This story is from January 3, 2008

I think I’m famous: Darsheel

Roshni Mukherjee / TNN / Jan 3, 2008, 00:00 IST

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Even as it was Darsheel Safary’s biggest kick working with Aamir Khan, it is Hrithik Roshan that is Little Man Tate’s real hero.

doweshowbellyad=0; Darsheel Safary (TOI Photo) More picsThe wait for an interview with this rising star is worth every minute of it. Cheekily intelligent and naughtily witty, Darsheel (Ishaan Awasthi) Safary is a star in his own right. Quiz him on his now famous quotient and he gloats, “I think I’m famous but my mother, father and even Aamir uncle have warned me to not feel so proud.”
A student at Shiamak Davar Dance School, “it all happened when Amole uncle (writer and creative director Amole Gupte) came to watch me perform at a show.Even Shiamak uncle recommended me and then I auditioned before Aamir uncle.”
He switches from the playful to the all-attentive mode as talk veers towards his equation with Aamir Khan. Even as Aamir taught him how to cheat in the game of Uno and the difference between two kinds of tear bananewalla glycerines, “my biggest kick was working with Aamir uncle and that too with perfection. It’s a big word but we just had to be perfect.” What about Kiran Rao? Was she a Khatra Aunty? “She was very nice.”
But didn’t Aamir lose his temper even once? “Sure, he did. He scolded me once at Panchgani. We were supposed to go to bed by 8 pm. But I always used to party from nine till three-four in the morning.” And just who were his partners in crime? “I made Tanay, my best friend in Taare Zameen Par and Sachet, my brother in TZP, party with me. There were other boarders too who joined in. But I was the only one yawning at the next day’s shoot.”

That’s not all. Our very own Tatum O’Neal (10 plus, his mother insists) even justifies his naughty self at school. Every child is naughty. Now I am no longer five million times naughty. I am a good boy,” Darsheel clarifies.
Has his image in school changed post-TZP? “I have these four friends Keval, Ashay, Heet Thakkar and Raj — they’ll be happy I named them — who have always encouraged me. But the others bullied me saying, ‘

Pata hai tujhe paisa mil raha hai. Zyada urr mat.’”
Is that why he doesn’t want to talk about the bullies in school? “I’d much rather talk about my hero Hrithik Roshan. I like him 5,000 times, no, make it five million times. It is my dream to work with him.” Though he would like to work with Aamir again, Darsheel reasons why the actor isn’t his hero. “If tomorrow I work with Saif, I can’t say he is my hero. I need to have my own choice, you see.”
And what’s the little master’s choice when it comes to his female fans? “I get bugged when girls touch my cheeks,” says Darsheel, the irritation ringing clear. Explains why it took a lot of cajoling from Aamir to convince Darsheel that nobody (least of all girls) would laugh at him if he sat perched on the toilet bowl. Darsheel has already made female fans at Greenlawns High School where he studies.
According to Darsheel’s mother, girls from eighth and ninth standard are vying for his attention — and have already become his fans. They find him cute, particularly his bunny rabbit smile. “Nobody has made fun of my teeth though. They wanted the character to have bunny teeth. So, they are lucky for me,” says Little Man Tate.

About the Author

Roshni Mukherjee

Roshni Mukherjee is chief copy editor-cum-correspondent at Calcutta Times. Her work includes editing and writing. She writes primarily on Tollywood. Films are an area of interest for her – she likes to catch up on the latest, whether it's Tollywood or Bollywood. Good music and any books that make for an interesting read will find a taker in her.

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