by Subhash K Jha

Nidhi Dutta is all of 17. And she gets to give instructions to Shabana Azmi, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Sunil Shetty, Divya Dutta and all other hotshots currently shooting at the City Palace in Jaipur for the magical costume drama Umrao Jaan.... And it isn't just because she's J P Dutta's daughter. This 17-year-old means business.

Says Divya Dutta, "Nidhi is obviously a chip off the old block. She's right there on the sets fully alert and raring to go. She'll make a very fine director one day." Nidhi, who's the elder of JP's two daughters, nursed a secret dream from her childhood to be part of her father's creative dream.

"Earlier she wanted to be an actress, like her mom," says Nidhi's proud mom Bindiya.

"But JP would have none of that. In any case, that was just a passing thing during childhood. Now, when Nidhi's mind is made up she's far surer of what she wants, and how to get it. When she told her dad about wanting to assist him he was at first disbelieving. But when he saw our baby was adamant, he immediately asked her to hop on board for Umrao Jaan."

The proud father, tense with the task of completing his magnum opus on time, beams at the mention of his daughter.

"I'm putty in my daughters' hands. They're the only women in the world who can make me do anything they want. Nidhi's wish was my command. Now when I see her pottering around the sets with the technical equipment, I feel so proud."

Adds Bindiya, "She has forbidden anyone from treating her like the director's daughter. She's just one of the crew on the Umrao sets. She wants to start from scratch. For us to see our pampered child being so professional, that means a lot."