Too bad this Asian girl fell back into the cycle of poverty

[theking]

Indian schoolgirl who became a film star and won an Oscar back living in poverty

An Indian schoolgirl who escaped destitution to become a poster-child at Wimbledon after starring in an Oscar-winning documentary is back in poverty and lives in a house with no door.

Pinki Sonkar, who at five years old starred in the acclaimed film Smile Pinki, about her life-changing surgery for a cleft lip, enjoyed a spell of fame, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood A-listers at the Academy Awards when the film won an Oscar in 2009.

In 2013, she was invited to toss the coin for the men’s singles final at Wimbledon, kicking off Andy Murray’s historic victory over Novak Djokovic.

But Ms Sonkar, who is now 18, is back in India living in her village in the Mirzapur district, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

“I find myself in the same circumstances as before the Oscar, studying and working at home,” Ms Sonkar told The Telegraph. “Nothing has changed for me.”

The documentary followed Ms Sonkar and another young child, Ghutaru, who were both born with cleft lips and suffered cruel abuse and taunts.