Childhood is all about innocence while growing up is about losing it. Child actors, however, end up in a tricky situation where they have to negotiate the adulthood thrust on them by stardom even as their peers grow up in unalloyed freedom.
On the occasion of ‘Children’s Day’, child actors and adult stars, who started donning the grease paint as kids, talk about handling the stardom and missing out on the pleasures of childhood.
Kishan SS began modelling when he was three years old. He did his first film at four years and by the time he was eight, he had acted in about 24 feature films and more than 300 television episodes. “I was a playback singer, learnt the art of direction, sound engineering on ProTools, graphic designing on Photoshop and professional editing on Final Cut,” says Kishan, who is one of the country’s youngest directors.
Although he missed going to a regular school, this 20-year-old has struck a balance between academics and acting. “I promised my parents that I would keep good grades at school and to keep my word, I would carry my notes to the shooting set and study there. But I never felt the pressure because I loved what I was doing,” explains Kishan.
But he says he definitely missed having friends his age throughout his childhood.
“I always had friends a couple of years older to me. There have been tough times when I used to shoot till 4 am for a movie and then shoot till 7 am for a television series and return to work on a movie — and this used to continue for a couple of days. I used to doze off in my mother’s lap on the sets. It was fun but challenging,” he shares.
Umpteen child actors face the camera when they are very young. After a couple of takes and loads of hard work, the film releases and stardom follows.
Star kid Yuvina Parthavi prominently appears on the poster of the yet-to-release Kannada film ‘Pushpaka Vimana’. Eight-year-old Yuvina began her career in films when she was three with the Tamil film ‘Veeram’. Her mother, Devi Mahesh, says, “I think she liked all the attention
because she wasn’t nervous on the sets, even on the first day, and remains calm even till today.” The excitement in Yuvina’s voice is evident when she says “The best part about being an actor is that I get to meet different people and travel to different places.”
“The only thing that we need to ask her is to study. Acting comes naturally to her. Weekends are reserved for studying. We are particular that she also completes her education,” adds Devi.
Yuvina likes going out with her parents to malls, restaurants and to the movies. “We have people asking Yuvina for a selfie and she happily obliges them,” says Devi.
Actor Manjunath was seven when he made his debut in Kannada films with ‘Honeymoon Express’. The actor is now 17 years old and is fondly called Shille Manjunath after his character named Shille in ‘Love in Mandya’.
He says that it was his mother Vennila’s dream to see him as an actor.
He recollects that he was very afraid when he was first brought to the sets of ‘Honeymoon Express’. “I forgot to say my lines in the first take and the second time, I said only half of it and ran towards my mother. I was very confused and had to be cajoled with a chocolate to get back to work,” recalls Manjunath. “I used to catch up on the lessons that I missed during the weekends. And I would study through the night during exams. It was hard those days but I managed to complete my schooling with good grades,” says Manjunath. Did he miss having a normal childhood? Manjunath says that he was always a reserved child and preferred to play indoors. “I miss being able to walk around in malls and hang out with my friends in a restaurant but I am happy that I’ve managed to achieve my dream,” he adds.
Actor and dancer Faisal Khan, now 18, strode into fame when he was 13. He shot to stardom after his performance in ‘Dance India Dance Li’l Masters.’ Faisal recollects that the most difficult time to manage his studies and shooting was during the shooting of ‘Bharat Ka Veer Putra – Maharana Pratap’ in which he played Maharana Pratap. “We were shooting continuously. I would study whenever I got a break and complete my notes just in time for submission at school,” he recollects.
“I missed being at school with my friends and being a part of projects and activities. My tight schedules made it almost impossible for me to be present in class,” he says. But looking back, he dubs his journey as a great learning process.