Special effect

Manpriya Singh

While sympathy for hearing and speech impaired children abound, acceptance still evades. This, when only the hearing gives way to listening, speeches to signs, understanding to perception. As far as the status of special goes, well, isn’t that mutual? “If they are different for us, we are different for them. The film is all about giving them opportunities, showing faith in them and not treating them as sidelined part of society,” Priyanka Panchal, speaks of her upcoming film The Silent Heroes, while in Chandigarh for promotions.

Part of the story about 13 hearing impaired children on a Himalayan mission, she shares, “I play a teacher in the film; she fights for them and their rights.”

The children study in a school together when one of their teacher dreams of making them learn mountaineering. Despite being refused by the trainer, the children go ahead with their last session of training on an expedition. Somehow the trainer gets injured and the children struggle to save her life. Never mind, if at the end of the day the real heroes will be the little ones; it was a role tailor-made for her. “I have an aunt who I live with and she can’t speak or hear the way we do, so I was well-versed with my role.” A close brush brings in insightful observations. “You interact with them for half-an-hour and you’ll see they are way more intelligent than us.”

Small steps

Time to exchange a few words with the real protagonists! Of the 13 children, selected from Bajaj School of Learning, Dehradun, only five make it to promotions in the city. But Khwaish, Aashish, Jaydeep, Tarun and Radhika more than make up for the missing eight. A question, a giggle and answers with abandon, nothing is lost in the translation. Any query on the favourite hero evokes a clear answer - “Salman Khan.”

“That is because Being Human supports their organisation,” shares the producer Kamal Birani. Alia Bhatt is the next name tossed around, pointed with a dimple on the cheek. Directed by Mahesh Bhatt, a resident of Dehradun and having already been on an encouraging round of film festivals at Goa, Kolkata, Prayag, Lucknow and Purulia, the film releases on December 11. Pretty much like the film, they all have dreams of making it big, with each one of them wanting to be something, from an accountant, computer engineer to an animation artist to an IAS officer.

Playing lead

The most quirky things can have maximum recall value. The Mumbai-based actor introduces her body of work, but with the few seconds of television commercial. “I play the girl ‘who loves chikki’ in Oral B advertisement,” Priyanka Panchal banks on the television commercial.

Followed by, “I have been a part of television serials like Devo Ke Dev Mahadev, where I play Sati’s sister Aditi and Phir Subah Hogi.” Despite a decade-long association with theatre, the decision to join the industry came after, “four years of practicing as an interior decorator...But this role was God-sent.”

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