MUMBAI, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A 10-year-old actor who appeared in the Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" was allegedly beaten Friday by his father in Mumbai, witnesses claim.
Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, who played young Salim in the movie, attended the Oscars in Los Angeles earlier this week. He and his co-stars charmed Hollywood's elite at the awards ceremony and parties afterward, then went to Disneyland the next day.
Azharuddin and his 9-year-old co-star Rubina Ali have received additional media attention because they are still living in the slums of Mumbai after the worldwide success of the movie.
Indian housing officials have offered the two child stars' families new free homes but have said they aren't sure when they will be able to move in. Rubina's family reportedly lives in a one-room shack and Azharuddin's in a tent.
The Sun newspaper said Azharuddin allegedly suffered a vicious beating Friday at the hands of his father when he complained he was tired from the long flight from Los Angeles and all the excitement and said he didn't want to talk to well-wishers and media anymore.
Azharuddin's father, Mohammed Ismail, allegedly kicked and slapped the child in the face, as his mother pleaded with him to stop. Azharuddin cowered in a corner, then ran off crying, the newspaper said.
"Azharruddin's father was upset that he was asking to be left alone because he was tired," an onlooker told The Sun. "He didn't attend school today so that he could recover from his long flight from LA and simply wanted all the attention to stop. However, when Azharuddin put his foot down and said that was it and there was to be no more talking, Ismail just flipped.
It was like a scene out of 'Slumdog Millionaire.'"
Last night, he apologised for striking his son.‘I was so confused and stressed by my son’s homecoming,’ he added. ‘I love my boy and I am very happy to have him home.’
The aggression was in stark contrast to the previous day's triumphant return to the slums, when Azharuddin's father lifted him up and paraded him like a trophy for the expectant crowds
