New Delhi: Maleesha Kharwa became an internet sensation after she was announced as the new face of the luxury beauty brand- Forest Essentials. The luxury brand introduced her to the world in March this year as their new ‘Yuvati’. Kharwa, who belongs to Mumbai’s Dharavi, considers this achievement much beyond personal grounds as this collaboration carries a greater purpose.
Speaking about it, the brand strives to empower underprivileged children through education and thereby, help them to transform their dreams into realities.
Recently, Forest Essentials also posted a clip on their Instagram handle that showed Kharwa visiting a store in a school uniform. Interestingly, the store had her campaign photos. She was awestruck on seeing this and her innocent reaction won the hearts of people online.
They captioned the video saying, “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 do come true.”
More About Maleesha:
Maleesha Kharwa, a model and social media influencer who goes by the moniker ‘Princess Of The Slum’, aspires to be like Priyanka Chopra one day. She has also expressed her admiration for Nora Fatehi’s dancing skills and has showcased her go-to dance move and sang her favourite song. Hollywood star Robert Hoffman first met Maleesha in Mumbai in 2020, and he later created a ‘Go Fund Me’ campaign for the young girl. Additionally, she has worked as a model on numerous occasions recently, and she even appeared in the short film ‘Live Your Fairytale.’
The 15-year-old used to reside in a slum in Mumbai with her father, uncle, and younger brother and now stays in a ‘chawl-like area’ in Mumbai.
Talking about the campaign with Forest Essentials, the brand shared a video where she can be seen trying out different products from a kit. They captioned the post saying, “There’s beauty in every step of the journey and we are celebrating it, one ritual at a time.” Along with being the face of Forest Essentials, she has also been on the cover of Cosmo India Magazine
Coming to the ‘Yuvati’ initiative, Mira Kulkarni, the founder and chief managing director of Forest Essentials, said in an interview with Vogue India, “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,” she added.
Separately, Maleesha said that her campaign with Forest Essentials is her “biggest job to date”. “I want to be a model, but education will always come first for me,” she added.