City girl gets her act together

8220;This has been my passion ever since I was in sixth grade and I have been participating in various events in school as well. Acting is something that comes naturally to me,8221; said the young aspirant who is a commerce student in Class XI at the Sacred Heart Convent Senior Secondary School.

Taking inspiration from 8216;Rock On8217; star Prachi Desai who hogged the limelight after she graduated from TV to celluloid, Kanika says, 8220;The competition is immense as about one lakh candidates flock TV production studios in Mumbai every month, but I have faith in myself and that is what counts more than anything else.8221;

She credits her latest success to the motivation she received from her parents. 8220;My parents have been of a great support at every step. It was my father who asked me to participate in the auditions,8221; she smiles.

She is the youngest among 21 candidates selected in various categories that include acting, modelling and singing by IIGLS which also has association with Big Shows Productions, Icon Pictures and Blue Eye Productions. The other candidates include Saurabh Bedi, Karan Narang, Sunny Dhand, Rajan Arora, Aryan Grewal and Jagdeep Singh.

8220;The talent in Punjab is untapped. In the absence of proper guidance, aspirants have to knock the doors of different production houses in Mumbai,8221; said Babla Kathuria, an actor and choreographer.

8220;Very often we have seen talent from the state is not able to make it to Mumbai8217;s production houses because of lack of proper guidance. We have selected them after shortlisting them from 500-odd candidates.8221;