and areas for improvement. We can accept it or we can deny it. The choice is ours. The 7e leader would gladly and graciously accept the truth and strive to make improvement. That is how we like to do things!

All the best to Ms Rubina. Indeed, she should have a bright future as do millions of children her age!