Before taking up her role in Water, she has acted in several stage plays in school and had recently won first place in an all island dancing, singing and speech competition.
"Sarala performed an absolutely outstanding role in a brilliant film that should have been given more recognition by Hollywood," said Maureen Dragone, president of the foundation, which is holding its 28th consecutive year of awards recognizing and honoring talented young child artists all over the world.
Sarala, an extremely bright girl, who did not know a word of English or Hindi, and had to learn all dialogues by heart, but ultimately acted so well that many critics were stunned by her performance.
Her refusal to bend to her plight carries considerable emotive power and elevates Water from a harsh tale of deprivation into one of hope and the possibility of overcoming.
Ray plays Kalyani with a subtle innocence - of beauty conditioned to be submissive, whilst Biswas as Shakuntala is the newly enlightened conscience of the movie, the rambunctious Chuihya its soul.