"Slum princess" Maleesha Kharwa: From an unknown girl to a Hollywood celebrity

Maleesha Kharwa was born in a poor slum, with difficult economic conditions. However, the life of both Maleesha and her family took an unexpected turn, completely changing her life.

Maleesha Kharwa was born in a poor slum in Mumbai, India. Working as a clown at children's events, Maleesha's father struggled to support the family.

Born as a girl who lived her whole life in a makeshift and shabby slum in the slums, Maleesha had to live without clean water or food for three meals a day. At one point, her makeshift house was even demolished by the city government.

"The weather in Mumbai is very hot so we have to sleep on the rocks near the water. My family situation is very difficult but I always try to find joy," Maleesha said.

Despite her difficult circumstances, Maleesha has always kept her dream of becoming a model since childhood.

On the bio of her personal social networking site, which has hundreds of thousands of followers, she shared: "People say I live in a slum, but I love my life! I wish I could! become a supermodel to feed the family."

In 2020, when Maleesha was 14 years old, something unbelievable happened to her when Hollywood actor Robert Hoffman spotted her during a music video shoot in Mumbai.

Sharing about his first meeting with Maleesha, Robert Hoffman described : "She was standing in the middle of a group of slum dwellers, but her face was so prominent, I don't understand why people missed her face before. this bright" . In order not to miss a bright face, the actor immediately tried to convince the Maleesha family.

From creating an Instagram account for Maleesha to setting up a GoFundMe crowdfunding page to help her study and nurture her dreams, he has helped her realize her dream of becoming a model. Almost three years later, her Instagram account has reached over 300,000 followers with over 100 posts, where she showcases moments from her personal and professional life to trying to inspire the others.

True to Robert Hoffman's comment, Maleesha immediately received attention. The girl was given the opportunity to appear in the short film titled Live Your Fairytale by Arsala Qureishi and Jas Sagu and took the first step towards her dream of becoming a model. At that time, she was also known as the "slum princess".

Her life has changed. Before, Maleesha never thought that her image would be able to appear all over the poster, press or TV channel, but now she is present all over the world. Everyone recognized her and asked to take pictures with her. She said she feels extremely proud of herself.

When looking at the "ragged" Maleesha, many people do not believe that she is suitable for the glamorous world of Hollywood.

"I was born to break the rules. Many people say that I can't model because I have dark skin, but I have proven them completely wrong. I don't mind the rumors for me. that I can't do something about it, because I know their comments aren't right. Right now, I'm so excited about my adventure," she said.

Many on social media also compared her story with the main character of the Oscar-winning 2008 Hollywood film "Slumdog Millionaire" depicting the story of a boy from a shanty town who rose to riches. of India.

After that, Maleesha was invited to act in two Hollywood films. She has appeared on the covers of famous fashion magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan. Recently, she was also chosen to be the face of Forest Essentials, an Indian skin care brand. Kharwa's journey is not only extraordinary due to her socioeconomic circumstances but also because she is slowly dispelling the misconception that only light-skinned girls are considered beautiful in India.

The country has an obsession with fair skin and a woman's beauty is often judged by the color of her skin. The World Health Organization found that skin lightening products account for 50% of the skin care market in India. But Kharwa wants to encourage young girls like her to embrace her own natural beauty.

"I see beauty in everything," said Maleesha. good but inner beauty is more important I love my skin and it feels perfect.

I am happy to be able to share the message that there is no one right rule for girls and women to follow. They can do whatever they want to do and I want to inspire other girls and tell them they're special."

Maleesha's Instagram posts are always full of energy, vitality and fresh beauty. But perhaps the most special thing is that she is not afraid to show off her previous life.

She once posted a picture of her house - a tent made of bamboo slats and pieces of cloth, the accompanying text was "This is my house. Many people want to know if I like living here, the truth is I love my home very much."

Maleesha was once criticized by some people for her "dark skin", based on this feature to judge her ineligibility to be a model, but she still won over criticism with a positive attitude. Extremely positive: work hard and you will achieve your dreams!

Maleesha finds it very strange that people keep asking how she is still happy despite such a poor life. For a 15-year-old girl, happiness does not come from a big house or a nice car, but from a loving family and kind friends.

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