Harsh Mayar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Harsh Mayar

• Harsh Mayar is an Indian actor who is known for playing the protagonist Chhotu (aka Kalam) in the Hindi-language children’s film I Am Kalam (2010). The role earned him the National Film Award for Best Child Artist in 2010.

• Harsh grew up in a humble household and inclined towards acting at a very young age watching Bollywood films and TV shows. It was his maternal uncle who recognised his passion for acting and encouraged him to attend a theatre workshop at Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra from 2005 to 2008.

• Harsh spent his childhood participating in several local plays staged at Shri Ram Centre in Mandi House, Delhi’s own Broadway. In an interview, he recalled his initial days as a theatre artist and said,
  

  Firstly, I worked at the backstage. In my first stage show, I was given the role of a monkey. That was funny and exciting too. Even my mother was shocked to see me.”

• He first auditioned for the film Chillar Party (2011) but was rejected. Soonafter, he landed the role of Chotu in I Am Kalam and kickstarted his career. While talking about the same in an interview, he said,
  

  I was rejected for the movie Chillar Party and finally selected amongst 3,000 people for I am Kalam.”

• He was immensely appreciated for playing the role of Annant in the theatrical production ‘Paighamber’ in which he shared the stage with veteran actors Tom Alter and Amit Behl.

  

• He came into the limelight in 2010 when he starred in the Indian Hindi-language children’s film ‘I Am Kalam,’ which was produced by the non-governmental charity Smile Foundation. The film centres around Chotu, a poor boy who forms an unlikely and unstable friendship with the lonely son of a nobleman. The film earned him numerous accolades including the National Film Award for Best Child Artist in 2010 and a nomination for the Colors Screen Awards for Best Child Artist in 2012.

• Former President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam gifted Harsh Mayar his autobiography, Wings of Fire, after the release of the film I Am Kalam.

  

• He played the role of Ajite, a boy who leads a gang of kids in Madhogarh village, in the Indian Hindi-language children’s film Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid (2012).

  

• In 2013, he played the role of Nanu in the Indian- American English-language film Desires of the Heart.
  

• In 2015, he appeared in the short film Untitled: The Words Left Unsaid as Nitin.

• In 2016, he appeared in Doordarshan National’s action-drama series titled AdhaFULL in which he played the role of Adrak. The show follows three teenagers, Adrak, Tara, and Kitty, who form a gang called Aadha Full to solve mystery and crime cases that occur in their hometown, Badlapur.
  

• In 2017, he earned a Certificate of Excellence at the 7th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival for his role in the short film Porphessnal.

• He played the role of a slum boy named Aatish in the Bollywood film Hichki (2018). The film follows Naina Mathur, a teacher suffering from Tourette syndrome, as she teaches the underprivileged children of class 9F students at St. Notker’s School.

  

• Other films in which he appeared include Chaarfutiya Chhokare (2014), Nine Hours in Mumbai (2018), and The Tenant (2021)

• In 2019, he appeared in the Hotstar Special anthology film Kanpuriye in which he played the role of Jugnu Lampat (Jugnu Harami).

• From 2019 to 2022, he played the role of Aman Mishra in the critically acclaimed web series Gullak for which he was nominated in the category of Best Actor – Popular at the ITA Awards 2019.

  

• In 2019, he played the role of Karun Nair in the TVF’s Qtiyapa’s video titled Padh Le Basanti.

• In 2020, he played the role of Manoj Bhardwaj in the mini-series Overtime. The series chronicles the everyday problems of Manoj and Ramya, two IT employees, during an alien invasion.