Many Indian celebrities are now fans of this 13-yr old girl, Maleesha Kharwa, who calls herself the ‘Slum Princess’. Wondering why? Well, let’s see how a girl who was raised in the Mumbai slums has transformed herself into a supermodel.
A true gem from the slum!
Maleesha Kharwa was born in a slum in the coastal city of Mumbai. Her family had migrated from Gujarat to Mumbai for livelihood. The thirteen-year-old studying seventh class in a Government school can fluently speak English. From her childhood, she always wanted to learn dancing and wished to be a supermodel in the world of modelling. In a bid to fulfil her dreams, Maleesha concentrated on her communication skills and even learned the techniques related to modelling. She never got discouraged by the fact that she was born in a slum. Instead, she tried her best to excel in whatever she did and has been sharpening her skills.
Opportunity knocks the doors
Now in what could be termed as luck, a Hollywood actor stepped into her life. Robert Hoffman of 2008 flick Step Up 2: The Streets during his tour to India met Maleesha in Mumbai. This meeting changed the 13-yr-old’s life forever. He opened an Instagram page titled ‘Maleesha: The Slum Princess’ and even created a GoFundMe page such that she would be able to fulfil her dreams. Not only that, Robert even helped create videos in which Maleesha spoke about her life and uploaded it on YouTube. This went viral and helped Maleesha garner over 65,000 followers on Instagram within a span of just 10 months.
The first step towards modelling
Fulfilling her dreams, Maleesha landed a modelling project with a leading magazine. Her cover photo on the magazine drew immense praise from everyone with her natural look, smile and confident attitude. The Mumbai beauty did not show any signs of fear and displayed amazing professionalism on par with seasoned models.
