10-year-old Slumdog Millionaire actor, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and his family finally moved into their new Santa Cruz West home in India this past Saturday. The family was left homeless several months ago after their shack in the Mumbai slums was destroyed by Indian authorities.

Their new $42,000 modern apartment was purchased for the family by the Jai Ho Trust, a fund set up by the filmmakers of Slumdog Millionaire to ensure the well-being of the film’s young actors. The trust currently owns the home, but the deed will be passed on to Azharuddin when he turns 18.

The family was seen moving pots and pans, a TV, and a birdcage into the new home over the weekend.  Their new neighbors even had the chance to get to know the new family.  One resident at the new complex complained to reporters on Sunday that all the noise that Azharuddin and his cousins made kept him up all night.

The boy and his family first began moving into a government-sponsored home last month, but the Maharashtra Housing Authority Development Agency expressed interest in rescinding their offer after learning that the Jai Ho Trust had also purchased a home for the family. No word yet on whether or not the apartment was actually taken back.

The Jai Ho Trust is now working on getting Azharuddin’s co-star, Rubina Ali and her family into a new home.

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Yesterday we reported that Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail began moving into his new 180-square-foot home purchased for him by the Indian government. Today, the Jai Ho Trust, set up to support the Slumdog Millionaire child actors, has released a statement confirming that a second home is now ready for the 10-year-old and his family.

A spokesperson for the Jai Ho Trust says,

They can move in, I’m just waiting for their consent.

The second home is slightly larger than the first, at 250 square feet, and is located in Santa Cruz West, just north of the slums where Azharuddin previously lived. According to the spokesperson, the trust will own the $50,000 apartment until Azharuddin turns 18. At that point, ownership will be transferred over to him.

The boy’s family plans to keep both homes. Azharuddin’s mother Shameem tells the press,

After Azhar is grown up, he can stay in one. Me and my husband can stay in the other. Both houses are small.

The government, however, may have different plans. They’ve noted that their apartment is a bit far from Azharuddin’s school, and have expressed interest in taking back their housing offer.

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10-year-old Slumdog Millionaire kid Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and his mother, father, and brother have finally begun moving into their new apartment provided by the Maharashtra Housing Authority Development Agency.

The government-sponsored 1 room apartment measures 180 square feet, and has a bathroom with running water. The $8560 property is located on the first floor of a new building in the Malvani district of Mumbai.  A picture of the new home is available here.

No word yet on whether or not Azharuddin will also get the apartment purchased for him by Danny Boyle’s Jai Ho foundation.

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9-year-old Slumdog Millionaire actress, Rubina Ali is reportedly working on a book about growing up in the slums of Mumbai.

The autobiography entitled Slumdog Dreaming: My Journey To The Stars, is set for release on July 16 by UK and US publisher Transworld.  A statement released by the publisher reads:

Rubina brings alive a world of wastelands and rat-infested shanty dwellings, and shows us her home, a wooden shack with a tarpaulin roof, where she grew up with her beloved father and siblings.

Just try your best to ignore the fact that her “beloved father” once attempted to sell her on the black market for £200,000.

Some proceeds from the book’s sales will reportedly go directly to Rubina and her family.  The rest of the money will be donated to French medical organization Médecins du Monde.

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The three youngest cast members of Slumdog Millionaire flew to Hong Kong today for a live taping of a song-and-dance routine to support The Community Chest charity, which aims to raise money to support various community projects in Hong Kong.

Rubina Ali, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, and Ayush Mahesh Khedekar were seen being followed by the paparazzi earlier today after their arrival at Hong Kong International Airport.

The trio, who will be staying at a luxury hotel, are being paid a small sum of money for their appearance.  After their performance, the kids will be heading out to London for a Parliament event set to honor the Slumdog cast and crew.

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Slumdog Millionaire actor, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail’s family members, who were homeless just last week, now reportedly have two brand new homes waiting for them.

A trust set up for the young Slumdog Millionaire actors, recently dropped a little change on a brand new apartment for the 10-year-old after his home in the Mumbai slums was destroyed by Indian authorities last month. Coincidentally, the Indian government, which received a nice chunk of bad press from the house-crushing incident, also stepped in to buy a new pad for the Ismail family.

9-year-old actress Rubina Ali, whose home was also destroyed last month, is reportedly receiving a home from the government as well.  No word yet on whether or not she’ll also score a second home from the Slumdog trust like her lucky co-star Azharuddin did.

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The Associated Press is reporting that the home of 9-year-old Rubina Ali was torn down in the Mumbai slums early this morning, when Indian authorities demolished about 18 shacks in the poverty stricken area.

Rubina’s father, Rafiq Qureshi claims that the police assaulted him before the demolition, sending him to the hospital with minor injuries.

Police officers interviewed are denying that Rafiq’s home was involved in the demolition, saying that even though several other homes in a nearby area were affected, Rafiq’s house was not in that part of town.  Rafiq is no stranger to controversy.  Last month, he was arrested for allegedly attempting to sell Rubina to a wealthy family from Dubai.

Last week, news broke that the home of another Slumdog Millionaire child actor, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, was destroyed by authorities.

Police officers claim that they are just cracking down on illegally constructed homes in the slums.

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10-year-old Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, who played young Salim Malik in Slumdog Millionaire is reportedly homeless after Indian authorities demolished his home, along with 30 others in the Mumbai slums early this morning.

Azharuddin and his mother were reportedly awoken by police officers and told to abandon the premises. Azharuddin claimed that a police officer beat him with a bamboo stick to shoo him out. His mother, Shameem Ismail told reporters,

They didn’t give prior notice. We didn’t even get a chance to take out our belongings. I don’t know what I am going to do.

