Mahesh Bhatt casts 10-year-old as lead for a new show

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt has zeroed in on a 10-year-old girl named Arsheen Namdaar as the lead for his new TV series Naamkarann.

The show, which will be on air from the next month, explores the journey of a 10-year-old who carves her own identity and takes charge of her own destiny.

"Arsheen is a born actress and she's a perfect fit for Avni's character. Just like Alia (Bhatt) stunned everyone including me with her outstanding performance in Udta Punjab, this girl Arsheen is going to stun everyone," Bhatt said in a statement.

Talking about the show, the 67-year-old, who is known for his hard-hitting and realistic films, added that since the medium of TV can bring about a change in mindsets, he chose to use the platform to tell a story which was challenging and questioning social norms.

"Naamkarann is my most thought provoking project yet with my strongest female lead as Avni (Arsheen)," Bhatt said.

On bagging Naamkarann, Arsheen said: "The entire cast and crew is very sweet and takes care of me. Especially Bhatt Sir is very nice and encourages me a lot. We all are actually waiting for the show to start".

The show will be aired on Star Plus.