'My Cinderella fairytale ended and I was back to my real life full of pain, trauma and poverty': In her own words, Indian girl who shot to fame at the Oscars describes how reality returned after a cruelly brief taste of happiness

An Indian schoolgirl who shot to fame after starring in an Oscar-winning documentary has told how her 'Cinderella fairytale' was over 'in no time' and she was plunged back into a life 'full of pain, trauma and poverty'.

At five years old, Pinki Sonkar captured the hearts of the world when she starred in Smile Pinki, which told the story of the cruel abuse and taunts she suffered for having a cleft lip before she received life-changing surgery.

She went on to walk the red carpet alongside Hollywood A-listers at the 81st Academy Awards when the acclaimed film won an Oscar in 2009, a time she describes as 'the best moments of my life'.

Her newfound stardom saw her invited to do the coin toss at the Wimbledon Men's Singles Finals in 2013, kicking off what was to be Andy Murray's historic win over Novak Djokovic.

But that brief taste of happiness was ripped away from her shortly after, Pinki has now revealed, and she is back living in her childhood village, where her circumstances remain tough.

She says 'nothing has changed', and laments that 'her life is a story of full of false promises, poverty, hardships and short-lived fame'.

Pinki Sonkar (pictured as a child) is back living in her childhood village, which is in one of India's poorest areas

Smile Pinki told the story of the cruel abuse and taunts the little girl suffered for having a cleft lip - before she received life-changing surgery

Pinki shot to fame after starring in Oscar-winning documentary Smile Pinki (Pictured at a press conference for the 2009 Oscars with the doctor who performed her surgery and her father)

Pinki's newfound stardom saw her invited to do the coin toss at the Wimbledon Men's Singles Finals in 2013

Pinki (left), along with 30 other residents living in her village, were told they needed to leave their homes and served with demolition notices last year

While she came back with her prized golden statuette, Pinki says not much of the sparkle of Hollywood remained in her life when she got back to India

Now aged 21 and in her final year of high school, Pinki spends most of her time studying or doing domestic work, helping to support her family.

They live in the Mirzapur district, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, one of the poorest areas of India.

Pinki has three sisters and two brothers, with the family continuing to battle financial woes despite her celebrity.

The family's house has just two rooms and no running water, no bathroom and no front door, The Telegraph reports, and is regularly struck by power outages.

'The villagers have to walk nearly half a kilometre to the well to fetch water for our daily use,' she said.

The tough young woman previously worked in the fields, but says her brothers and father now carry out that work while she carries out domestic tasks 'like countless other Indian girls'.

She still watches the Oscars every year, she says, in an effort to recapture the fleeting joy she felt attending the star-studded event and spending time in Los Angeles.

She described her experience as being 'like a fairytale in real life,' recounting catching flights, wearing expensive clothes, staying in luxury hotels, mixing with the glitterati and enjoying food that she and her father 'could not even imagine'. 

Pinki Sonkar flashes her famous smile at Doctor Subodh Kumar Singh (right), who operated on her cleft palate, as her father Rajendera Sonker looks on (left)

'It was like the story of Cinderella, the bedtime story for kids,' Pinki told News18.

'I make sure that I watch the Oscar awards every year, as it's the only way to relive the moments, which I once lived. 

'But, in no time, the fairytale ended and I was back to my real life, which is full of pain, trauma and poverty.'

The struggles began for Pinki at birth, being born with a cleft palate, a condition that left her 'socially ostracised'.

'I remember being treated as an outcast by my schoolmates. My relatives didn't want me around and used to consider me 'inauspicious',' she said. 

Pinki Sonkar (pictured) with Andy Murray at the beginning of the Wimbledon final in 2013

Pinki Sonkar was just five-years-old when she starred in the 2008 American documentary film 'Smile Pinki' (Pictured here at Wimbledon in 2013)

Pinki's life was turned around when, by chance, she was spotted, by NGO Smile Train India.

They got her to a plastic surgeon in Varanasi, who performed her surgery for free, and the student still credits the charity with 'freeing her' from the trauma she experienced as a young girl.

Cleft palates occur when babies' lips or the roofs of their mouth do not join together, which can make it difficult to eat, and the birth defect affects tens of thousands of children in India.

Pinki's journey was documented by American filmmaker Megan Mylan, who came across the little girl and her father after discovering the sheer scale of the problem, with thousands of children being treated at just one hospital.

Pinki Sonkar being carried by her father during a picture with the then-Indian Prime Minister's wife Gurcharan Singh Kaur

Smile Train regional director Mamta Carroll recalls Pinki being a 'shy, unsure, thin girl' when she met her for the first time, before her life was transformed by the surgery and support from the charity.

Carroll, who Pinki credits with helping her to stay in education, said the young woman 'is today full of beans, a bright, confident young girl.'

The youngster got incredible opportunities after Smile Pinki catapulted her to global fame, travelling to the US as a special guest of Mylan's at the Oscars. 

However, while she came back with her prized golden statuette, Pinki says not much of the sparkle of Hollywood remained in her life when she got back to India.

Pinki's journey was documented by American filmmaker Megan Mylan, who came across the little girl before she received treatment for her cleft lip

'After returning from America, life became the same again. I restarted selling seasonal fruits to meet expenses of my family,' she said. 

But while she was able to continue her studies, financial constraints mean she holds out little hope for being able to pursue her dream of higher education.

'I'm studying commerce, but as for my future plans, I don't have any,' she told The Telegraph. 'With two brothers and three sisters, life is busy.' 

On top of the family's money worries, last year they were threatened with eviction as officials investigated whether the land their house was on belonged to them.

Pinki, along with 30 other people living in her village, were served with demolition notices. 

Pinki walked the red carpet alongside Hollywood A-listers at the 81st Academy Awards when the acclaimed film won an Oscar in 2009, a time she describes as 'the best moments of my life'

The strong-willed 20-something spoke out, asking 'why was this house given to me by the local administration years ago when I returned from the US?' and calling for 'relief and justice' for her and the other villagers. 

Despite the hardship she still faces, Pinki is determined to improve the lives of those around her, who she describes as 'unfortunates like [myself]'. 

She is currently setting up a library in her home with donated books and is committed to pulling herself, and her village out of poverty.

After all that she's been through, Pinki remains certain that a brighter future lies ahead, smiling as she told reporters: 'The day will come when I will beat poverty and emerge victorious.'