My friends keep me grounded: Darsheel

At first sight, Darsheel Safary looks every bit the Ishaan in Taare Zameen Par (TZP). He seems to be at ease running around with other kids, laughing and posing for photographs.
On Chennai...
“This is my second visit to Chennai,” he begins, “The first time I came here was for Priyadarshan’s Bum Bum Bole.” But, he adds that he hasn’t been around the city much. “Unfortunately, I never got the time,” he says.However, the youngster reveals that he does watch Tamil films. “I’ve seen Sivaji. I liked Rajinikanth in that film. I also like Aparichith (Anniyan),” he says.
Ask him if he always wanted to be an actor and pat comes the reply, “I was always fascinated about being in front of the camera though I was a little shy initially. But now, I have started making faces and all that,” he chuckles.
Of Friends and Fame...
“I was never the centre of attention,” admits Darsheel when asked about how life has changed. “Earlier, I had my own set of friends and we had formed a group. No one knew that I would become a star. But I still have the same friends. They keep me grounded,” he insists.
On Female Fans...
Now that he is a teenager, how does he deal with all the attention from the girls? “It is pretty normal,” he hesitantly states. “I treat them the same way as the other children. Kids from nursery classes come and ask me ‘Darsheel, friends?’ and I say ‘Yeah, we’ll be friends’. When I pass by, they say ‘Hi Darsheel’. That is the rapport you build with them. It is the same with girls too,” he adds shyly.
Working with perfectionists...
Talk to him about Aamir Khan and his eyes instantly light up. “It was amazing acting with him. He knew what he wanted and made me understand a lot in a simple manner,” he says. Did the friendly camaraderie exist off the sets too? “Yeah, we used to play card games when we were not shooting.”
Working with Priyadarshan, he claims was a different experience. “He was very fast. He completed the film in just 21 days. It was a different role for me as well. There was more maturity. Both my characters were very different but equally challenging.”
Next up, Darsheel will be seen in Zokkomon, an action-adventure bi-lingual in Hindi and English by a Hollywood studio. He is visibly excited as he finally has a dance number. “I love dancing. If not acting, I would have gone into dancing full time. Sadly, both my films did not give me the opportunity to dance,” he chirps enthusiastically.
On a parting note, Darsheel has a special message for the kids, “Study. Masti karo. Follow your dreams. But give priority to your studies.”
Check out Darsheel Safary’s pics
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