TOI: Small screen kids take exam- Pihu

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It's that time of the year when most young adults have to sweat it out and do their best at the final exams. Television's child actors are also literally on their toes, doing a fine juggling act between shooting, attending coaching classes and appearing for exams. Time management is not easy, but these youngsters are not letting the exam pressure bog them and are busy preparing for the exams in between shots as and when needed.

While Avika Gor (Sasural Simar Ka) andAvinash Mukherjee (Sanskaar...) are preparing for their Class X board exams; others like Ashnoor Kaur (Jai Jag Janani Maa Durga), Bhavesh Balchandani (Veera), Sparsh Khanchandani (Parvarrish), Ahsaas Channa (Devon Ke Dev Mahadev), Bhavya Gandhi and Kush Shah (Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah) are all appearing for their annual examinations too.

Ashnoor, a student of Class IV, says, "My mom's a teacher so she prepares my time table and makes sure I follow it. I am taking a short break from shooting till my exams get over. As I am a brilliant student, my class teachers sees me as a fitting example for other students." Not only family members, even productions houses are lending a helping hand to the child stars. "My producers are very cooperative. They knew I had my exams so they changed the storyline and my character now has less screen time. Right now, I am concentrating on my exams and I am happy that the producers understand it," says Avinash.

Ahsaas Channa, a Class VIII student, who has her final exams in a few weeks, says, "I have been given a separate room on the sets and most of the time my mother is with me, so whenever I am not required, I come back to my room and study. I shoot after my school in the afternoon too." With so many kid stars on a short break due to exams, producers have to plan major overhauling of the storylines which can impact the show. How do they cope with such situations? "It becomes difficult for us sometimes, but since we are informed about the exams in advance we prepare accordingly. We change scripts according to the artists' availability and include other tracks. The kids are also very bright and they manage their time efficiently. We have arranged for special study corners on the sets," says producer Deeya Singh of Parvarrish — Kuchh Khatti Kuchh Meethi. Producer Asit Modi of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah agrees saying, "During hectic shooting hours, the child artists do their homework on the sets and sometimes even their teachers are present to guide them."

It might be busy time for these children, but the show must go on, and so it does.