India’s Kishan Shrikanth—known as Master Kishan to many—may be small, but he has a big heart. At the tender age of 10, he has already acted in 24 regional feature films and has starred in 1,000 episodes of a hit soap opera on television in India. Yet he is aware that many are not as fortunate as he is, and he seeks to change it. And just what can he do, we hear you ask. Read along and find out!

“When I was six years old, I saw the kids selling newspapers on the streets at the traffic lights and felt sad. I asked my dad why they had to do this. He told me that they were not like us. They did not go to school or study and they had to work for a living. I wanted to talk about their life,” Kishan told the BBC.

“Then I wrote a short story and read it to my dad who narrated it to his friends as well. It was my dad’s friends who suggested that I should direct the film myself, as I had written the story.”

The boy was not daydreaming. C/O Footpath (Care of Footpath)—the feature film—is telling about India’s street child who had the chance for school and managed to be success and became an inspiration to many other street children in the country. He directs it with his mother’s support as the film’s producer as well as music director.

Before stepping into his new task, he got himself prepared. “I read many books on Hollywood and saw DVDs. I had to learn camera angles and understand which lens will make things look narrow or wide. I used to ask questions to directors, cameramen, assistants, everybody,” he said.

His genuineness convinced Bollywood star Jackie Shroff to take part. “He is such a genius that I had to work in his film. He is constantly thinking about his next shot, constantly innovating to make it better. He is sure about what he wants from his actors,” Shroff told the Press Trust of India.

The shooting took place at the south of Chennai and Mumbai, the center of Bollywood—the world’s most productive film industry. The production budget for this135-minute length film is US$ 170,000.

“It is not tough to direct senior actors. I tell them, they listen and even suggest changes if necessary. We do rehearsals before a shoot and I sometimes act and show them, as I am an actor myself. The film is 85% complete and due to release next April,” Kishan said to Reuters at his home in Bangalore.

Of course things are sometimes rough for him. While other children were enjoying Harry Potter, he barely had time for school during the filming schedules and missed playing with friends. But the boy-wonder understands what he wants. “When I am absent my friends take notes and give them to me,” he said. “I’ll pass my exams. My first goal is directing. All other things are secondary. I want all slum kids educated, that’s all.”

Well, he may say so, but the Guinness Book of Records awaits him as the world’s youngest director.