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A 9 year old Sikh girl, hits the mark in Matrix

Thursday, 06 November , 2003, 15:23

Tanveer K. Atwal, a nine-year-old Los Angeles native of Sikh origin, took a big step to the movies with a role in The Matrix Revolutions.

Tanveer plays the crucial role of Sati in Matrix-3, the little girl who helps Neo (Keanu Reeves) realise the innocent power of love that survives mindless evil. Sati enters the Matrix when Neo is caught in a vicious identity crisis, trying to figure out his role in the man-machine conflict.

Sri Lanka born Bernard White and Tharini Mudaliar from India play Sati’s parents Rama-Kandra and Kamala in the film. Rama-Kandra explains to Neo the philosophy of karma and the very essence of love, making their two-minute conversation the turning point of the film.

According to New York Times film writer A O Scott, ‘‘It turns out that there is train service connecting the various worlds, though its only customers are two computer programmes who have apparently given birth to a human child, a lovely little girl named Sati. All of this may be puzzling. I was puzzled, anyway, but scenes like the one in which Neo meets Sati and her parents have a quiet, beguiling strangeness reminiscent of Stanley
Kubrick.’’

Tanveer began her career in television commercials, but her appearance in the third installment of the Matrix trilogy will be her biggest role to date. After completion of the film, Atwal returned to the Brentwood Science Magnet School where she will complete the fourth grade. Besides acting, Atwal's interests include reading, drawing, dancing and traveling. She speaks fluent Punjabi.