This Article is From May 31, 2009

Slumdog star's home escapes demolition

Slumdog star's home escapes demolition

AP image

Mumbai:

Mumbai's demolition squad has this time round spared the house of Slumdog Millionaire child star Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail.

A bulldozer and about 30 men leveled 18 shanties in the Garib Nagar slum where 10-year-old Azhar and his family live. But they left Azharuddin house standing. His father now says he's feeling bad for his neighbours.

"I'm feeling very bad. They should have at least had broken a little bit of my house," said Azhar's father Mohammed Ismail.

Perhaps it's the prospect of moving from the shanties to owning two homes. Slumdog kid Azhar's father sings a different tune from two weeks ago when his home was last demolished by civic authorities.

Bulldozers visited Garib Nagar yet again, but this time the only shanty left standing was Azhar's.

"They have not broken his house because he is a star," said a local resident.

"Why have we been targeted," said another resident.

When asked, the civic authorities said that the only reason they had spared Azhar's house was because he was going to vacate it anyway.

While the BMC waits for that to happen the families not only insist they want both homes, but already have plans for them.

"I will give one house to my widow mother. We will live in the other," said Rubina's father Rafiq Qureishi.

"When Azhar gets older and gets married he will need a bigger house. We will live in the other house," said Azhar's mother Shameem Ismail.

These are plans that will take a few weeks to materalise as the state and the 'Jai Ho' trust go through the necessary paperwork.

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