Director of the critically acclaimed film 'I Am Kalam' to tackle issues of the girl child in his next

His debut film on the plight of child labourers has wowed both audiences and critics alike.

But while I Am Kalam has Chhotu, a young Harsh Mayar, teaching us some of the greatest lessons of life, director Nila Madhab Panda now wants the protagonist of his next children's film to be a girl.

Explains Panda, "I've been asked why I Am Kalam is a boy child's story, but issues relating to the girl child are far more complex.

The socio-cultural complexities surrounding the underprivileged girl child makes it much more difficult to convey a message in a light, sunny screenplay. But I think I've cracked it."

While it is too early for the director to discuss the plot, he reveals that production of this new film should start in November.

Unlike Chhotu who aspired to be like former Indian President Abdul Kalam, the young actress in this film will dream of travelling to countries she has only read about in books.

No baggage

Auditions for the child actress are already underway, and in fact the director has already auditioned over 150 young girls.

The prerequisite is simple. Says Panda, "The child has to be someone with no previous acting experience like Harsh Mayar and Husaan Saad (the other child actor in I Am Kalam).

I firmly believe that children should come with no baggage in their first film. They become self-conscious, and their subsequent performances get affected as a result. Look at Darsheel Safary's performances after Taare Zameen Par!"

Panda is keen to cast Ajay Devgn as the girl child's father. "He is a very capable actor who does all kinds of cinema. And most importantly, he's the father of a girl child."

The director, who has worked with and for children over the last 14 years, is not too happy to see his Kalam hero Harsh Mayar become a limelight moth.

"As a child-sensitive person, I'd have exercised more control on his responses to recognition and success. I talk to him and his parents every day. I guess it's just a phase."