Star by chance

Most days in 13yearold Maleesha Kharwarsquos life look pretty much as the previous ones Wake up brush her teeth have breakfast study online from 10 am to 3 pm wash utensils eat dinner sleep Whatrsquos different now is that the world knows about itThe teen who lives in a Bandra slum near the Sea Link became an Internet sensation when Step Up 2 The Streets actor Robert Hoffman chanced upon her early last year Stranded in Mumbai during the pandemic he took the opportunity to explore the city for future projectsDuring the filming the filmmakers decided to take the kids to a restaurant who later requested if they could pack some food home for their family says SaguTaken in by Kharwarsquos disarming smile and easy charm he launched an Instagram account dedicated to her and asked his fans and followers to help her make a career out of modellingA year down Kharwa with over one lakh followers on Instagram is the star of Live Your Fairytale a short film by filmmakers Jas Sagu and Arsala Qureishi The latter is the associate producer and writer of the 2015 film Angry Indian Goddesses That film followed the lives of eight women fighting misogyny in their different worlds That was fictional this is for real The common thread though is that both films incidentally revolve around ldquosmashing patriarchyrdquoMaleesha with her dad Mukesh and younger brother SahilldquoMaleesharsquos story is a happy and inspiring one We came back learning life lessons People tend to view her life from the poverty angle but she does not Being older of the two siblings she is responsible assertive and displays a maturity thatrsquos well beyond her years She is supporting her family almost singlehandedly at such a young age Her father is a clown artiste whose work has taken a backseat due to the pandemicrdquo says Sagu The duo never set out with the intention of making a film on Maleesha ldquoYes we wanted to document her and the other kids who are part of her universe This 10minute film however is nonmanufactured storytelling and there was no agenda to achieve anything We were mere observationalists with a camerardquo says Sagu They was introduced to Kharwa through Hoffman who had flown down to Mumbai in February 2020 to be part of their music video Aag Ka Gola LA ldquoHow we met Hoffman is also a story in itself When we were in LA for work we booked an Airbnb which incidentally belonged to him We had absolutely no idea who he was It was during a casual conversation that he mentioned that hersquos an actor We Googled him only to realise hersquos quite big in HollywoodrdquoThey documented Maleeshamdashwho has earned the moniker Slum Princessmdashgoing about her daily life capturing moments of happiness when she is playing with her cousins and mohalla kids They then extracted the most coherent moments to weave a story ldquoOn the day we met them we took them to a restaurant But before that we wanted to buy them shoes None of them knew their size so we sent a staffer to find out their size so we could buy them the right pairrdquo says Qureishi At the restaurant she says the children had a ball of a time feeling no inhibitions about coming to a fine dine ldquoIt was their first time at a restaurantFilmmakers Jas Sagu and Arsala QureishiOnce they were done eating each of them came up to Jas and me with just one request could they pack some food home for their family It was such a tender momentrdquo she adds The filmmakers plan to release the film on Kharwarsquos YouTube channel this monthHoffman who started a GoFundMe page for the teen has claimed that he had done so in order to secure the girlrsquos future and her place in the entertainment industry His efforts however well intentioned ended up drawing criticism from certain quarters Many raised concerns about the girlrsquos safety and potential exploitation ldquoThat criticising somebody who is trying to do good is the easiest thing to do You can sit with your smartphone in the luxury of your home and cast aspersions on someone who is simply trying to help In that case they should ask Maleesha and her family about what they feel Whatever was done and is being done is entirely with their consentrdquo says Sagu She says the girl as a rule is always accompanied by her entouragemdashher father a male cousin and other family membersmdashto shoots and any workmeetings ldquoIf she is not okay with somebody she is blunt enough to say it whether it is the placement of the microphone or camera angle We are just grateful that they let us into their livesrdquoKharwa who studies in a municipal school and speaks fluent English tells us that she is ldquosurprisedrdquo at the fame that has come her way She has already made it to the cover of designers Shane and Falguni Peacockrsquos The Peacock Magazine and is fairly certain of becoming a dancer and pursuing a modelling career in the future ldquoMy life has changed in the last one year It feels unreal when people come up to me and say that they are my fansrdquo she tells us over a call Kharwa who is an Instagram buff and spends a good amount of time on social media says her dream is to drive around in Kashmir ldquoThe other dream is to buy a big house for my father and brotherrdquo