Slumdog Millionaire star Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail’s life continues to be unstable following the event late last week when his home was razed to the ground in a slum clearance operation by the Mumbai authorities. Azharuddin claims the authorities had not informed them of the clearance and he was asleep when the bulldozers came. Beaten with a bamboo cane, he was told to get out whilst the machines did their work. “We are homeless, we have nowhere to go,” he confirmed. It is reported that a number of other children who appeared in scenes in the movie also had their homes demolished.
Azharuddin’s mother appears to confirm earlier comments by co-star Rubina Ali’s father that promises of alternative accommodation by Mumbai’s authorities and financial help from the Jai Ho Trust Fund, set up by the Slumdog film-makers, have not yet materialised. “Our house has been broken down by officials,” she said, “We have not been given any alternate accommodation. Earlier the authorities had said they would give us a house. But I don’t think that will happen any more.”
The film-makers claim to have donated
