Now that his daughter’s famous, Rafiq Qureshi has upped the sale price of adorable nine-year-old Slumdog Millionaire actress Rubina Ali from $75,000 to $300,000. No word on whether Dad will throw in the Oscar statuette, but the fact that she was a star of the movie that won best picture at last year’s Academy Awards is a major selling factor. Her uncle Mo says, “The child is special now. This is NOT an ordinary child. This is an Oscar child!” Child-trafficking in Mumbai is not only reprehensible but also illegal, but Rafiq says, “I have to consider what’s best for me, my family, and Rubina’s future.” If he must sell the little girl, we suggest he get a message to either Madonna or Angelina Jolie, both of whom are always in the market to adopt. (NOTW)
UPDATE: Rafiq Qureshi denies the report in the News of the World that he’s selling his daughter. And Rubina herself says, “I trust my father. He loves me. He has never said that he wants to give me up. I did meet an uncle and auntie in a big hotel but it was not about adoption. I will never give any foreign journalist an interview again.”