Maleesha Kharwa: From the Dharavi slum to India's top teen model

Maleesha Kharwa was a 15-year-old girl living in a makeshift shack in Bandra, India's financial capital, but a chance meeting changed all that.

Maleesa has now appeared on the covers of popular fashion magazines including Vogue and Cosmopolitan. Most recently, she was chosen as the face of Forest Essentials, an Indian luxury skin care brand with a campaign promoting products aimed at teenagers.

This magical journey began in 2020, when Hollywood actor Robert Hoffman discovered her during a music video shoot in Mumbai. From creating an Instagram account for Maleesha to setting up a GoFundMe crowdfunding page to help her study and nurture her dreams, he helped her realize her dream of becoming a model. Almost three years later, her Instagram account has reached over 300,000 followers with over 100 posts where she showcases moments from her personal and professional life to trying to inspire the others.

Recently, she has entered the professional modelling path and even appeared in the short film "Live Your Fairytale".

Her life has changed. Before, Maleesha never thought that her image would be able to appear all over posters, newspapers or TV channels, but now she is present all over the world. Everyone recognizes her and asks to take pictures with her. She said she feels extremely proud of herself.

Many people on social media also compared her story with the main character of the Oscar-winning 2008 Hollywood film "Slumdog Millionaire", which depicts the story of a boy from a shanty town who rose to riches in India.

In April 2023, Maleesha became the face of Forest Essentials' "Yuvati" collection, a social initiative to "empower young souls".

The luxury beauty brand shared a touching video of the teen model on Instagram. In the video, Maleesha can be seen entering the store, where she is greeted with some campaign images at the entrance and then some more inside. Maleesha's story is a beautiful reminder that dreams can come true.

Returning to the first posts on her personal Instagram account, Maleesha often shares images of her starting to practice modelling, celebrating important events like buying her first phone with her own money or mark the milestone of 1000 followers.  Maleesha, who has always talked about believing in her dreams, has inspired her fans that when you really want something and try your best, dreams come true.

In an interview with Vogue India, Mira Kulkarni, founder and chief executive officer of Forest Essentials said, "Through the Yuvati collection, we're not only supporting Maleesha's dream, but also contributing to it as part of empowering young minds. The brand will donate 10% of the proceeds from the collection to the Paathshala Project to provide disadvantaged children with access to education with the hope of an India with more brightness."

Although Maleesha is the face of this campaign, what Forest Essentials is bringing to the forefront is the idea of ​​dreams. That is, no matter where you come from, whether your dream is big or small, it is still very important.

Separately, Maleesha says her campaign with Forest Essentials is her own "biggest work to date". "I want to be a model, but education will always be a priority for me," she added.

Kharwa's journey is not only extraordinary due to her socioeconomic circumstances but also because she is slowly dispelling the misconception that only light-skinned girls are considered beautiful in India.

The country has an obsession with fair skin and a woman's beauty is often judged by the colour of her skin. The World Health Organization found that skin lightening products account for 50% of the skin care market in India. But Kharwa wants to encourage young girls like her to embrace her own natural beauty.

Maleesha said: “I see beauty in everything. Many people think that only fair skin is beautiful. I just think that's silly. That's not how I see the world. A pretty face is good, but inner beauty is more important. I love my skin and it feels perfect.

I am happy to be able to share the message that there is no one right rule for girls and women to follow. They can do whatever they want to do and I want to inspire other girls and tell them they're special."

In addition to modelling, Maleesha Kharwa also plans to set up a platform called Maleesha People - where she plans to interact with children in similar circumstances and encourage them to dare to follow their dreams.

“Everybody, women and children should know how to follow their dreams,” she said. I can help people like me who deserve to dream and make the world a better place."