Swini Khara, the sweet little scene-stealer

Mumbai, June 3 (IANS) Her confidence level, both on and off screen, can sweep you off your feet. Swini Khara, all of eight, who plays Amitabh Bachchan's terminally ill neighbour and confidante in "Cheeni Kum", is one of the most accomplished child performers in Hindi cinema.

The little bundle of joy takes compliments with giggles of pleasure.

"I had great fun shooting in London with Amit uncle. He was very helpful. Before every scene he'd take me aside for rehearsals. For the sequence where I had to talk with Amit uncle on the bench, my teeth were chattering so much I couldn't put the ice cream in my mouth," she smiles joy at the memory of the shoot.

She gives all the credit for her performance to her director, Balki. "He showed me everything. He told me how to look at Amit uncle and how to speak my lines. Right now I'm also shooting a TV serial 'Baa Bahu Aur Baby'. But that's after school everyday at 4 p.m."

Swini says she doesn't miss out on her studies or play.

"I do play with dolls and do all the things little girls do. But when I get good marks in school, my parents get me books. I like books better than dolls. I don't like to bunk school for shooting."

Having to play a terminally ill girl couldn't be easy for an eight-year-old. Does Swini know what death is? "Of course, I do?" she shoots back. "It's what happens to grownup people after a certain age, or to sick people. My character has to die young. So she asks Amit uncle to get her all those adult DVDs which she won't be able to watch since she'll be gone before too long."

Some more giggles and then a conspiratorial whisper. "But I didn't really watch those adult DVDs. They were only stuff like 'Ghost' and other films that a kid can watch. We were only pretending."

Surprisingly, Tabu who co-stars with Sweeni isn't among her favourite actresses. "I haven't seen any of Tabu didi's films. My favourites are Rani Mukherjee and Sushmita didi. And among the men my favourites are Amit uncle and Hrithik Roshan. But I used to spend a lot of time with Tabu didi in London's vanity van. I didn't have too many scenes with her. She's very sweet."

Swini, who divides her time between school and shooting, wasn't daunted by the cold in Britain. "This wasn't my first visit to London. Earlier I had shot a film called 'Harry Puttar in London'. That time my father came. For 'Cheeni Kum', my mama came with me to London."

Swini is her parents' only child. "When I become grownup I want to continue in this profession. I already have so many ads, and two films. I love acting. "

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Cheeni Kum