Scintillating Child Prodigies

The post-effects of TZP instigated me to write this post. Over the years, there has been an evolution in terms of projecting a child character on screen. There has been some scintillating child performances which has touched every heart and I am going to list some of the memorable ones which I am aware of.

Last month, I watched Salaam Bombay. I had been vying to watch this movie of Mira Nair. And it happened. It is a story of a lost child, who is homeless, and ends up in the streets of Mumbai amidst drug peddlers, prostitutes and other homeless kids making a living out of any job. The story basically revolves around the little boy Chaipau, and his journey. To me, Shafiq Syed as Chaipau (a.k.a Krishna) was marvellous from take one. His urge to return home by saving money, his friendship in Chillum, his infatuation with Sola Saal, his companionship with Manju, his exhibition of fury once inside the children jail etc. were brilliantly showcased. The scene when he tries to save Chillum, a drug addict and his friend, when he tries to commit suicide shows what an amazing discovery Shafiq Syed is.

Imagine a child, barely 2 years old, and who cannot even walk properly, can walk into the hearts of millions and create a huge impact in the minds of the cine-goers. The child artist Shamili, in Mani Rathnam's Anjali, was a revelation. She was barely 2 years old and portrayed the character of a child with mental disability. Even today, I watch the movie for her rather than for Mani Rathnam. Shamili as Anjali displayed finesse in handling the character, that nobody till date had ever dared to. At such a tender age, portraying a complex character is not an easy task. All her sequences with her screen mom Revathy in the movie was an amazing display of histrionics which is impossible to expect from a two year old. Shamili was a unique discovery.

Keerthana, as Amudha, in Mani Rathnam's Kannathil Muthamittal, is another child artist who can bring the most complex nuances in a character and exhibit it with precision. Amudha's character in the movie, was about a girl who is in search of her biological mother to Sri Lanka with her adopted parents. From her introduction as a naughty, bratty girl to her slow transformation into a girl who comes to know that she is an adopted daughter, the flow of emotions in Amudha's character is worth-mentioning. The distortion caused because of this truth, the way her mind thinks, her expressions and distaste in life, and her determination to find her real mom and ask one simple question as to "why she left her"?, Keerthana was brilliant and deserved the national award.

Essaying a role of a blind and mute girl is a challenge in itself. I am talking about Ayesha Kapur in Black. The role had absolutely no dialogue to start with. But Ayesha infused so much life into the character that it looked real. I would say that hers was the best performance in the movie compared to Big B and Rani. She simply stole the show in the limited screen time that she had. A confident performance.

The post is incomplete without Darsheel Safary. His is what is called a bravura performance. He is the heartbeat of the movie. Ishaan's character will remain etched in people's memory for a long long time. It is a realistic portrayal of a complex character.