Thursday, May 14, 2009

Slumdog' Child Star's HOME Torn Down By Authorities


City workers bulldozed the home of a "Slumdog Millionaire" child star Thursday as part of the demolition of dozens of shanties in a Mumbai slum.

Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail was asleep when a police officer woke him up and told him to leave his family's home, he said. Shortly after that, the shack and about 30 more were destroyed.

"A police officer took a bamboo stick to hit me, and I was frightened," said 10-year-old Azhar.

Authorities say his family will be given a new home elsewhere.

"Slumdog" filmmakers say they've done their best to help the young stars. They set up a trust, called Jai Ho, after the hit song from the film, to ensure the children get proper homes, a good education and a nest egg when they finish high school. They also donated $747,500 to a charity to help slum kids in Mumbai.

Producer Christian Colson has described the trust as substantial, but won't tell anyone how much it contains not even the parents for fear of making the children vulnerable to exploitation.

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