Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail

Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail Biography

Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail is a child artist who shot to fame after playing child version of Salim Malik in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Azharuddin is a recipient of the 15th Screen Actors Guild Award for 'Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture', for being a member of the cast of that film. She was nominated at Black Reel Awards of 2008 – Best Ensemble for Slumdog Millionaire. He was later seen in the Bollywood film - Kal Kisne Dekha (2009) aside Rubina Ali. In fact the kids born in slums shot to fame after playing the slum kids in the academy award winning movie.

Before he was casted to the movie, debates were made if real slum kids should be employed for the movie. Critics even claimed that Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and his co-star Rubina had been underpaid for the pivot roles they played in the movie. He and the slums where he lived came to limelight after the movie became a huge success winning several prestigious awards. However the director stated that they have "set up trust funds for Rubina and Azharuddin and paid for their education, though the actual amount is unknown.

Both the kids attended the 81st Academy Awards on 22 February 2009, the first time Azharuddin came out of Mumbai. Their return back to Mumbai after winning awards also created some controversies. It was reported that the young kid was slapped by his father for not giving an interview to a foreign reporter, as he was very tired. Azharuddin comes from the slums of Mumbai. His family lost their hut in demolition and they lived under a sheet of plastic tarpaulin. However, his family moved into a new home in the Santa Cruz area of Mumbai and the fund was raised by a trust set up by the film's producers.

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Updated: November 29, 2015