Thaindian News

By Subhash K. Jha
Mumbai, Aug 20 (IANS) Eleven-year-old Avika Gor became a household name ever since she started working in the popular series “Balika Vadhu” as child bride Anandi and says she enjoys all the attention she gets.

“More people want to talk to me. You are calling, aren’t you? Now you’re my friend. Nope. I am your fan. Ha ha. I love the attention. I love meeting new people,” Avika, who has just won Rajiv Gandhi National Award, told IANS.

Before “Balika Vaddhu”, she featured in “Rajkumar Arryan”, “Chalti Ka Naam Gaddi” and “Karam Apna Apna”, but got her due with this series on the plight of child brides in Rajasthan.

Avika gives credit to her father and writer for the success. “My father, writer of ‘Balika Vadhu’ and my director Siddharth Sengupta - all of them taught me to do the right thing in front of the camera,” she said.

Tell her that she talks like a 40-year-old and pat comes the reply: “But I’m just 11. You don’t believe it? It feels great to be called a star at this age.”

She refuses to admit that she is slogging herself for the serial. “I do everything. Yes, I do miss school sometimes. But I bring my school books on the sets and study between shots. I go to school in the mornings and then I shoot for seven-eight hours.”

“It’s hardly anything because two hours is set aside to sleep and study. So that’s only five hours of work. Even at school I’ve to put in that many hours of work, no? And I can always have my friends over on the sets when I want to play with them. Otherwise I play with the crew members of my serial,” said Avika whose favourite channel is Cartoon Network.

The young actress says her friends and classmates tell her not to cry in “Balika Vadhu”. “Because when they see me cry, they feel sad.”

So “Balika Vadhu” set is like school?

“No, it’s fun. Acting is my hobby,” said the young actress who wants to be Miss Universe.

She is also doing films and was recently seen in “Morning Walk”.

“I’m really happy for that. I did a small role in ‘Morning Walk’ and as well as ‘Paathshaala’. I signed these before ‘Balika Vadhu’,” said Avika whose favourite actors’ list is quite exhaustive — it includes Shah Rukh Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone.