Sunny Pawar wins Best Child Actor award at New York Indian Film Festival

Mumbai: Sunny Pawar has bagged the Best Child Actor award for 'Chippa' at the 19th New York Indian Film Festival. The 11-year-old, who hails from a slum in Kunchi Kurve Nagar in Mumbai, shot to fame with Australian director Garth Davis' acclaimed 2016 film 'Lion' for which he won an AACTA award.

Expressing happiness over his achievement, Sunny said: "I am very happy. This is all due to my parents. I want to be a big actor like Rajinikanth and want to make my parents proud. I want to work in both Bollywood and Hollywood. I never imagined that I will get to visit London, New York."

Reminiscing about his meeting with former US president, Barack Obama, the young actor said: "I met Barack Obama in the White House. He said 'Namaste' and wished me good luck for the future."

Sunny also shared that WWE Superstar Triple H gave him a signed belt as a gift which he considers very close to his heart.

Talking about his dreams for the future, Sunny said: "I want to earn a big name for my parents. I want to buy a big house for them."

On his role in the Safdar Rahman directed coming-of-age film 'Chippa', Sunny said, "It is a story where a boy leaves his home to find his long-absent father. On his way, he finds a puppy and later he finds his father."

Speaking about his son's extraordinary journey, Sunny's father said, "My son has been in the acting field for the past five years and has been to America, Australia, London and China. He got an opportunity to visit the White House, met big ministers and celebrities, I am so proud of him."

Apart from AACTA and the recent award at the New York Indian Film Festival, Sunny has also received a Special Mention Grand Jury Prize at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.