Right: Azharuddin Ismail, child actor of the Oscar-winning movie "Slumdog Millionaire," poses in front his new home
July 4, 2009
A child star of "Slumdog Millionaire" has said goodbye to the shantytown.
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Nine-year-old Azharuddin Ismail moved into a new home in a Mumbai suburb Saturday - a 250-foot flat that seemed like a palace to him.
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"I like it here," he said as he pranced around the ground-floor apartment, which boasts electricity and running water."It's really nice."
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The home was purchased by a trust set up by movie director Danny Boyle for the children who starred in the runaway rags-to-riches hit.
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Boyle found Azharuddin and co-star Rubina Ali in the filthy slums of Mumbai and that's where they returned after a whirlwind trip to Hollywood for the Oscars.
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Their plight was highlighted in recent weeks when the Indian government razed the slums, leaving the children without even the shelter of tarp-and-sheet huts.
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The new home is in a modern building a short drive from the suburb where Bollywood's biggest stars live in luxury.
It cost $42,000 and will be given to Azharuddin when he turns 18. The trust is still looking for a home for Rubina.
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Azharuddin's mother, Shaheem, couldn't believe her eyes when she saw her new address. "We have lived on the road for so many years. I had never dreamed that we would have a roof over our heads," she said.
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Her impish son was equally thrilled - but slightly wistful. "I will miss my old friends back in Bandra," he said. "Maybe I will go and visit them once a while."
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