Shafiq Syed ( born 1976 ) is a former Indian child actor turned auto rickshaw driver . At the age of twelve , he played the lead role in Mira Nair 's Academy Award-nominated film '' Salaam Bombay ! '' ( 1988 ) , for which he also received the 1989 National Film Award for Best Child Artist at the 36th National Film Awards . As an adult , he drives an auto rickshaw in Bangalore and also works as an assistant in television production units . Syed grew up in Bangalore slums , before running away to Bombay ( now Mumbai ) with some friends , " just to see if what we saw in Hindi movies ( Bollywood ) were right " . In the following years , he lived as one of the street children living on the pavements near Churchgate railway station
36th National Film Awards
36th National Film Awards
Shafiq Syed