Teen from Mumbai’s Dharavi becomes luxury beauty brand’s face | Trending
Maleesha Kharwa, a 15-year-old girl from Mumbai’s Dharavi, has become the face of Forest Essentials, a luxury skincare brand. Forest Essentials introduced her to the world in March this year as their new ‘Yuvati’. Beyond just a personal triumph for Kharwa, this collaboration carries a greater purpose, as the brand strives to empower underprivileged children through education, helping them to transform their dreams into realities.
Maleesha Kharwa, the face of luxury brand Forest Essentials. (Instagram/@maleeshakharwa)
After introducing her as the face of their new campaign, the brand even interviewed her, where she answered 13 questions. Kharwa revealed that Priyanka Chopra is her inspiration and expressed her admiration for Nora Fatehi’s dancing skills. She even showcased her go-to dance move and sang her favourite song.
Kharwa, who aspires to be a supermodel, regularly shares snippets from her life with her 2.3 lakh Instagram followers. She often uses the hashtag #theprincessfromtheslum with her posts.
Recently, Forest Essentials shared a heartening video featuring Kharwa visiting a store displaying her campaign photos, and her expressions say it all. They captioned the viral video: “Her face lit up with pure delight. To see her dreams in front of her in sight. Maleesha’s story is a beautiful reminder that dreams really do come true.”
Watch the viral video here:
Since being shared on April 4, the video has raked up more than 5.6 million views and the numbers are still counting. Many even flocked to the video’s comments section and left their thoughts.Here’s how people reacted to the video:“Finally a person whose face is recognisable! This is how we want to look when we use skin products, we want to take care of our skin, look good & attractive!! Also, look at her original hair!!!! The skin tone….omg!! She’s even beautiful with that genuine blush!!” posted an Instagram user. Another added, “@forestessentials massive respect for breaking the status quo and thank you for giving her this opportunity to shine.” “@Forestessentials I truly appreciate your gesture. I request that you take up her dreams as your dream and take her under your wings and make her fly high,” commented a third.In 2020, Hollywood actor Robert Hoffman met Kharwa and set up a Go Fund Me page to support her dreams. The page highlights her challenges, including lack of food, water, and proper shelter during the monsoon season.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Arfa Javaid is a journal working with the Hindustan Times’ Delhi team. She covers trending topics, human interest stories, and viral content online.
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