Blaze hits home of Slumdog

THE shanty home of Slumdog Millionaire child star Rubina Ali has been gutted in a fire that raged through the crowded ghetto in the Indian coastal city of Mumbai.

Rubina said most of the awards she received for her role as a poverty-stricken child in the Oscar-winning film were destroyed in the blaze that erupted in the Garib Nagar slum last night.

The 12-year-old actress said she and other members of her family were watching television when they heard shouts of "fire" and ran out of their tin-roofed hut.

"We just grabbed what we could and dashed out. The fire spread so fast we couldn't get back in," said Rafiq Ali, Rubina's father.

Rubina said she had lost her awards and her newspaper clippings and photographs of events after the release of the successful 2008 film, including photos taken during her trip to Los Angeles for the Oscar ceremony.

"It's all gone. Even my best clothes, everything," said a tearful Rubina. "We only have a few clothes left, we tried hard to salvage whatever we could before the fire spread."

Rubina said the family is waiting to move into a new apartment paid for by a trust set up by the film's director, Danny Boyle. Rubina played the young Latika in Slumdog Millionaire, an unexpected blockbuster that won eight Oscars.

Police were investigating the cause of the fire which left 21 people injured and 2,000 homeless. Fires are a common occurrence in Mumbai's slums.