Young slumdog moves into new home

Azharuddin’s mother says she is happy they have “a roof over our heads”

One of the child stars of the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire has moved from his Mumbai (Bombay) shanty dwelling into a new home in the city.

Azharuddin Ismail, who played the youngest version of the main character’s brother Salim, will now live in an upmarket suburb nearby.

He said his new home was “really nice” but he would miss his old friends.

A trust set up by the film’s producers bought the property after Azharuddin’s family was made to leave the slums.

The Jai Ho Trust, named after the film’s sound track, says it is still looking for a new home to buy for co-star Rubina Ali.

‘Roof over our heads’

Azharuddin, nine, and his family moved into the property in the Santa Cruz area of Mumbai after being given the keys on Friday.

Azharuddin says he will miss his old friends

“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.”

Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars in February and has made more than $200m (£140m) in box office takings around the world.

Film director Danny Boyle has strongly denied charges of exploitation.

The Jai Ho Trust bought the property on Azharuddin’s behalf and it will become his when he turns 18 and finishes his education.

There was uproar in May when the family’s corrugated iron hut in the Gareeb Nagar area of Bandra was torn down for being illegal. Rubina Ali’s suffered a similar fate but she has yet to be rehoused.

Slumdog wins film festival prize

Boyle made his feature film directorial debut with Shallow Grave in 1995

British director Danny Boyle has won the Toronto Film Festival’s main prize for Slumdog Millionaire.

The People’s Choice Award, voted for by film fans, is regarded as an early indicator of success at the Oscars.

The film, starring Dev Patel, charts the life of a poor boy’s rise to fortune living in the Indian slums.

Boyle, 51, received critical acclaim for previous gritty works such as Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and the zombie-horror film 28 Days Later.

Cash prize

Previous winners of the Canadian award include the London gangster film Eastern Promises by acclaimed director David Cronenberg.

It’s a great underdog story Danny Boyle, on Slumdog Millionaire

Patel plays orphan Jamal, who appears on the Indian version of the hit TV game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Originally, Boyle said he had hoped for an all Bollywood cast.

However, that was not possible as local Indian actors “didn’t look enough like losers” for the main role of poor Jamal.

“It’s a great underdog story,” he said.

“In Bollywood if you want to be a young actor breaking into the system, you have to go to the gym for six hours a day to bulk up. I needed a very average-looking guy.”

Bollywood star Anil Kapoor also stars in the movie, along with newcomer Freida Pinto.

Winners of the award are also presented with $15,000 (about £8,400).