Shabiha Nur Khatoon
Harshaali Malhotra of Bajrangi Bhaijaan fame is a passionate and promising actor who looks set to make it really big on the big screen
Bajrangi Bhaijaan touched the nation’s chord with a heart-touching story that was particularly poignant at a time when acrimony between India and Pakistan is, unfortunately, on the rise. The real star of the film, however, was not Salman Khan. Harshaali Malhotra, aka Munni, the little angel who shot to fame overnight with her endearing performance as a deaf and dumb girl in the movie, stole a million hearts with her innocent smiles and tears.
Harshaali started her screen journey with television commercials and subsequently moved to daily soaps. However, it was Bajrangi Bhaijaan that established her as a child artiste of great calibre and Munni looks all set to rule the silver screen in the coming days.
Orissa POST chats with the little wonder and her mother, Kajal Malhotra, about her stunning performance in the movie.
Harshaali was born June 3, 2008 in Delhi and shifted to Mumbai after a couple of years. She faced the camera for the first time when she was not even two years old. It all started when she won a contest and emerged as the face of a store’s ad campaign which paved the way for other offers on TV. She has acted in TV shows like ‘Savdhaan India’ and ‘Laut Aao Trisha’.
But Bajrangi Bhaijaan certainly was the defining moment in her short career. Kajal, Harshaali’s mother says: “One day I went to meet the casting director Mukhesh Chabbra and introduced Harshaali to him. He told me Harshaali would be perfect for the role of the child character of Kareena or Katrina in the movie as she had a fair complexion like them. After a few months, I got a call from the unit. They asked us to come over as they wanted to test Harshaali’s body language. I was surprised and excited to know that she was being considered for a role in a Salman Khan starrer.”
“We received a call again after sometime and were pleasantly surprised to hear that the casting director wanted Harshaali to meet Salman. During the meeting Harshaali asked Salman to make her a big superstar like him. It was really funny. After the meeting, my daughter was selected for Shahida’s role and everybody loved her performance,” she adds.
The child artiste nurses dreams of becoming a top-notch actress one day. “Acting is my passion and becoming a successful actress is my dream. But I will never make compromises as regards studies. Apart from acting, I want to croon in my movies like Shraddha Kapoor does,” Harshaali chirps.
Her parents have pledged to support their daughter to the hilt in helping her turn her passion into her profession.
“I am glad that we discovered her passion early, and as parents we will always support her. She loves acting so much that if we tell her that there is shooting at four in the morning she will happily get ready to leave for the location well ahead of time. We never force her to take up assignments or go for shoots. She can continue acting as long as she enjoys it. If, one day, she decides that she no longer wants to act, we will support that decision too. I believe that as parents, it is important to give kids the freedom to pursue things they are passionate about, instead of forcing them to do things they are not interested in,” says Kajal.
Harshaali’s mother says that by god’s grace Harshaali is happily unconcerned about the praise and acclaim heaped on her. She is still the same shy, simple girl who is happy in her own world.
The prodigy balances her studies and work pretty well. “She is in Class III and seeing her performance in the exams her teachers are happy with her and are very supportive. She spends at least three hours studying every day,” adds Harshaali’s mother.
The child artiste is fond of chicken curry, and asked which actor she would like to work with, she spontaneously replies: “Salman mama”!
