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'Slumdog' Child Stars Get Heroes' Welcome

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 27, 2009

MUMBAI, India - From the shantytown's corrugated tin roofs to its squalid streets, proud relatives and neighbors cheered the two child stars of the Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire" who returned home from the Oscar festivities Thursday.

Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10, who portrays Salim, the hero's brother, fielded questions like a veteran in the Bandra slum, north of Mumbai.

"An Oscar award is such an award that big stars dream of getting these awards," he said. "Eight awards! Even one award makes one feel so high, we have got eight awards. So our movie has become a super hit."

Rubina Ali, 9, who plays the film's heroine, Latika, as a child, was carried on her father's shoulders.

Danny Boyle, the British director, has placed the child stars in a nonprofit, English-language school for underprivileged children in Mumbai, given their families small monthly stipends and set up trust funds that the children can tap once they graduate.

The Associated Press

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