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Slumdog Millionaire Star Gets New Home

At least one of the child stars of Slumdog Millionaire is getting out of the slums.

The filmmakers behind the Oscar-winning movie have bought a new home for one of the two children who lost their homes in Mumbai, India, last month when authorities demolished them.

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Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, 10, and his family received a 250-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment, Nirja Mattoo, who helps oversee the Jai Ho Trust (which was set up by director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson), told the Associated Press.

The purchase of the property — located in Santa Cruz West, a suburb north of the slum he currently lives in — was completed Monday. "They can move in," Mattoo said Wednesday. "I'm just waiting for their consent."

Ownership of the tiny apartment, which cost approximately $50,000, will be transferred from the trust to Ismail when he turns 18, provided he completes school, Mattoo said. "He has to complete an education," she said. "We are very clear about that."

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Ismail's costar, 9-year-old Rubina Ali is also in need of a new home, and Mattoo said the trust is actively looking for one.

Incidentally, this is the second home purchased for Ismail's family in recent weeks. The government recently purchased a slightly smaller 180-square-foot apartment for the boy's family in the Malvani district of Mumbai. The family of young Ismail — known as Azhar — hopes to keep both, his mother said. "After Azhar is grown up, he can stay in one," said Shameem Ismail. "Me and my husband can stay in the other. Both houses are small."

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A spokesman for the Jai Ho Trust said that the family was welcome to keep both apartments, though a government official said that the state-provided housing, which both actors' families complained were too far away from the children's schools, will likely be canceled.

Ismail said he likes both houses. "I'll take my friends to visit," he said.

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