Manish Gupta's attempt to make a film ' Rahasya' on the real story of Arushi and Hemraj murder case is meeting with success. The filmmaker has signed a former child star as the murdered teenager in the film which stars Tisca Chopra and Aashish Vidyarthias the embattled parents. Sakshi Sem is an 18-year-old college student who made her showbiz debut as a child artiste in the director's first film 'Darna Zaroori Hai', which was produced by Ram Gopal Varma. She has also acted in Ajay Devgn's 'Raju Chacha'.

Speaking about the film Sakshi said, "Manish saw me near Mithibhai College and told me that he was planning a film on Aarushi and wanted me to play the lead role. I agreed to do the film without even looking at the script."

So how did she prepare to play the teenager whose death rocked the nation five years ago? "I followed the entire case and that helped me flesh out Aarushi. She is an innocent girl who respects her parents, but as is usual for a teenager, also has conflicts with them," she added.

Manish Gupta said, "Sakshi was brilliant even as a nine-year-old when I directed her in 'Darna Zaroori Hai'. In 'Rahasya' I explore the issues that teenage girls face in an urban environment like sex, peer pressure and strained relationships with parents."