Culture

Azharuddin Ismail, Slumdog Millionare Star, Moves Out of the Slum

by alia_d | July 6, 2009 at 12:08 pm

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Azharuddin Ismail, one of the child star's of slumdog millionaire whose family's shanty house was demolished earlier this year, is moving out of the slum and into an expensive suburb of Mumbai. It seems that life is imitating art as Ismail moves from rags to riches.

The Jai Ho Trust, a foundation for the child actors of Slumdog Millionare, bought the house for Ismail and his family. They are also planning to by a house for Ismail's co-start Rubina Ali. The trust was set up by Danny Boyle, the Director of Slumdog Millionaire.

"I like it here, it is really nice," Azharuddin told Reuters news agency. "But I will miss my old friends back in Bandra. Maybe I will go and visit them once in a while."

His mother said: "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 former home, the Bandra slum, is located near a railway line the Western part of Mumbai. The slum, which is located near one of Mumbai's wealthiest neighborhoods, has no sewage system and residents live in shanty houses made of makeshift plastic walls. Sadly, despite their poverty, the Bandra slum's residents are wealthier than their counterparts in other slums in Mumbai.

In contrast, Ismail's new home in Santa Cruz is located on the Eastern side of northern Mumbai in a wealthy residential neighborhood. The apartment cost $50,000 and will be transferred to Ismail's name when he turns 18.