News Service from House Harris

ASIA: Slumdog child star slapped for refusing interview: report

NEW DELHI, Feb 28 AFP - The father of one of the child stars of the Oscar-winning film, Slumdog Millionaire, slapped him for refusing to give media interviews, a report said on Saturday.

Ten-year-old Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, plucked from a Mumbai slum to play in the movie, has been barraged by media attention since returning to his shanty home earlier in the week from the Oscars awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

Jet-lagged after the long flight, Azharuddin wanted to sleep and refused to talk to reporters when his father got angry and slapped him, the Press Trust of India reported.

"I was being naughty. I did not want to give the interview because I was tired so he slapped me but he loves me," said Azharuddin, who came back Thursday to his tarpaulin-covered lean-to home.

Azharuddin - Azhar to his friends - plays the young Salim, elder brother of the film's central character, Jamal.

Azharuddin's father, Mohammed Ismail, who suffers from tuberculosis and sells cardboard to eke out a living, told the news agency: "My child was very tired and bored but I had committed to one journalist (to give him an interview).

"I felt badly when he refused him (the journalist). He is my child and I just slapped him but I feel sorry now."

Azharuddin and the other child `Slumdog' actor who went to Hollywood, Rubina Ali, have shot to fame with the huge success of the film, winner of eight Oscars, but they both still live in slums that are home to half of Mumbai's population.

Rubina's return has not been smooth either. The child, who plays the younger version of Jamal's love interest, Latika, came back to a warring family with both her biological mother, Khushi, and her step-mother, Munni, claiming custody of her, media reports say.

Rubina lives with her father, Rafiq Qureshi, and step-mother.

Azhar and Rubina attend an English-medium school for underprivileged children and a trust fund has been set up for them until they are 18. They also get a monthly stipend.