With her own house in Mumbai, a major life goal appears to have been ticked off the list for actor Ruhaanika Dhawan, and at the age of 15, no less! “People say I am very different from the generation. It is a nice compliment and I love seeing my parents proud,” gushes the Ye Hai Mohabatein star.

However, aware of the negative and stressful stream of competitive behaviour and toxic standards it might give rise to, Dhawan asserts: “I don’t think children should take any pressure at all. It’s okay. It did not happen overnight for me either. It took a long course of time to save all that money and make the purchase.”

Saving up for the much-talked-about purchase took the actor eight years, with her mother Dolly mapping out a financial plan for her. “No kid should feel pressurized. Being the older and wiser one, I invested systematically and it [wasn’t] just that she did a TV show and minted big money. With God’s will, things happened and it all worked out,” Dolly informs us.

Dhawan also addresses the ongoing criticism of her parents and allegations of child labour levelled at them. “I don’t really read comments because I know that if I do, I might get little upset. If you check my Instagram or YouTube, recording videos is my hobby,” she shares. Having said that, Dhawan says she really misses being on screen but she enjoys other activities. “I am doing it willingly and not being forced into anything,” she adds.

One wonders if she has plans for another big purchase in 2023. “I am being brutally honest, my money is over,” Dhawan quips, before adding, “The last year, my mother and I were looking for a house. We narrowed it down to two, but we could not find a house better than this. It feels amazing, especially in a city where even the smallest 1BHKs are so expensive.”

Child artiste Hai Ruhaanika Dhawan, who plays Ruhi in Ye Mohabbatein, left Bollywood actor Salman Khan puzzled over a thing as forgettable as a 'mole'. She has worked with him in Jai Ho and when Salman was on the set of the show, he asked her about the mole, which wasn't there during the shoot of the movie two-and-a-half-years ago. Unfazed, Ruhaanika told him that it was a fake mole, which she put on since her reel mother too had one. She says, “I was taken aback when Salman asked me about the mole. He asked me, 'How did I get a mole?' It's something so trivial that you do not expect a star of his stature to remember. I told him it's for the show. I could not believe that he was so observant. He complimented me on my work and my long hair. He even gave me the locket he has worn in the movie and we clicked selfies.“

Wasn't she star-struck to see him on the set? “I had developed cold feet during Jai Ho. I froze when I saw him first. But this time, it was like a friend visiting the set. I felt at home with him on the shoot,“ she replies.