This incident is the latest in a series of problems that have plagued the stars of the Oscar-winning film. Last month, another child actress from the film, Rubina Ali’s father was accused of attempting to sell his her to a wealthy family from Dubai.

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Slumdog Millionaire stars Dev Patel and Freida Pinto spent the better part of the past few months denying romance rumors, but after being photographed kissing and hugging on a date in Israel, Dev’s own mother Anita has come forward to rat the couple out.

Anita confirmed that the pair were dating when she told Britain’s Daily Mirror,

First it was the film and now everything else seems to have slotted into place. Life can’t get any better for him. Freida is really beautiful and I am really happy for them. Yes, we knew he was flying to Israel to see her.

Freida is currently in Tel Aviv, working on her latest film, Miral.

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9-year-old Slumdog Millionaire star, Rubina Ali’s older sister has come forward to claim that the Oscar-winning film has completely ripped her family apart.  13-year-old Sana told reporters that her father, who was accused over the weekend of trying to sell Rubina for £200,000, recently kicked her out of the family’s home in the slums of Mumbai.  Sana said,

My father said I was unwanted and Rubina was more precious. Abba [father] cared for us well before Slumdog. The Oscar has destroyed my family.

Sana went to her mother with news two weeks ago that her father Rafiq was entertaining offers to put her sister up for sale.  She claimed that she heard her father asking Rubina if she would be interested in living with another family overseas.  Rafiq denied the accusations and sent Sana to live with her mother Khursheed.  Authorities are supposedly still investigating the incident.

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A trust set up by Slumdog Millionaire producer Christian Colson and director Danny Boyle has stepped in to protect the best interests of 9-year-old child actress Rubina Ali, after reports surfaced that her father had attempted to sell her to an undercover reporter for £200,000.

The trust, originally established to financially protect Rubina and her siblings, has now hired a social worker to personally check in on the girl, who is currently still living in the slums of Mumbai.

Christian recently released a statement saying,

Both Danny and I remain committed to working with the trust and the family to secure Rubina’s long-term best interests.

One of the trustees, Noshir H. Dadrawala added,

The trust will support Rubina, her parents and responsible authorities to ensure that the rights and best interests of Rubina. The trust is in regular contact with Rubina Ali and her family and has hired a social worker to assist in looking after her welfare and that of her co-star.

The trust was primarily designed to provide Rubina with a decent living situation, good education, and a monetary payment on her 18th birthday.

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The mother and stepmother of 9-year-old Rubina Ali were spotted screaming and slapping each other on the streets of the Mumbai slums yesterday.  News surfaced over the weekend that Rubina’s father Rafiq Qureshi and her stepmother, Munni were attempting to sell her to a wealthy man in Dubai for £200,000.  Rubina’s mother, Kurshida Devade did not agree to the sale, and was apparently furious at Rafiq and Munni for the attempted transaction.

The fight occured as Rafiq was being interrogated by authorities on charges of child trafficking.  Munni and Kurshida took their brawl out onto the street, where onlookers were able to catch a glimpse of the two yanking off clothing, and physically slapping each other.  See pictures of the cleavage-bearing catfight here (Possibly NSFW).

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Indian authorities arrested Rafiq Qureshi, the father of 9-year-old Slumdog Millionaire actress Rubina Ali after news leaked over the weekend that he had attempted to sell his daughter to an undercover reporter posing as a wealthy man from Dubai for £200,000.

Indian police interrogated Rafiq for hours before his arrest last night.  Rubina’s mother Khurshida, who is divorced from her father, is claiming that she became aware that her ex-husband had been attempting to broker a deal for the girl two weeks ago when her oldest child informed her of the news.  She went to authorities after the media reports surfaced.

Rafiq is insisting that the undercover reporters spoke only English, which he did not understand.  He is claiming that they simply confused him, leading him to believe that they were trying to offer his daughter a movie role for the money.

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News of the World recently decided to create an interesting story by sending one of their reporters off to the Mumbai slums to pose as a wealthy man from Dubai interested in purchasing 9-year-old Slumdog Millionaire star, Rubina Ali from her father.

Surprisingly, daddy Rafiq Qureshi took the bait, and offered up the girl for £200,000.

Rafiq went so far as to take his daughter for a midnight meeting at the Leela Kempinski hotel in Mumbai to show her off to the undercover reporter.  During the meeting, he told the man,

We’ve got nothing out of this film.  I have to consider what’s best for me, my family and Rubina’s future.  There’s a lot of interest in Rubina, she’s become very famous.

Rafiq was reportedly also considering a real offer from a wealthy Middle Eastern family interested in buying Rubina for £50,000, but decided to up the offer to £200,000 after News of the World pretended to express interest.

Rubina was plucked out of the Mumbai slums last year to play young Latika in Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning film, Slumdog Millionaire.  The girl’s father had recently issued public complaints that they were not paid enough for Rubina’s work.

Update: Sources close to the Rafiq Qureshi’s family are now coming forward to say that he did indeed meet some people at a hotel with his daughter recently, but since the undercover journalists did not speak Hindi, he was under the impression that they were discussing a movie role for the girl.  Rafiq insists that he would never sell his daughter, saying,

Rubina is so precious to me - even more than life itself. I could not even think about doing anything like that - let alone actually doing it… Life is bad at the moment, of course I want us to get out of this slum. I would never agree to anything like that. Never.

Let’s play “who’s lying?”

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