My background opened doors for me, but I never used nepotism: Shruti Haasan

Actor Shruti Haasan, daughter of veteran actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika, says nepotism has been a bit harder than most people in the entertainment industry for her.

“I am very, very proud of being Kamal Haasan and Sarika’s daughter. I am very proud of my surname, but I can also very proudly say that I have never ever used it to move ahead in my career,” Shruti said here on Wednesday while promoting her forthcoming film Behen Hogi Teri.

“It (my film background) only opened the door for me. But I can’t push my ways through those doors. I want my own name. I am sure a lot of people have accused me of nepotism. But I can say that I have never used nepotism. It’s been a little harder than most people for me,” she added.

She has carved a niche for herself as an actor, but Shruti was not interested in this career path earlier.

“A lot of youngsters who are now starting their careers are very well planned and organised. They have a goal and a strategy. These things were not there in my case. I just stumbled into the film industry. It sounds funny because of my parents,” Shruti said.

“I was a musician and when I got my first film, then I just said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’ I didn’t understand the seriousness of this field when I did my first film. Later, I fell in love with cinema and acting with my own perspective and not my parents’ side. From there, the responsibility has driven me further.”

“The honour of portraying somebody’s else life is one of the great things happened in my life,” she added.

Besides her, Behen Hogi Teri also features Rajkummar Rao and Gulshan Grover.

Talking about her role in the film, Shruti said: “Binny is one of the most fun characters that I have played because she is from Lucknow and has a lot of layers. Binny is actually based on a real life character -- it is based on our director’s (Ajay Pannalal) sister.”

“Before starting the shooting, he (Pannalal) sent me videos of his sister and told me a lot about her. There was a different kind of responsibility on me this time. A lot of girls will be able to relate to the character.”

Shruti, who works in both southern films and Bollywood, says she doesn’t see “any geographical difference between the two industries”.

“For me, the people who are part of the project or the nature of the project is what really brings the difference. Since childhood, I have grown up in an pan-Indian house.”

“So, I find it difficult to separate the regions of India because my mother (Sarika) is from Mumbai and my father (Kamal Hassan) is from the south. We talk in almost all languages in our house. So, I never saw any difference,” she said.

Behen Hogi Teri is slated to release on June 9.