SRK-Preity's son in KANK is a girl

The little boy Ashu in My friend Ganesha, Ahsaas Channa, is actually er… a girl! But now her mother wants to stop the charade.

"I've been acting since I was seven and I enjoyed it. I wasn't forced into it. I didn't need to go running from office to office looking for roles either. Once Satyam Shivam Sundaram was announced, producers started coming to me. I was nine then and I guess they thought that if she's signed with RK, at the very least she'll learn something and come out of it.

I did lots of movies with other child artistes and even played with them on the sets. Even then there were boys who played girls or the other way around, but it seemed okay. Perhaps these things make a difference only later. Then it was fun and games. We didn't have an extreme case like this though.

"Yes, the set was my playground. I remember we had gone to shoot a song in Los Angeles, USA, for Dream Girl. The shoot took only a few days and the rest of the time, we went on rides nonstop. When I look at myself in those days dancing and singing with a lisp I laugh at myself. But I always knew I was acting and my father was always on the sets with me.

"Of course we grew up a little faster. I was traveling, meeting people and earning — that gave you a bit of maturity. I don't think I missed out on a childhood, though I did miss out on an education, which was okay with me then. Though that doesn't make me a very good example for my son!

"The Ahsaas Channa case is unfortunate. We never really know what the truth is, what the inside story is. Kids today are generally growing up faster than we did then, thanks to all the exposure that they get to TV and computers."

"I wasn't treated differently because I was a child artiste. I never thought of myself as a star. My family made sure I stayed grounded. Sometimes in school friends talked about it, but that's all. Thankfully, I was never one of those irritating child actors. I was a kid and I behaved my age. Everyone was uncle and aunty for me.

And because I was never star-struck, I didn't get enamoured by people on the sets. Acting was fun and that's why I did it. I enjoyed it tremendously. It was never about glamour. The set, at some level, was my playground. We constantly played and fooled around on it.

"On the sets of Masoom, we would be playing around, and they would suddenly call us in for a scene.

We would go on the scene with our faces unwashed. Though I didn't always understand what was happening around me I, like most child actors, grew up more quickly. It is the nature of the profession. You are in an adult profession. You don't change but people around you do — suddenly they start becoming over-friendly and that's what makes you grow up.

What happened in the case of Ahsaas Channa is really sad. People don't realise that they are playing with someone else's life. I don't know much about this child specifically, but it's unfortunate she had to go through this."

"I remember my time as a child artiste as a good experience because it was something most people don't experience at that age. I acted in seven films between seven and 11 years. It exposed me to the camera and the world of creativity that later opened the doors to my profession. It was an awakening and I enjoyed it. In fact, though I never neglected my studies, I remember enjoying shooting more.

"While we were shooting Mr India, there were so many kids that we became close. During breaks we would scatter off and Shekhar (Kapur) had to get us back. Ahmed (Khan, who was also in Mr India) used to teach me break-dance. I used to go with my mother to the sets and take my homework along.

But during Mr India, I remember Anil, Sanjay (Kapoor) and Shekhar playing cricket with us. I always felt like a child on the sets, but I also started thinking independently because I started working. But money never even entered my head; it was all for pleasure.

I don't want to comment on the Ahsaas Channa episode because I don't know the entire issue. Nothing like this ever happened to me, but it would be unfair to comment."

"AS a child artiste I was fortunate. My parents never sought this life for me, it just happened. Gautam Rajadhyaksha, the photographer, is a family friend. I had modeled for ads that he had shot and soon film offers poured in.

But my parents ensured I worked only with people my father knew and only during school vacations. At least one of them or my elder brother would be present at shoots. There was no pressure — this wasn't a moneymaking venture.

"I always worked within my comfort zone. Take for example Masoom. When Masoom was first offered to me, I said no. I thought that my friends at school (Campion School) would laugh at me! But Shekhar Kapur coaxed me into accepting the role — I spent many evenings hanging out with him, playing monopoly and cricket.

He'd become my best friend by the time I said yes. I was thoroughly pampered on the set and would throw tantrums; once, I insisted that I be given hot samosas, or else I wouldn't shoot. Sure enough, I got them.

"I understood and learnt a lot about acting and that's to Shekhar's credit. He explained things by breaking them down to the simplest level.
I was a child at ease in an adult world. I don't think my experiences made me mature early.

"That isn't the case with Ahsaas, I think. What has happened to her is sad and apparently her mother's responsible. It's quite unfair… I hope she's able to overcome this crisis with time."