School issues diktat to child star

School issues diktat to child star

Mumbai: It's an era where child protgs have overtaken the saas and bahus on television. Children are becoming instant stars. Now, this celebrity status is giving sleepless nights schools where child stars study.

Recently, the management of the school where child star Zaina Vastani studies gave her strict instructions not to reveal the name of the school. They felt this was the only way to avoid the media attention.

Now, four-and-half- year-old Zaina, who plays the title role in Zee TV's Aap Ki Antara, is ready to talk about anything in her own innocent accent, but refuses to divulge any information about her school.

"I don't want to tell you the name of my school. My mummy has told me not to utter anything about school. So, I will not say anything," she says.

Zaina studies in senior kindergarten. Her mother says, "The school authorities have told us clearly not to mention the school' name in any interviews. They don't want the media to unnecessarily focus attention on the school. We will abide by the rules because we want her education to proceed smoothly. We won't mention the name, not even off record."

When mentioned about the issue of child labour in the small-screen industry, as it has been much talked about, Zaina's mother says that they've made everything to the production house at the very start of the show. She says Zaina goes to shoot only after her school.

"Zaina's school starts at 7.30 am and she gets done by 12.30 pm. After lunch, I take her to the sets in Goregaon. From 4.30 pm she starts shooting and it goes on till 7.30 pm. The best part is that the cast and crew understand that she is just a kid, so they always finish her scenes first. Most of the time, she gets done within three to four hours," her mother ends.