Slumdog star in real life rags to riches tale

Published on Saturday 4 July 2009 19:54

A CHILD star of the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire moved into his new home in an upmarket Mumbai suburb yesterday, a far cry from his family's former dwelling – a shanty by the railway tracks.

Azharuddin Ismail, nine, played the youngest Salim in British director Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches film about a slum dweller trying his luck on a TV gameshow.

His eyes bright and a big smile plastered on his face, Ismail showed off his new home to guests.

"I like it here, it is really nice. But I will miss my old friends back in Bandra," a grinning Ismail said.

The Jai Ho Trust, named after the film's award-winning track and set up by the producers, bought the 25,600 ground-floor flat on Ismail's behalf and will give it to him when he turns 18.

Ismail's earlier dwelling, a tarpaulin hut, was demolished by the civic authorities in May as it was illegal.

Pictures of Ismail and a child co-star picking through the debris of their old homes caused uproar in Mumbai, where more than half its 17-million population is homeless.

Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight Academy Awards, has been criticised for romanticising poverty in Mumbai, and sparked some criticism of the producers that they had exploited the slum dwellers.

"We have lived on the road for so many years. I had never dreamed that we would have a roof over our heads," Ismail's mother, Shameem, said.

The Jai Ho Trust is looking for a house for Ismail's co-star Rubina Ali, who still lives in a slum.

Ismail's move may present one problem. Looking at him running around with his cousins, a neighbour asked: "Who are these kids? They make so much noise. How will we ever sleep?"