Hyderabad, November 15: When thousands of children of his age would be flocking to cinemas to watch movies especially made for them on Sunday, 14-year-old T Sai Kumar would be doing what he does every day—work at his father’s hair cutting saloon.
Left out of the 16th International Children’s Film Festival that got off to a start on Saturday, Sai Kumar at least will help his father earn some more money for the family.
This is rather sad because Sai Kumar is no ordinary boy. He has won the National Award for the best child artiste in 2005 for his acting skills in the film ‘Bommalata – a bellyful of dreams.’ The prestigious award and recognition got him bit roles in two or three Telugu films. In 2007, the year the awards were announced, Sai Kumar was invited as a jury member for the International Children’s Film Festival in the city.
But this time around, everyone seems to have forgotten about this teenager. So it will be business as usual for him on Sunday. From morning till evening, he will work the razor on customers at the hair cutting saloon in Chilkanagar in Uppal.
“I did not get any invitation for the children’s film festival,” Sai Kumar told STOI. Sai is studying in a local school and is in Class X. He has got two siblings, aged 12 and 10 and he knows that with his father’s meagre earnings, the family will not be able to make both ends meet.
“It is a question of survival. I have to be responsible. Of course, I do not make it known when somebody walks in for a shave that I am a national4 award winner. That not only serves no purpose but people may refuse to accept my services,” Sai Kumar said.
Sai Kumar’s father T Dasarath, a resident of Vijaypuri in Uppal, said he needs his son’s help occasionally on weekends so that customers do have not to wait long when there is a rush. “I want him to study.
Whatever he wants to study, I will support him,” he said. While child delegates and other children may be enjoying themselves during the film festival, the actor who has made a mark for himself and earned recognition, will be missing out on all the action.
A few thousand children will be watching children’s movies in different theatres in the city for a week from now but sad as it is, the organisers did not even think of a lad who did the city proud at the national level.
—Agencies