The wide-eyed boy born in a prison, raised by criminals and a gritty mother under different identities, has left a lasting impression on Malayali film buffs. Seven-year-old Adhisheshan has impressed everyone with his screen presence and precision of expression in the recent Malayalam filmBalan: The Boy, directed by Manjummel Boys maker Chidambaram. When we get on a call with the child actor, endearingly called Pikku, he has just finished his tuition to make up for the missed classes. With all the promotions and post-release celebrations underway, he has not been able to attend his classes, says his mother.A smile flashed across the boy’s face when he spotted Ajithlal Sivalal, his acting trainer, on the call. The trainer and his student are meeting after almost a year. “Adhisheshan had a delightful energy and presence about him,” recalls Ajithlal.Working with children requires a different approach, says Ajithlal, an actor and acting trainer in the Malayalam film industry. “We cannot use jargon as we do with the adult actors. So, we played games. And, we did a lot of singing, sometimes in gibberish or alien languages. But overall, the mood was playful. They might hate acting if we make it so serious early on. Pikku was doing even serious scenes with a playful approach.”Ajithlal and Adhisheshan pulled up their sleeves to give us a glimpse into their rehearsal room fun. The exercise was for activating imagination. Ajithlal started his first prompt: “Adhi, there is a plate of hot fragrant biryani in front of you!” And Adhisheshan’s eyes instantly brighten up. And then Ajithlal says, “Ayye, it has some stench,” and the child’s brow furrows to enact doubt. And then Ajithlal goes on, “Öh, suddenly you hear a sound from the back. Is it a ghost?” Adhisheshan looks over his shoulder with a sharp turn. He does not anticipate; he is in the moment, just responding to the prompts.