At the young age of six , Che Naura Auni is a social media phenomenon. Her stardom began late last year when a picture of her holding her favourite milk brand, Nilofa Banana Flavoured Milk appeared on Instagram.
The picture went viral. Everyone was surprised at the little girl’s resemblance to popular actress, host and entrepreneur Neelofa.
The young girl, who was born in Tanah Merah, Kelantan and raised in Kuala Lumpur, was dubbed “Neelofa Junior”.
The viral picture also caught the attention of Neelofa herself. Even the superstar was surprised by the resemblance, and confirmed that Che Naura looks like her when she was of the same age.
Neelofa even invited the little girl to her talk show Meletop, which saw fans glued to their televisions to watch the moment that ‘Neelofa Senior’ met with ‘Neelofa Junior’.
The young girl gained a lot of fans through social media, who were interested to know the latest events in her life.
“The first person who told us that she looks like Neelofa was her kindergarten teacher,” says her father, 33-year-old factory worker Che Fadhullah.
“She was only five years old.”
At first, Che Fadhullah and his 32-year-old wife, Nor Asikin, who is a full time homemaker, did not take the teacher’s comment too seriously.
“But when her picture went viral and everyone kept saying the same thing, we began to see the resemblance,” he says.
Now, the father has big dreams for his daughter to be a child model and a child actor. For a start, he has found a management team to handle her career.
But don’t think this is a case of a stage parent forcing their child into the entertainment industry against their will. It appears that almost from the moment Che Naura learned to speak, she has been entertaining her family and friends with her singing and her cute, bubbly personality.
The precocious lass also loves having her picture taken. It appears that she is a natural-born entertainer.
“She can mingle with people easily,” her father says.
He believes he is channelling her energy in the right direction by enrolling her into the entertainment line.
However, there have been some who have accused her parents of exploiting their daughter for money.
“If my daughter does not show any interest in this line, I will not force her,” he says.
“I love my daughter very much, and the last thing I want is for her to be miserable. They have accused me of robbing her of her childhood. If you look at her social media, there are a lot of pictures of her playing with her dolls and her peers, and funnily these people do not comment about those pictures.
“You can see that she is enjoying her childhood, and I am not robbing her of anything.”
He is fully aware of horror stories of child artistes, especially in Hollywood, who could not handle fame at a young age and how it destroyed their adult lives. He is determined that the same fate will not befall his daughter.
“I will make sure all her entertainment activities will be done only after her schooling hours,” he says.
“I will also make sure she goes for tuition classes after school to keep up with her studies. The last thing I want is for her to neglect her studies.”
He also makes sure she goes for her religious classes regularly, because he believes religion will keep her grounded.
Interestingly, throughout our interview, little Che Naura did not look bored. She seemed to be interested in the questions I was throwing at her father. It was also rather obvious that she is a die-hard fan of Neelofa.
“I like Neelofa because she looks pretty, and I love her brand of milk,” she says.
When asked who she loves aside from Neelofa, she answers: “My father and my mother.”
When asked who she loves more between her father and her mother, she was quick to answer that she loves them equally. She has certainly learned the art of diplomacy!
She also says that her favourite colours are purple and pink.
Surprisingly, when asked what she wants to do when she grows up, her answer has nothing to do with the entertainment line.
She says she wants to be a doctor, because she wants to heal the sick.
Che Naura also has an eight-month-old younger brother, Che Wafi Habibullah. One wonders if he will walk the same path as his sister?
“It depends on his interests. If he has no interest in the entertainment scene, I will not force him. The instinct to be an entertainer has to come naturally,” said Che Fadhullah.
