Dad slaps `Slumdog' kid, Renuka frowns in Delhi

MUMBAI: After marching down the red carpet on the Oscar evening in Los Angeles, a child star from the award-winning Slumdog Millionaire film--Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail--seems to have walked into a family fight a week later. His family--living in Garib Nagar near Bandra station--has, in the bargain, drawn the ire of Union women and child development minister Renuka Chowdhary.
Azharuddin's father, Mohammed Ismail, reportedly slapped the 10-year-old for refusing to speak to the media.Azharuddin, who played the young Salim in Slumdog, refused an interview on getting off the flight due to fatigue--an act that earned him a slap from his father.
Azhar has been quoted as saying "I was being naughty. I did not want to give the interview as I was tired. He slapped me, but he loves me''.
The father, too, is repentant. He had reportedly promised a journalist an interview with his son and was irritated when refused. "I just slapped him, but I feel sorry now,'' he said after the news broke out in the British press.
Given the media glare on these slum stars, every twist and turn in their lives has made it to the headlines. A few days ago, reports were written about how Rubina, who portrayed the role of young Latika, was caught in a battle between her biological mother and step-mother. Both want her custody.
Chowdhary on Saturday said she would direct the National Commission of Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to look into the incident. "It is sad that a father sees nothing wrong in slapping his child. I will find the facts of the case and ask NCPCR to take it up,'' Choudhary said.
"We will counsel the father so that the child is protected. There is a great need for sensitisation on issues related to children,'' she added.