8-year-old Seher Bhowmick doesn’t speak Hindi but is fluent in Bangla and English. Seher, who is fond of gymnastics, ice skating, judo and acting, is a student of Jupiter Community School, Hemel Hempstead.
The little girl is travelling to India in January to complete the shoot in another two weeks of the schedule of Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar’s next, which is tentatively titled ‘Mission Cinderella’ and is being directed by Ranjit Tiwari (Bellbottom fame). Her father, Mr Joy Bhowmick spoke to Asian Voice about his baby girl’s endeavours at a young age, and what it takes as a parent to safeguard their young and talented daughter, who has been handpicked by the film’s director for a crucial role in the movie. Here are a few excerpts from Q&A:
Q - As a parent, how did you prepare your child to star alongside A list Bollywood actors like Akshay Kumar?
Seher has always been a natural. She has no formal training except some exposure in her drama class. Prior to this film she has featured briefly in two Bengali films and one Nepali film and done two TV commercials and a few modelling assignments. She speaks Bangla and English.
Q - What kind of nutritional, mental and physical support do you provide your daughter so that she strikes a balance between work and studies at such a tender age?
Despite being a severely dyslexic child, Seher has managed really well to strike a balance between work and studies. She managed to get on her with her studies in between shoots. Her mom who is a SEN consultant and a specialist teacher works closely with the school to ensure that she doesn’t miss out on her learning. Seher enjoys acting and being in front of the camera and this has had a significant effect on her self-esteem. It would not have been possible without the school’s support.
Q - Are the movie sets properly equipped to safeguard Seher?
Yes, the entire crew has been extremely kind and patient with children and had proper measures to ensure their safety. Seher had her own minder onset and was accompanied by her mom.
Q – What is her equation with the actors? What kind of effort do you think they put to make her feel comfortable on the set?
Akshay, Ranjit Tiwari, Chandrachur Singh and Rakulpreet along with all other co-actors love children and it was an instant bond. They made her very comfortable and were patient when some shot went wrong. Ranjit jokingly called her Kakima (aunty in Bengali) through the London leg of shoot seeing her pseudo serious face. Seher can sometimes be very cheeky and that added a lot of fun on the sets.
Q - Will you support Seher in the future if she wishes to take up acting as a career?
Of course, she loves performing arts and whether acting or any other field that she chooses, she shall always have our full support both financially and emotionally.
