She is 15 years old and hails from Mumbai’s Dharavi Slum. But Maleesha Kharwa has always had big dreams. And they became true when she became the face of luxury beauty brand Forest Essentials’ new campaign, ‘The Yuvati Collection’. Maleesha’s story is an inspiring one and it shows youngsters that despite their surroundings, even from not-so-privileged backgrounds, dreams can be made to come true.
Who Thinks Kharwa?
Maleesha hails from Dharavi in Mumbai. Her life changed when ‘Step Up 2’ actor Robert Hoffman spotted her. The Hollywood actor set up a ‘Go Fund Me’ page to support Maleesha’s dreams. The page highlights her challenges in the slums, including lack of food, water, and proper shelter during the monsoon season.
Today, the teenager has 3.2 lakh followers on Instagram. Maleesha often uses the hashtag, #princessfromtheslum, in her posts and her Instagram bio reads: ‘People say I live in a slum but I love my life! I hope to be a supermodel to help my family eat.’ In fact, in one of her interviews to a website, Maleesha admitted that she gets surprised when people ask how she is so happy despite coming from a poor background and that she loves her life and the adventures she is having.
Maleesha has now done multiple modelling gigs and she even featured in a short film titled “Live Your Fairytale”. But becoming the face of ‘Forest Essentials’ was a dream come true. In April, the brand shared a video of Maleesha entering one of their shops and seeing her face on the poster. Along with the video, the brand captioned: “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.”
Dreams Come True: Maleesha’s Inspiring Journey
‘Slum Princess’: A Dream Of Being A Supermodel
In her interviews, Maleesha mentioned she wants to be a supermodel when she grows up but education is now her priority. The teenager is also a big of Priyanka Chopra Jonas and admires Nora Fatehi’s dancing skills. Ever since the brand shared its video in April, Maleesha has experienced an outpouring of love from across the country. But there have been some hate messages too. But in one of her Instagram video interviews Maleesha sent a message to the trolls – she said that she is 90% sure they hate her but she is 100% sure she doesn’t care.