WHY’S EIGHT-YEAR-OLD SHREYA SHARMA THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY’S

TALK

WHY’S EIGHT-YEAR-OLD SHREYA SHARMA THE ADVERTISING INDUSTRY’S

Ahmedabad, August 24: SHE’S just turned down an offer from Ram Gopal Varma — only because it involved interacting with wild animals. Shreya Sharma, once better known as Sneha of Kasautii Zindagi Ki, can sell a can of paint, an insurance policy or even a cuppa chai like no other kid can. The newest kid wooing the ad world thinks it's a piece of cake. “She did the HDFC advertisement in half an hour,” boasts her dietician mum Ritu. And right now she has more than half a dozen ads, including HDFC, Clinic Plus, Nirma and Catch Masala, on air. Father Vikas feels that her quick pick-up is the reason why top agencies such as Ogilvy & Mather and Lowe have zeroed in on her. “I first realised she’s a pro in front of the camera when she took part on the show Say Na Something To Anupam Uncle,” he says, “She was so comfortable reciting poetry and talking to Kher.” Shreya was barely four then. In fact, Ekta Kapoor bent her golden rule so that she could cast her in her mega soap Kasautii. She worked shooting schedules around Shreya's school time-table. But now, her parents want her to take it easy and would rather she did ads and the odd Bollywood film. Today she’s dubbing for a shampoo commercial. In a sunny sequinned top and shorts, Shreya looks every bit the adorable kid, who can entice a parent to buy just about anything off the shelf. The girl’s a whiz behind the mike, and it doesn’t take long to grasp the lines before she mouths them in perfect sync with the images. “How do I say these lines?” she checks with the recording artistes, “Should I whisper or should it be loud?” She giggles, chirps and sulks, all in one take. Her experience shows. She’ll soon be seen in a Bollywood film where she plays Ajay Devgan’s daughter. “Ajay uncle’s very nice,” she says of her co-star in Benaam, “We play football and catch catch on the sets.” And like any other kid her age, she’s got her own ‘What I want to be when I grow up’ dream. Not an engineer like her dad, but a teacher. “I want to teach mathematics,” says the Lokhandwala Foundation School student. Doesn’t quite add up.