Back again ! Child Actor !!

I was at the ripe old age of 3 when i had my first acting experience! A friend of my dad came home and took one look at me and fell in love..(no not the child molestor kinda love!, but the kinda love that erupts for a producer when you see that you can get a cute child actor for free!).After much persuation, I was fully bathed, snot cleaned from my runny nose, powdered on my face beyond recognition(as was the style those days to make kids look presentable!), wore same cloth/design shirt and shorts(as was the style those days!) and packed off to the studios with my over bearing aunt(my dad's sister who happily fulfilled the void of not having a mother in law to my mom and terrorised everyone in the house!).My aunt was proud as a peacock about my acting job and off we went!.After many waiting hours and a few tantrums (not from me, from my aunt!) later, I was called and made to sit in between the late Gemini Ganesan and B.Sarojadevi for a song/scene, I dont remember, but the photo is still proudly displayed in kalahasthi at Bhavani press, which belongs to my grandfather.Dunno if it still exists, but the last i saw, the photo was still there!.My father then decided that I was going to be the last minute replacement for a child artiste who absconded and cast me as in "Yellelo naane' , a kannada film (superhero genre )directed by my dad which didnt run in theatres the time it was taken to be made!.
A few years later, another friend of my dad, producer Coganti kutumbarao (father of director K.Vasu), saw me at home making faces at the mirror and acting stupid( a trait at 6 that continues till date!) and decided I was going to be the child version of N.T.R. in his film Deeksha. My dad said no, my aunt said yes and that was the end of the arguement and no guesses as to who won!. So off I went to Bharani Studios (it belonged to the late Bhanumathi and sadly it doesnt exist today!). I was made to wear 2 inches of make up, red lipstick and rouge all over my cheeks making me unrecognisable to ...myself! After the make up man finished his handiwork and showed me the mirror, I shrieked, wailed, cried and wanrted to run away!. the make up man got offended that his artistry was not appreciated and told my aunt that it was a black and white film and that is the way it had to be and walked away! My aunt believed him and dragged my ass to the set and there I was at the ripe old age of 6, fully comprehending that there are about 80 odd pairs of eyes looking at me and expecting me to utter the lines, cry, run to my dead father played by some unknown actor and cradle his head in my lap! phew...I was a petrified dish!! I realised this was not a "smile and look here, i will give you choclate" excercise i had done earlier!.
This was serious stuff!! Surprisingly, I managed it after only a few rehearsals and I guess I was doing fine till the director decided to get creative!. He called me aside and said to me in his gentlest voice.." imagine that is your father, imagine the person next to you is your mother, crying for your dead father!" How will you feel? and then proudly looked at his assistant directors as if to say, thsi is how you draw performance from a novice!! They in turn looked at him in fake admiration(for fear of their jobs!). The smug director's face quickly changed, when the words he spoke to me hit my comprehension and I started a long wail followed by crying, rolling on the floor and sobbing my eyes off! No amount of cajoling and pleading worked on me and the director , clearly hurt that his plan backfired asked me to be taken to the make up room where I was supposed to be cooled off and my aunt, who didnt know what happened and when I told her that Director uncle told me that my dad is dead, she took off on the assistant directors and they didnt dare say a word coz she literally chewed their heads off and took me home! I cried all the way to home and only on seeing my mother did I stop and a bribe of few ice creams later, drifted off to sleep!.
A few phone calls, apologies and bonding of the friends , all was resolved and oof i went to the studio...again!! this time, there were no real life examples and i guess i did my job well enough to be flooded with offers! This time, my father decided he was going to stop this nonsense , lest it would affect my studies( like i was an ace student!! moi was struggling in school from day one! ) and told my aunt some story about how all child artistes grow up to be short and the lights affecting their growth! my aunt believed it and my acting career that began at 3 ended at the age of 6, just when i was beginning to understand the nuances and thrill of it! Actually, I kinda liked the pampering of the film people,the sets, the lights, the adrenalin rush of a take and the focus of everyone on the set on that singular moment.....!
Thanks to my dad,I was put firmly back to reality,(maybe he sensed the comfort with which i started leaving home to the studio!!) He packed me off into the world of school, studying and books that made no sense to me!!
So I merrily continued my excellence in substandardness of acedemics!!