Though Ahsaas Channa has appeared in several web series and television shows over the past few years, earning admiration, she holds a special place in the hearts of Bollywood enthusiasts for her roles as a child artiste, particularly in Karan Johar’s Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), Vaastu Shastra (2004), Aryan (2006), My Friend Ganesha (2007) and Phoonk (2008), among others. While she turned heads with her debut film Vaastu Shastra itself — convincingly portraying a boy, the son of characters played by Sushmita Sen and JD Chakravarthi — it came at a cost, as it led to her being typecast. Subsequent roles offered to her were predominantly boy characters, including her part in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. It was only later, in director Ram Gopal Varma’s supernatural thriller Phoonk, that she played her first character as a girl.
Ahsaas recently took a trip down memory lane, sharing how the industry insisted she maintain the appearance of a boy, even forbidding her from growing out her hair. She also explained that her decision to play a male character in Vaastu Shastra was not deliberate but circumstantial. Speaking to Bollywood Bubble, she recalled, “Since I was four years old, they convinced my mother to let me play a boy. My mom agreed, thinking, ‘She’s just four, what’s the harm?’ After Vaastu Shastra, the film became a hit, and word spread in the industry about a new child actor who was good. With child actors, it’s tricky — the child also needs to have the right personality. After that, I did follow-ups, like Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which was such a big film. But the industry didn’t let my hair grow back, which could have affected me psychologically as a young child.”
Despite the challenges, Ahsaas Channa emphasised that she never struggled with her identity. “However, I was always aware of who I was — I knew I was a girl. My mother constantly reminded me, so it didn’t mess with my identity. I went to school and worked on sets as a girl. I was always told that this was acting and just a part of my job. Somehow, it never messed with my head. While it’s possible that it could affect someone, it didn’t happen to me,” she added.
Ahsaas also credited her mother for closely monitoring the situation to protect her sense of self. She revealed that her mother had wanted her to stop playing boy roles even before Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. However, they chose to accept the film due to its potential to significantly advance her career later. “Of course, my mother was the one who actually wanted it to stop, I think, from Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna onwards, or even much before that. I think KANK was the last film she wanted it to end with, but again, because things were going so well—and who wouldn’t want this kind of opportunity? Touch wood, we were getting really, really good opportunities. If you get a chance to do a Karan Johar film with Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta, you can’t say no,” Ahsaas pointed out.
“She knew that this was going to help me with my future and career ahead. So, the opportunities kept coming, and we couldn’t stop. But when she figured out that, okay, now this is it — like, I was 10 years old, and this couldn’t continue anymore — that’s when we had to take a bit of a break. We took a few months off to let me breathe and relax a bit. And then, luckily, Phoonk happened. We did Phoonk,” she added.
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