Journalism of Courage
This Children’s Day, we bring you a special gallery featuring some of our most-memorable child actors over the years.
Shweta Basu Prasad: She was in news for all the wrong reasons recently but National Award winning child actor Shweta Basu Prasad is till date remembered for her award winning performance as Chunni and Munni in 'Makdee'.
She started her career at the age of 11, by appearing in Hindi films and television series, Shweta then moved onto Bengali, Tamil and Telugu cinema. Shweta also appeared in Ekta Kapoor’s ‘Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii’.
Avika Gor: This teenager got her big break as a child actor on the television show, ‘Balika Vadhu’, where she played the role of Anandi. And became the most loved child bride on Indian television. And there were reports of TRP falls for a brief period when she left the show after it took a leap.
She is currently playing Roli in 'Sasural Simar Ka'. Apart from television, Avika made her film debut in Tollywood flick, ‘Uyyala Jampala’.
Darsheel Safary: Who can forget the naughty Ishaan. He made us weep with his award-winning performance as a dyslexic child in Aamir Khan and Amole Gupte's 'Taare Zameen Par'. Amole Gupte later revealed that though he auditioned a number of boys, he finally zeroed in on Darsheel as there was a certain mischief in his eyes. He was awarded the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor, Star Screen Award for Best Child Artist and Star Screen Award Special Jury Award.
Jugal Hansraj/Urmila Matondkar: The duo played step siblings in Shekhar Kapur's family drama, ‘Masoom’, that told the tale of a young boy who is born out of wedlock and sent to live with his father, father’s wife and step siblings after his mother passes away. Also starring Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Supriya Pathak, ‘Masoom’ won the Filmfare Best Critics award.
Partho Gupte: After the success of ‘Taare Zameen Par’, filmmaker Amole Gupte made a small-budget film, ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ featuring his son Partho as the main lead. Partho played the role of a child who always eats his classmate’s Tiffin but never brings his own. His hard-hitting performance earned him a National Award. Partho later acted in ‘Hawaa Hawaai’, along with actor Saqib Saleem.
Neetu Singh (Kapoor): Ranbir Kapoor's mother, Kapoor bahu and veteran actress Neetu Singh is also well remembered for her films as a child artist. She began acting at a tender age of eight in ‘Dus Lakh’, where she played the role of Roopa. Neetu Singh later played a dual role in 'Do Kaliyaan', as Ganga/Jamuna. 1970 film, ‘Pavitra Paapi’ also featured a notable performance by the actress.
Spandan Chaturvedi: This young girl already has a string of television serials to her name including, ‘Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon’, where she played the role of a young Madhubala. She has also acted in ‘Sanskaar - Dharohar Apnon Ki’ and ‘Ek Veer Ki Ardaas… Veera’. However, the young actor who now appears in ‘Udaan’, which carries with it the social message highlighting the issue of bonded labour in rural India, has made her a household name.
Macaulay Culkin: He rose to fame with his performance of Kevin McCallister in the ‘Home Alone’ franchise, which was a cult favourite, not just among kids but with adults as well. He was also seen in films like ‘Richie Rich’, ‘The Good Son’ and Michael Jackson’s hit video, ‘Black or White’.
Mara Wilson: The adorable little girl won hearts for the titular role of ‘Matilda’ in the film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel, where she played the bright girl, who was being neglected by her parents. Mara Wilson is also remembered for her role of Natalie Hillard in Robin Williams-starrer ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’.
