An ode to 14-year-old braveheartgets special award at film fest

Lucknow/Meerut: It was another accolade for 14-year-old braveheart when the Lucknow Film Forum honoured Anamta Ahmed with a special prize at the Short Film Festival Competition in the city recently. The award was for the song ‘Main Phool pari' which is an ode to her grit and will power to fight back after a life-threatening electric shock at her house in Aligarh.The song ‘Main Phool pari, mein chand pari, nikal padi raste mein...' (I'm a flower fairy, I'm a moon fairy. I've started my journey...), is special to Anamta, highlighting her 53 days of trauma and her battle to remain alive. Written by Piyush Mishra and composed by Sneha Khanwalkar which is getting rave reviews and appreciation on YouTube and Instagram, and has earned several awards.While Anamta is herself on camera, singer Dia Iyer has given voice to her emotions. Filmmakers Shwetabh Varma and Ketki Lonare were an integral part of the film. The 41-year-old Aqeel has himself produced this song dedicated to Anamta, a class IX topper at Mumbai's City International School.“I am still better than so many,” says the teenager who, with the inspiration infused into her by her father, now wants to be a role model for thousands who inadvertently come in contact with cables or wires and suffer the rest of their lives for no fault of theirs. The wall of her room has a message pasted for visitors: 'Caution: No Sympathy'.The only child of successful Mumbai-based ad filmmaker Aqeel Ahmad, Anamta suffered a massive electric shock during a brief visit to Aligarh that crippled her and left her with an amputated arm and 20% functionality in the other one, apart from extensive burn injuries.It all happened on October 30 last year (published by TOI then) when Anamta suffered a massive shock and extensive burn injuries after she came in contact with an 11KV cable while playing with her cousins on a visit to Aqeel’s hometown.“We had visited our relatives in Aligarh. While we were downstairs, I heard a heart-rending scream from the terrace. As we rushed there, I saw my child lying on the floor, writhing in pain, with a strong burning smell emanating from her blackened arm. The next few days were a total nightmare,” recalls Aqeel.She was rushed to a local hospital where insensitive doctors declared in front of her that 'Iska haath toh kaatna padega' (we need to amputate her hand). Aqeel airlifted her daughter to Mumbai, where her life was saved, but the girl lost her right hand.Aqeel has so far spent close to Rs 80 lakh on her treatment and is willing to pull in another Rs 3 crore for an arm transplant. "I'm willing to go to any extent for her who suffered all of this for no fault of hers," he says.