Here's all you need to know about Makdee's child star Shweta Basu Prasad

The news of National Award-winning child actress Shweta Basu Prasad’s arrest for her involvement in a prostitution racket came as a shock to many. The 23-year-old, who is known for her roles in films like Makdee and Iqbal, released a statement soon after she was caught by cops, saying, “I have made wrong choices in my career, and I was out of money. " “I had to support my family and some other good causes,” said Prasad in her statement. “All the doors were closed, and some people encouraged me to get into prostitution to earn money. I was helpless, and with no option left to choose, I got involved in this act. I’m not the only one who faced this problem, and there are several other heroines who have gone through this phase.” (R ead more about the arrest here ) Born to a Bengali mother and Bihari father in Jamshedpur, Prasad moved to Mumbai at the age of  four. When she turned 11, she got her first break in Bollywood alongside Shabana Azmi in Makdee (2002). In this Vishal Bharadwaj film, she played the dual roles as Chunni and Munni and bagged the the National Film Award for Best Child Artist that year. After Makdee, Prasad had offers from both television and films producers and she began working on several soaps (mostly produced by Ekta Kapoor). She continued to study at RN Podar High School, Santa Cruz, Mumbai. Prasad is a Jane Austen fan and loves Aamir Khan. [caption id=“attachment_1697347” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A still of Shweta Basu Prasad.[/caption] During an interview in 2008, the actress had remarked that had she not been an actress, she would have become a lawyer. “I am very good at arguing.” said Prasad. “I have respect for Indian Constitution and Judiciary.” Prasad quickly became a household face, with performance as Shruti, (Om and Parvati’s daughter) in the Star Plus soap Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki becoming very popular. The high point of her acting career came in 2005 with Nagesh Kukunoor’s Iqbal. Prasad played the role of Iqbal’s sister, Khadija, which fetched her the Best Supporting Actress Award at the Karachi International Film Festival. Post Iqbal, Prasad failed to launch a Bollywood career as a leading actress. Although she starred in Ram Gopal Varma’s Darna Zaroori Hai as Ashu, it brought her little success. She then ventured into regional cinema and got her first commercial success with Telegu film Kotha Bangaru Lokam, co-starring Varun Sandesh. She also tried her luck in Bengali cinema with Ek Nadir Galpo (Tale of A River), but the film didn’t do well. The actress has since featured in a number of low budget Telegu films and also tried her luck in Tamil cinema. None of these paths worked out too well for her, which is perhaps that led to the financial crisis that Prasad refers to in her statement to the police. On Sunday night, Prasad was arrested when the Hyderabad Police conducted a raid on a hotel.