Goodbye to Mumbai slums, child star moves into flat

Mumbai: Azharuddin Ismail, of the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, moved into his new home in an upmarket Mumbai suburb on Saturday, a far cry from his family's former dwelling: a shanty by the railway tracks.

Ismail, 9, 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. Maybe I will go and visit them once a while," a grinning Ismail told Reuters as he pranced around the house.

Ismail and his family moved into the 250 square foot (25 sq metre) ground floor flat, which is in a modern building complex, with electricity and running water. It is a short drive away from Juhu, a suburb home to some of India's most famous film stars.

The Jai Ho Trust, named after the film's award-winning track and set up by the producers, bought the $42,000 home on Ismail's behalf and will give it to him when he turns 18.

Ismail's earlier dwelling, a tarpaulin and sheet 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 and life in Mumbai's teeming slums, 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, told Reuters.

The Jai Ho Trust is looking for a house for Ismail's co-star Rubina Ali, who still lives in a slum with her family. Ismail's move may present one problem.

Looking at him running around the building with his cousins, a neighbour asked: "Who are these kids? They make so much noise. How will we ever sleep?"