'I don't like child marriages'

'I watched Balika Vadhu with my mother and wondered what it is like for young girls who find themselves trapped in this situation. I think parents should first educate their children, help them to build a career and then get them married.'

Gracy Goswami, all of 11, takes a mature stand on child marriage.

Balika Vadhu, one of the most successful shows on television, has taken an 11-year leap forward, to set the stage for a new era led by Anandi’s daughter Nimboli. 

Baroda girl Gracy Goswami, 11, plays the young Nimboli, whose childhood and future is put at risk because of child marriage. 

“I don’t like child marriages,” Gracy proclaims. “I got to know about it through my school teacher.

“I watched Balika Vadhu with my mother and wondered what it is like for young girls who find themselves trapped in this situation. I think parents should first educate their children, help them to build a career and then get them married.” 

In Balika Vadhu, Nimboli, unknown to her mother Anandi, was subjected to a thali wedding when she was kidnapped as an infant. 

Gracy is a find from the reality show India’s Best Dramebaaz. She was recently seen in the television show Bandhan.  

Gracy has been tutored to deliver the dialogues in Rajasthani. “Amar sir (Sharma), who plays a character in the show, taught me the dialect and the right pronunciation,” says the young actress.  

“I love wearing Rajasthani lehengas, which I wear during Navratri. I love it when the chaniya (skirt) swirls.” 

What she doesn’t like is the microphone she has to wear during the shoot because “it pricks.” 

Gracy’s ambition is to become both a doctor and an actress. 

“Since I am able to balance studies and acting now, I think, I will be able to balance both in future too,” she smiles. 

Gracy's favourite actor is Salman Khan, who she describes as “a full package of entertainment, emotion and action.” 

Madhuri Dixit is her favourite actress because she is “a good dancer and I love dancing. I like Deepika Padukone also; she is good at both acting and dancing.” 

Gracy juggles between her exams in Baroda and the serial’s shooting in Mumbai. She is in the sixth grade in New Era Secondary School, Baroda. 

“I study whenever I get time or during the break in between shots. I either solve old question papers, or revise some subject. Daddy (a dance teacher and into event management) helps me with science and maths. My mother (Arts teacher and a choreographer) helps me with other subjects,” she says. 

The shift to Mumbai is imminent. 

While she will miss her friends in Baroda, she will keep in touch with them over the phone, she says as she rushes off to catch the train to Baroda for her exams the next day.