Iram Badar Khan stuns as 16-year-old Vidya in her debut web series, Shiksha Mandal

Iram Badar Khan has defied all expectations with her debut in the recent OTT release, “Shiksha Mandal…India’s Biggest Education Scam,” on MX Player. While we’ve seen actors playing roles older than them – be it Aamir Khan in Dangal or Ranbir Kapoor in Shamshera, Iram has taken an unconventional route to make her debut as an actor and has portrayed a character who is a decade younger than her. She is seen playing the role of Vidya Rai, sister of Aditya Rai (Played by Gulshan Devaiah).
 
On her role, Iram Badar Khan said, “I always wanted to make my digital debut very real and raw. Playing Vidya allowed me to do just that. The rawness of a teenage girl going through something, its non flashy portrayal and the director’s vision of making Vidya just exist and be in the moment really captured her true self. I think as a debutant, I’d give most of the credit to the director for helping me perform this emotionally challenging role while still helping me maintain my uniqueness as an actor.”
 
Director Syed Ahmad Afzal said, “Casting for Vidya’s role was challenging. I went through many auditions. When I came across Iram’s audition, I felt she looked like Gulshan and would look apt as his sister. She has amazed me with her performance and dedication. For this role, Iram transformed herself in 9 days to look like a 16-year-old girl. She worked extremely hard on herself to look like a 16-year-old student. I remember an incident where she once told me that no one will cast her after seeing how plain she looks in the show but trust me, she will be appreciated for her performance.”
 
Directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal, Shiksha Mandal is inspired by actual events and highlights the problems of a typical student who falls prey to the unjust practices of the educational system. It also stars Gauahar Khan, Gulshan Devaiah and Pavan Raj Malhotra in pivotal roles. The show is currently streaming on MX Player.