Little Oscar winner arrives in Delhi without any fanfare or cheering crowds
Little Oscar winner arrives in Delhi without any fanfare or cheering crowds
Eight-year-old Pinki Sonkar is the most unlikely Oscar winner ever.
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Golden girl: Pinkiu00a0Sonkaru00a0at IGI Airport on Thursday nightu00a0
Pic/Subhash Barolia |
Even as rapturous crowds greeted musician AR Rahman and the cast of Slumgdog Millionaire, Pinki, the star of India's second Oscar-winning venture, Smile Pinki, slipped into the country silently, landing at Delhi's IGI Airport late on Thursday night.
Unlike the kid actors of Millionaire who romanced the spotlight, Pinki was keener to stay aloof. The girl from Dabai village in Uttar Pradesh, whose fairytale makeover from a cleft-lipped introvert to a smiling star, won an Oscar for the Best Short Documentary, hid her face as the flashbulbs popped. "Oscar," is the only word she uttered, when asked about the iconic golden statue.
The motley crowd of media persons and curious onlookers made Pinki uncomfortable as she clung to her father Rajendra Sonkar and let him and her surgeon Dr Subodh Kumar Singh do the talking for her. "After the film went to the Oscars, people said she would win. She herself started saying 'Amurica jana hai, aur Oscar jeet ke lana hai. Today, the result is in front of us," said Sonkar.
When asked about Pinki, he said, "She is feeling shy now but when with family and friends, she is very naughty."
Dr Singh, who had operated upon Pinki, said, "The Oscar win will help many other children who are suffering from similar deformities."
