jai ho on the ramp

When Azhar and Rubina landed in Delhi and were taken to the farmhouse where designers Ashima and Leena were waiting for them, they were supposed to

Rubina and Azhar

start their maiden fashion stint.

But what they started was a round of monkeying around in the garden. Azhar loved his designer outfit, and said, "I'm excited about being on the ramp too, but I think my dress has already become very dirty because of my playing around so much here. They'll have to do something about that. Ab main Bollywood hero aur khatron ka khiladi hoon, kapde toh gande honge hi na! My shoes are also dirty, actually. I love taking risks," he said, referring to a bald boy on the spot as Ghajini.

And what is Rubina going to do once she grows up? "I like Preity Zinta and want to become an actress like her. For now, I just want to do my first ramp show. They are going to teach us how to walk the ramp," she said.
Clambering all over an almost ten-foot high stone elephant in the garden, Azhar said, "Main toh haathi par hi photo doonga," and promptly climbed it! "Mujhe darr nahi lagta," he said, adding, "Aur main toh bada hoke khoob action wali film karoonga. I like Salman Khan and want to become like him. I also like the stunts he does and would want to do a couple myself."

Rubina made a valiant effort to climb the elephant too, but only listened to everyone's warnings when she was told that she might spoil her pretty gypsy skirt in the attempt to mount the sculpture. "No, I don't want to do that. I like the skirt very much and want to take it back with me to Mumbai. The belt that I'm wearing is also very nice ? I'm taking that too," she said, settling to pose with a small deer instead, adding, "I'm excited about walking the ramp. I've been practising the twirl on the ramp. I have to look very nice for the show to be a huge success."

While she's the more responsible one, it's Azhar who plays the major pranks and gets away with them. After referring to a boy as Ghajini, he winked at us and also pretended that he was about to sneeze. "Main aankh maar raha hoon. Aur ek baat aur, mujhe hotel nahin jaana, mujhe bas khelna hai. I am going to show off my style on the ramp. I will walk down the ramp, give the audience a hi-five and also do some action scenes if there is scope for that," he said.

Azhar's mother and Rubina's father are in Delhi with the kids, and they'll be meeting Sonia Gandhi along with the kids and the designers, and tell them about their living conditions. The parents say that of the many promises that were made to them ? flats, the Rs 25 lakh trust, among other things ? nothing has been given to them yet, post the kids' return from the Oscars, and they'll mention that to Mrs G when they meet her.
Azhar's mother says, "He's getting many film and advertisement offers. He wants to study and work in films too. There's an offer from a Bhojpuri film too. We are considering all options that are available to him. However, the first thing that we want to do is change is the way we live ? we stay in houses that are covered by plastic sheets."

Designers Ashima and Leena Singh say that they took up the initiative to ensure that this entire thing goes beyond just making the kids walk on the ramp, which they're doing through their NGO, the Ashima Leena Jai Ho Foundation. "Making these children walk on the ramp is a learning experience for us. The happiness that they are feeling at this point in time is making us really happy and the effort is to reach out to people with a heart," says Ashima.

Leena says, "In all these years, we've never had any stars walk the ramp for us. No sooner did Azhar and Rubina get back from the Oscars than we thought they should be a part of our show." But how did they agree? "We spoke to their parents, who agreed in principle to the proposal we gave them. The families are scared and insecure. We even made an advance payment for them to be sure that we were not doing anything wrong. One of the kids' family members asked if we could give the money part in writing," she says. Did Rubina's biological mother try to interfere in her daughter's fashion debut? "No, she did not. I think she has understood that she has to be in the background for Rubina to do well and achieve things in life. In fact, Rubina has come with her stepmother to Delhi," adds Leena.

And the fash frat has come out in support too. "Vijay Singh and Sunil Sethi have both promised us cheques for the Ashima Leena Jai Ho Foundation," reveals Leena, adding, "There is life beyond fashion and that is the message we want to give. The Jai Ho Foundation is also going to work closely with Khushii, as we've joined hands in work."