"Slumdog" child star's abode demolished

Azharuddin, who played young Salim in Danny Boyle’s $326 million grossing multiple Oscar winning film, lost his family home in Garib Nagar in Bandra, a Mumbai suburb, during a government mandated "pre-monsoon sweep" of illegally built shanties in the city.

Details of the demolition
The Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika’s (formerly the Bombay Municipal Corporation or BMC) clean-up drive came Thursday as part of the demolition of dozens of illegally built shanties in a Mumbai slum.

The Associates Press reports Azharuddin and his family members were asleep when a police officer woke him up and told him to leave the house. "A police officer took a bamboo stick to hit me, and I was frightened," Azhar said.

Shortly after that, a team of officials from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai bulldozed his make-shift home along with about 30 more, forcing the shanty dwellers to spend the night on the muddy ground surrounded by the rubble of their demolished shack, he told the agency.

"They came and destroyed the house when my son was sleeping," Ismail's mother Shamim told reporters soon after the demolition. "Now we don't have any place to go so we're sitting here right now with our belongings. I hope someone from the government will help us.”

U.D. Mistry, an H-East ward officer with the BMC, said the razing was part of a pre-monsoon demolition drive.

“All the illegal encroachments on the nullah were on Thursday demolished because it needs to be widened to avoid flood-like situation during monsoons,” he said, adding that only illegally built shanties, and not legally built homes, were demolished.

"They were removed. That is the principle," he continued, adding he was not aware that the “Slumdog” child star lived in that slum.

Authorities say his family and others displaced will be given new government-built homes elsewhere, but when and where is not clear.

Celebrity slum kids’ real-life pains
Azhar is not the only “Slumdog” star who is being influenced by such harsh and unfortunate circumstances. His 9-year-old co-star Rubina Ali’s family's shanty was flooded for days last month with sewage water. Last month, reports were rampant that Rubina was put up for sale by her father.

These slum kids, part of the “Slumdog Millionaire”, a film that has brought worldwide acclaim to the makers and its lead actors, have had to tough it out in their dwellings. It was reported previously that the kids, on returning from the Oscars, were beaten up by their parents merely because they wanted to rest for a few hours after the long journey and could not face the media.

Their parents also claimed that the film’s makers did not pay them sufficient amount for their kids’ roles in the film.

However, the filmmakers claim that, besides the salaries from the film, trusts are established for Rubina and Azhar, which will take care of the children’s education, emergency medical costs and living expenses till they turn 18, after which they can avail of the money.

“Slumdog” director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Coulson have promised to donate $30,000 to help the young stars find permanent housing.