'Slumdog' kids get new homes?

Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail, the two youths from Dharavi shanties who played roles of Jamal and Latika in Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire" will get one flat each from government quota if Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (MHADA) has its way. Amarjeet Singh Manhas, Chairman of Mumbai Housing and Area Development Authority, a unit of MHADA, has written a letter to the housing authority's vice-president Gautam Chatterjee asking him to provide one flat each to both as they made India proud with their acting talent. "The acting talent of the two has made India proud. The children, who belong to underprivileged family, are special for us. They played equal role in getting the movie the Oscars. In a move to honour them, Amarjeet Singh has written a letter to MHADA officials to grant them houses," Krishna Hegde, a member of MHADA board told. Rubina and Azharuddin are now living in Garibnagar in suburban Bandra. "Mumbai Congress president Kripashankar Singh will also meet Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the evening to discuss about providing flats to the children," Hegde added.

Karan Johar moved to tears by Billu

If there is something which is being hailed most about ‘Billu’, it is the penultimate 20 minutes of the film. A heartwarming emotional turn of events in the concluding reels of the film have been pointed out by one and all and the effective writing that made the scenes possible has been termed as the highlight of the film. No wonder, Mushtaq Sheikh, the co-writer of the film is happy that his good work has been noticed and appreciated. Another interesting factoid about ‘Billu’ is that after watching the film in a special screening, even Karan Johar commented that it moved him to tears. “‘Billu’ is not a slapstick comedy, instead it is a comedy of life”, says Mushtaq who has authored quite a few books on his close friend and super star Shah Rukh Khan, “Moreover, life is always a heartfelt tale. So yes, it is expected that that tear effect would be the same on audiences across the globe. I am in fact confident about it because if the warmth of the story touches you then nothing can go wrong with this movie.” Which means that instead of ‘Billu’ being termed as a comedy, it would rather be considered as a ‘let’s make you cry’ kind of emotional drama. “It’s not a comedy as in like a farce or spoof, but the situations and the mess we human beings create is often quite funny and sad and could make you laugh when you cry and cry when you laugh”, philosophizes Mushtaq Sheikh, “”Billu’ is a film with a golden heart’ - Now that’s my favorite phrase to describe ‘Billu’. For a movie like ‘Billu’ where Shah Rukh Khan and Irrfan Khan were there from the very beginning, was he required to write the film in a manner that would suit their images? “Actors such as Irrfan Khan and Shah Rukh today play characters as per the writer’s creation and the director’s vision. Sure they have their own interpretations and take on how to play the character but the writer does not need to tailor-make a character to suit the actor’s image. Those days are long gone”, asserts Mushtaq Sheikh.