Ayush Mahesh Khedekar Biography

Ayush Mahesh Khedekar is an Indian child actor, best known for playing the youngest version of Jamal Malik in the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008), for which he won a Phoenix Film Critics Society Award and Screen Actors Guild Award.

Biography

Ayush is from Bhayandar, a distant Mumbai suburb, and studies at Ramaben Babubhai Kanakia High School. His mother Saili is a teacher in a Marathi medium school. His father Mahesh used to be a Marathi theatre actor, but he stopped acting after Ayush was born. Mahesh is currently an engineer with the Bombay Port Trust.

Acting Career

Ayush has been acting in India since age 4, appearing in commercials for Britannia, Colgate, Kelloggs and HDFC. He has also acted in serials like Baa Bahoo and Baby, Kayamat and Karam Apna Apna, and he has also appeared in the Bollywood film Family.

He made his international film debut in Slumdog Millionaire (2008). His role won a lot of praise from the audience and critics alike for his natural ability to act and his screen presence that makes up a significant portion of the film.

His performance has earned him the 2008 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance By a Youth, the 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (shared with ten other cast members), and a 2008 British Independent Film Award nomination for Most Promising Newcomer.