 Smile! The baby is on screen! Actors extraordinaire at a
tender age, the baby wonders compete with their older
counterparts, emoting with ease, holding the audience to rapt
attention. Introducing Komal -- or you may know her better --
Aastha from TV series Astitiva-Ek Prem Kahani.
Komal's debut was when she was barely a month-and-half old.
Now, she is all of one-and-half years and spends nearly 12
hours on the sets on shooting days.
Komal is so attuned to her role that she responds only to
the screen name of ‘Aastha’ and calls Simran (Nikki Aneja
Walia) as her ‘mom’. So, even her real mother has rechristened
her after after her screen name.
Acting doesn't come cheap, mind you. Komal earns a handsome
Rs 700 everyday. She works hard on the sets and has become
part of the continuity of serial production. She never has to
repeat a shot over three times.
 Loved by the entire crew and the stars, the starlet mixes
well with everyone. Mother Neela gets her ready and waits for
the director's instructions. A well-earned rest is usually
short-lived and the gaps in between go into preparing for the
next sequence. This seems to have taken a toll on Komal, for
though plump in the first half of the series, she has lost
weight now.
But babies are babies. Komal enjoys playing with the toys,
and wears the beautiful clothes provided to her for her part.
Neela feels a little lost on the sets since she has little
control over her wonder baby on the sets. But she is the proud
mother of an earning member of the family, and makes it a
point to save for her future.
There have been famous child artistes who made it to the
pinnacle, the likes of Madhubala. She had ten siblings. Her
reason to work – to feed the family. She bowed to the pressure
of her parents.
In this day and age, being an actor is every child’s
fantasy or their parents'. They would certainly like their
children making it big where Shah Rukhs and Hritiks rule.
We hope Komal remembers that one day she was a child actor,
for many have fallen on the way side when the final roll is
called. We wish her the best now and for the future.
BY HARPREET KAUR |
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