The girl who stole John's heart

The pint-sized Diya Chalwad is the surprise package of the John Abraham action-thriller, Rocky Handsome. But this isn't her first brush with an A-list actor.

The eight-year-old aspiring gymnast has previously shared screen space with Salman Khan in his last Eid release, Kick. "Salman sir and I didn't have many scenes together in Kick so we didn't interact much. I played a cancer patient who he stops from committing suicide," she points out.

However, owing to her sports background, Diya and John found a common ground to bond off camera as well. "I'd play kabbadi with John sir in his vanity van as we munched on dry fruits. He is into body-building and I'm a gymnast so we practised together," smiles the child actor. "I play the daughter of a bar dancer. My mother dislikes me but John sir, who's my neighbour, is my friend and when I'm kidnapped, he rescues me. This brings us even closer."

While the likes of Alia Bhatt and Shraddha Kapoor figure high on the favourite stars list of kids her age, Diya looks up to Madhuri Dixit. "I love her acting and dancing style. My other favourite actors are John sir, Salman, Irrfan Khan and Manoj Bajpayee," she exclaims.

She attends gymnastics class three times a week at the Andheri Sports complex and has been training since she was two. She also enjoy singing and skating. "I have won inter-school competitions for gymnastics and also the best actor award at a children's film fest in Bengaluru," she says proudly, adding that she learnt acting by watching films. "My dad figured I would make a good actress so he started taking me for auditions. That is how I got my first show, Oye Jassie. After that, I did Kick, Pizza, A Daughter's Dream and now, Rocky Handsome. But I don't know if I want to be a heroine when I grow up. For now, I just want to enjoy life."