Paint brush that connects Mumbai's famous

Art tutor Smita Shah's roll call is a who's who of Bollywood's star kids

Art tutor Smita Shah's roll call is a who's who of Bollywood's star kids

Remember The Nanny Diaries? The Hollywood comedy-drama that followed college graduate Annie Braddock's (played by actress Scarlett Johansson) highs and lows while working as a nanny in a rich dysfunctional family in New York.


Art teacher Smita Shah teaches painting to Akshat and Jayaditya Rajan,
children of Abhijit Rajan, CMD, Gammon India. pic/ Nimesh Dave

Relate the 2007 Hollywood release to art teacher Smita Shah, who has been introducing celeb kids to the nuances of art and craft for over a decade, and she laughs off the comparison. "Contrary to popular perception, my experiences have been warm and friendly. I haven't faced starry tantrums, the kids have been well-behaved and eager to learn, to the point of extending classes and skipping birthday parties," she shares.

Gate pass to celeb homes
The intimate process of teaching art allows Smita an all-access entry into palatial homes, which are nothing short of any film buff's mecca. After all, her current batch of students include Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan's daughter Suhana, Hrithik Roshan's son Hrehaan and Karisma Kapoor's daughter Samaira. Out of her 100 students (aged between 3 and 59 years), 50 kids belong to high-profile backgrounds, while the rest comprise fashion design students, architects, housewives and middle-class kids. She teaches oil, water colour and acrylic painting, punch craft, quilling, how to make 3D models for projects, pie charts and even trains students for competitive drawing exams.

While fans queue up outside celeb homes at the crack of dawn, Smita makes her way inside the famous homes. "When I see people eager for a mere glimpse of a star, it slowly sinks in that I have achieved something in life," she says modestly. Smita admits she is a self-taught artist since she couldn't complete her commercial art course at the Sir JJ School of Arts.

Smita started home tuitions quite by accident when a chance art lesson helped her discover her inherent flair for teaching. "In 1993, I started my own class in Dahisar with just six kids, which quickly mushroomed into 50 over a short span of 30 days," she recalls.

But it was only in 1999 that she got her first celeb clientsu00a0-- actor Anil Kapoor's son Harshvardhan and daughter Sonam. "Sonam was very inclined to art and even scored A's in her art exams. When she went off to Singapore for further studies, she continued her classes during vacations," she adds proudly. Through word-of-mouth publicity, Smita's roster of celeb students grew in numbers.

Moments to remember
So what are the perks of working with celeb kids? "I'm treated like family and have even had food in their homes." But she reckons there are challenges as well. "Kids, in general, are moody and I have to be on my toes to keep them interested. I learn new aspects of child psychology everyday thanks to these interactions."

The art teacher insists that while A-list stars and industrialists might portray a larger-than-life image to the world,u00a0 they are normal parents who are clued in about their children's progress. She gives an example of the annual art exhibition-cum-sale she conducts around Diwali where her students exhibit their art works. The money gathered goes to the kids' charity of choice. "Some of these celebs charge lakhs for a public appearance but they attend this event as regular parents to cheer on their kids. That's what I find most heartwarming," she concludes.

Roll call of famous students
>> Sara and Arjun Tendulkar (cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's kids)
>> Rasha Tandon (actress Raveena Tandon's daughter)
>> Ranveer Behl (director Goldie Behl and actress Sonali Bendre's son)
>> Shanaya Kapoor (actor Sanjay Kapoor's daughter)
>> Dharam Deol (actor Bobby Deol's younger son)
>> Agni and Zooni Chopra (director Vidhu Vinod Chopra's kids)
>> Yudhishthir and Karan Jaising (designer Monisha Jaising's sons)
>> Mahikaa and Myra Rampal (actor Arjun Rampal and former model Mehr Jesia's daughters)

Did you know?
>> SRK's daughter Suhana and Sachin Tendulkar's daughter Sara are very independent-minded and love to do things by themselves. "Once I have shown them how to do it, they prefer to do their own thing without interference," says Smita.
>> Arjun Rampal's daughter Mahikaa has the urge to excel in whatever she does.
>> Actor Chunky Pandey's daughters, Ananya and Rysa, are smart and fast learners. "Rysa cries when the
lectures are cancelled," adds Smita.
>> Actor Sanjay Kapoor's daughter Shanaya is very quiet and is open
to what the teacher wants.
>> Actor Hrithik Roshan's elder son Hrehaan likes making pop-up cards.

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