MUMBAI: Darsheel Safary has finished all his work for Deepa Mehta’s ‘Midnight’s Children’ including the dubbing. For now it’s no more movies for the child-wonder who was nominated for Filmfare’s best actor award at age 11 and lost the trophy to Shah Rukh Khan.
Darsheel shocks you by confessing he may not choose acting as his career when he grows up. That he is no longer a child is proven by his clarity of thought and his exasperation when called a child. “Arrey that was when I did ‘Taare..’ I was born in 1996 so you can calculate how old I am.”
Struggling with the burden of Class 10 exams, the 16-year old would not be seen in any other feature film barring Deepa Mehta’s ‘Midnight’s Children’ for a very long time.
Even the dance reality-show that Darsheel has taken on has been done on condition that he would rehearse for it only during breaks from his school studies tuition and sleep. And the rehearsal hall has been shifted next door to the Safarys’ residence to expedite his dance practice during study breaks.
Says Darsheel, “They also broke the rule and let me have Avneet Kaur as my dancing partner rather than my choreographer. I am very nervous about appearing on ‘Jhalak Dikhla Jaa’ because the judges are superstars. Madhuri Dixit, Remo d’Souza and Karan Johar know all about filmy dancing. I am just a newcomer and the youngest contestant on the show. But you know what? I want to win the contest and will do my best to do so.”
Says Darsheel, “Acting and dancing can go on later. At the moment I want to concentrate on my studies. I took on ‘Jhalak Dilkhla Jaa’ only because of my passion for dancing. The channel is very accommodating. They let me rehearse whenever I get time from my studies and the practice hall is right next to our home. I even carry my books to the hall and study during dance breaks. See, my Mama is very particular about my studies. Even when I was shooting in Sri Lanka for ‘Midnight’s Children’ she made sure my studies didn’t suffer.”
At the moment Darsheel is not sure he wants to pursue a career in acting in adulthood. “Dancing is also a passion. So I may decide to become a choreographer. Or I may go for a third option. Just because I’ve been appreciated as an actor doesn’t mean I’d get the same love of my fans when I grow up,” says Darsheel with a maturity far beyond his 16 years.
