They are not household names. Their faces do not adorn walls, nor do fans mob them. Yet each year a few ultra talented kids captivate us with marvellous on-screen performances.

This week, even as President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam honoured India's best child artists with the prestigious National Film Awards, audiences across the country were stunned by an eight-year-old girl's performance in "Black."

Ayesha played the young Rani Mukherjee in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film. Cast as a blind, deaf and mute child, who is psychologically tormented girl, the young actress delivered an awe-inspiring performance.

When Ayesha said, "I don't know how I played Michelle. I just did it. It wasn't that difficult, really", she gave a different meaning to the saying - "It's a child's job, being an actor".

Some of the films most brilliant scenes are those featuring Ayesha and Amitabh Bachchan who plays her teacher Debraj Sahai. Never before has so many newsreels been spent in India on a child's performance.

In the same week that audiences were introduced to Ayesha, Ashwin Chitale, a Class 4 student, shared the National Award for Best Artists with Kalidasan for their moving portrayal of a child and his grandfather in the Malayalam film "Ente Veedu Appoontem".

Ashwin's role in this film nearly earned him an Oscar nomination in the category of best actor in a foreign film.

Making India proud in the international circuit is Salim, who is a lost-and-found child from a not too financially sound family.

Salim plays the title role in Ashvin Kumar's short film "Little Terrorist", nominated for the upcoming Oscars.

Kumar said: "I have always wanted to make a story on the India-Pakistan tension and what better way to tell the story than through the eyes of a child."

"Little Terrorist" narrates real-life story of Jamal, 10, a Pakistani boy who strays into India to retrieve his ball. His innocent border crossing gets him branded as a terrorist.

"Salim is himself a lost-and-found child. He was lost when he was seven and reunited with his parent after two and a half years. I traced him to the Salaam Balak trust in Delhi."

In the West, the term "child actor" carries some stigma as these performers sometimes grow up only to become troubled adults.

For instance, the children from the 1980s sitcom "Different Strokes" had trouble with the law as adults and one former child actor died of a drug overdose.

More recently, "Home Alone" star McCauley Culkin was arrested and charged with drug possession.

Yet some former child actors have successful careers as adults, for instance Roddy McDowall ("How Green Was My Valley") and Bill Mumy, who played the boy astronaut in the 1960s TV series "Lost In Space".

Leonardo DiCaprio, who began his Hollywood career as a child actor, received a lifetime achievement award this week. The award took the 30-year-old star by surprise.

Child artists have figured in Indian films since the days of Dada Saheb Phalke, whose "Silsila" - made in 1917 - featured a child actor in an episode based on the Ramayana.

In the same year, "Birth of Krishna" featured Phalke's six-year-old daughter as the child Krishna.

At the 49th National Film Awards Baby P. Shweatha was adjudged the Best Child Artist for her subdued portrayal of "Kutty," a young girl made to suffer the agonies of social disparity and human exploitation.

The Indian film industry has many performers who began as child artists and became distinguished actors and actresses.

Some well known stars include Urmila Matondkar, Padmini Kolhapure, Sarika, Daisy Irani, Tabassum, Sachin and Jugal Hansraj.

But Indian cinema also has its share of individuals who succumbed to the child artist doom.

Bollywood tragedy queens Meena Kumari, Geeta and Madhubala, among others, were child artists. Most of them were forced by their parents to act in films.

One hopes the new crop of child artists, who are beginning to make an impact on contemporary Indian cinema will be spared their fate.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's labour of love, "Black", has opened a great opportunity for young Ayesha and the Hindi film industry. The film has all the elements required by the global entertainment market.

Rani Mukherjee and Amitabh Bachchan excel in the film. Bhansali has shown he is the god of small budget things as well.

Aishwarya Rai will give Rani some competition with "Shabd". The novel film by debutant director Leena Yadav, which also stars Sanjay Dutt and Zayed Khan, defies definition.