Schoolgirl from Bandra slums chases big modelling dreams

Children from slums have experienced brief spells of stardom after being cast in critically acclaimed films, such as ‘Salaam Bombay!’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in the past, but social media has offered an even platform for everyone seeking an enduring spot in the sun. Social media followers are not fickle like stardom created under arc lights.

MUMBAI: “I don’t care what they think. I have one thing to say to haters: I am 90 per cent sure you hate me and I am 100 per cent sure I don’t care.” This is not a sagacious observation of a seasoned A-lister wary of trolls, but 15-year-old Maleesha Kharwa, who lives in a slum at the end of Bandstand, Bandra, and became the face of Forest Essentials, a luxury cosmetics brand, recently. This wisdom was shared by the chatty and self-assured teenager in an interview to a fashion magazine, now posted on her Instagram page.

She hopes the exposure will help to get her into the fashion industry. Meanwhile, the paid campaigns allow her and her family to upgrade their living conditions. The recent luxe cosmetic ad earned her ₹35 lakh, some of it split with Hoffman, said Maleesha, some stashed away for her higher education. She lives with her father, Mukesh, her uncle and her younger brother. Her father works in an event management company. (HT PHOTO)

Children from slums have experienced brief spells of stardom after being cast in critically acclaimed films, such as ‘Salaam Bombay!’ and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in the past, but social media has offered an even platform for everyone seeking an enduring spot in the sun. Social media followers are not fickle like stardom created under arc lights.

A video of the teen in a school uniform, entering a plush outlet of the cosmetic brand with wonder in her eyes has been doing the rounds on social media. Close on heels on Saturday, Rajesh Kankal, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) education officer, said that he had contacted Maleesha to express happiness over her recent endeavours. “If she needs any help, the government will not shy away from supporting her,” said Kankal.

Maleesha, a Class X student of the BMC-run MPS Gazdhar Park Secondary School, in Santacruz West, harbours dreams of becoming a model and looks up to Priyanka Chopra as inspiration.

She wanted to become a model since the age of five, after watching a ramp show on television, “but never realised that the dream would come true”. “So I forgot about it,” said Maleesha.

This changed when her cousin was spotted for a music video by an American actor and dancer Robert Hoffman, when he was in the city scouting for talent in 2020. Maleesha did not fit the part, as she was too tall. But Hoffman suggested she give modelling a shot and created an Instagram page for her.

Two years later, she has 2,25,000 followers and has been featured on covers of many fashion magazines, and Hoffman, who has acted in ‘Step-up-2’ and ‘She’s the man’, has become her manager. “Hoffman looks out for me and ensures I stay on the right course,” she said.

After school, she wishes to study commerce in college and pursue her modelling career alongside. Right now, she divides her time between prospective shoots for brands – some paid, some free – and school.

She hopes the exposure will help to get her into the fashion industry. Meanwhile, the paid campaigns allow her and her family to upgrade their living conditions. The recent luxe cosmetic ad earned her ₹35 lakh, some of it split with Hoffman, said Maleesha, some stashed away for her higher education. She lives with her father, Mukesh, her uncle and her younger brother. Her father works in an event management company.

Their hut on Bandstand has been demolished by the BMC several times, but it continues to be the family’s comfort zone, and all of them return here often, even as they dream of moving to a rented apartment in the future.

So how did she feel when her face was touched with a make-up brush for the first time? “I was nervous at first and uncomfortable, but I was accompanied by my dance teacher who put me at ease,” she said.

Mukesh, her father, expressed happiness about his daughter’s turn of fortune and the opportunities coming her way. “I will always worry about her as she progresses, but I am thankful that we are better off now, as the pandemic had depleted our cash flow,” he said. “I will always focus on protecting her and not engage with anyone who might pick fights, because now we are recognised in some quarters.”

Not a slumdog millionaire yet, but for now, Maleesha is straddling two concerns with equal ease – getting good grades in her board exams next year and landing the big gigs as a model alongside.