Meet Maleesha Kharwa, 14-Year-old Dharavi Girl Who Is Now The Face Of A Luxury Beauty Brand
All you need to know about Maleesha Kharwa who calls herself the 'Princess Of The Slum' and is now the face of a beauty brand.
In 2014, Lupita Nyong said while accepting her Oscars, ¡°No matter where you¡¯re from, your dreams are valid.¡±
And one such dream was crafted by Maleesha Kharwa. The 14-year-old who hails from Mumbai¡¯s infamous Dharavi Slum has now become the face of luxury beauty brand Forest Essentials' new campaign 'The Yuvati Collection'.
Vogue
Kharwa was first discovered by Hollywood actor Robert Hoffman in 2020 who later created a Go Fund Me page for Maleesha.
Maleesha who calls herself ¡®Princess of Slum¡¯ through her social media captions has now landed herself a space on the cover of Forest Essentials' new campaign. It is a social initiative aiming at empowering young minds. Kharwa has over 225k followers on Instagram and has even been a part of several national and international modelling gigs.
Vogue
It was last month that Forest Essentials shared a picture of Maleesha entering their store and experiencing her campaign photos displayed all around.
They had captioned the post, "Her face lit up with pure delight, To see her dreams in front of her in sight. Maleesha's story is a beautiful reminder that dreams really do come true. #BecauseYourDreamsMatter.¡± The viral video garnered over 4 lakh likes and 5 million views.
In an interview with Vogue India, Mira Kulkarni, the founder and chief managing director of Forest Essentials shared, "Through our Yuvati collection, we are not only supporting Maleesha's dreams but also contributing to Project Paathshala to empower young minds. While Maleesha is the face of this campaign, what Forest Essentials is bringing to the forefront is the idea of dreams.¡±
¡°The undercurrent here is that no matter where you come from, how big or small your dream is, dreams are for everyone, and all dreams matter.¡±
Vogue
Several media reports suggest that Maleesha has even bagged two Hollywood projects.
Maleesha who calls Forest Essentials her "biggest job till date" adds further "I want to be a model, but education will always come first for me.¡± Recently Maleesha was featured in a short film titled "Live Your Fairytale" created by Arsala Qureishi and Jas Sagu. The project featured non-actors and captured the experience of five slum children who for the first time ever dine in a restaurant.
Talking about the project, Maleesha said: "I am very happy with where I am right now. There are times when people see me somewhere and recognise me because of social media. They actually tell me that they are fans, which makes me extremely proud and happy. My life has changed and it's a dream come true for me.¡±
(For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.)
Aditya Sagar is an Entertainment Journalist at Indiatimes who holds a true-blue Bollywood heart and has his ears tuned to the whispers of Tinseltown. From Dharma to Drama, he is your trusted guide to the glitz, glamour and gossip that make headlines. He can be reached out @theadityasagar across all social media platforms.
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