A National Award is in his kitty and he sits down with journalists giving interviews, child actor Harsh Mayar is learning to deal with his transformation from a regular teenager to another 'Slum Dog' success

They say be careful what you wear to bed at night, you never know who you'll meet in your dreams. Harsh Mayar keeps the one lone black suit he possesses ready; Priyanka Chopra -- the woman of his dreams -- might request an audience any day. After all, this 13- year-old boy has won the National Award for Best Child Actor for his film I am Kalam; and fame is only a matter of time.



Unstoppable
Harsh looks a little under-nourished for a 13-year-old teenager. But then again he comes from that side of the town where mothers can't afford to run after their kids with a Bournvita mug in hand. Even then, this little tall guy has made his preliminary walk from the shanties of Dakshinpuri to the Buckingham Palace (Prince Charles has expressed his desire to watch the film). And the buck doesn't stop there. He wants a little more than the whole sky. "I'm not going to stop here. I am about to star in a Hollywood film next," he says, fidgeting with my pen, peering over the pad I'm jotting down on. What he lack in size he makes up with his energy.

Inspired
I am Kalam, directed by Nila Madhab Panda and produced by the Smile Foundation, revolves around Chhotu (Harsh), an ambitious dhaba help in Rajasthan who decides to change his life after watching former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam's success story on television. Nowadays Harsh's onscreen story has seeped into his real life, the two stories walk parallel before blurring and merging into one. "Like my character I am a kid from Dakshinpuri who now owns a Rs 5,000-wala PS2," he says with pride about the new gaming console he bought with the Rs 22,000 advance he received as part of his fee. "The rest was spent on my grandfather's death anniversary pujas," he says matter-of-factly.