The child stars of Slumdog Millionaire returned to India where they were greeted with massive adulation.

The young actors were greeted with garlands and held aloft by the crowds as they stepped out of Mumbai airport.

Composer A R Rahman, who won two Oscars, received a similar welcome as he arrived in his home city of Chennai.
The film, a rags-to-riches story about the winner of game show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, won eight Oscars.
The children were flown to Los Angeles for last weekend’s 81st annual Academy Awards.
Two of them, Azharuddin Ismail (who plays the youngest Salim) and Rubina Ali (who plays the youngest Latika) still live in the slums in western Mumbai.

The crowds sang Jai Ho - Rahman’s theme tune for the film - as the stars arrived home.
Hundreds of friends, fans and relatives jostled to catch a glimpse of them as dozens of police tried to keep control.

“This is the proudest moment of our lives. I cannot believe my daughter has become world famous,” Rubina’ father, Rafiq Asghar Ali Quereshi, said.

Her mother said she had prepared her daughter’s favorite chicken biryani dish to celebrate her return.

It sure has been an overwhelming journey for the kids of Slumdog Millionaire.

“I really liked it. We had fun. This is the first Oscar award for India,” said Ayush Khedekar who played young Jamal in the film.

‘It was lots of fun in America. We enjoyed in the swimming pool and we played a lot,” said Azharuddin Mohammed

‘Stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan have not been able to get these awards, whereas my son was there. He is very fortunate,” said Azharuddin’s mother Shameen Mohammed.

It’s been a fairytale ending for the child actors of Slumdog Millionaire especially Azharuddin and Rubina with this grand homecoming. They’ve become overnight celebrities.
However, there was an outcry when it emerged that Rubina still lives with her family in a one-room shack while 10-year-old Azharuddin’s family home, located under a tarpaulin by a busy road, was recently demolished.

The film makers have strongly denied charges of exploitation, saying the children were paid above local wages, funds have been set up to pay for their education and they have been enrolled in school for the first time.

The Indian state authorities have also said they will provide the families with free housing, saying the children have “brought laurels to the country”.