'I have been trained by famous choreographer Ashley Lobo for four years and now I am learning Kathak here. I also train people sometimes, but other than the commuting fee I don't charge them anything,' he said.

Life however has not been easy for this versatile youngster, who is preparing for his Class 12 exams from the Open school.

At the age of eight, Salim was discovered by a social worker, crying inconsolably on a roadside. Coming from a family of rag pickers, he had got separated from his mother. He was brought to the shelter home of the Salaam Balak Trust, famed film director Mira Nair's NGO which works for street children.

According to the NGO members, it was quite a task to trace Salim's family and when they did so three years later, they realised that economic deprivation would not let his family give him the education and training that Salim needed to hone his talent.

Deciding to stay back at the trust, Salim, who said he was in touch with his family, started attending tutorials and learnt to dance.

'Salim is a naturally gifted performer. What is distinctive about his abilities is a rare sense of discipline, patience and responsibility that makes him a delight to work with,' said a crew member who worked with Salim on the sets of the film 'Little Terrorist'.

Sharing a joke with the other boys at the shelter home and enjoying his care-free days acting, learning and dreaming, Salim signed off saying: 'I am happy with how life has turned out for me. I have not got as much fame despite the movies I have done, but my dream is to be a good choreographer so I am okay with it.'

(Azera Rahman can be contacted at azera.p@ians.in)