The debate about nepotism is making headlines again. We don't need to remind you why. Shruti Haasan, who has a record of getting irritated and angry by the topic, seems to have warmed up to the idea of acknowledgement. As she is promoting her latest film, Yaara, the question was asked to her again.  "I have to admit that the doors opened for me because of the kind of people I have grown up with, because of my parents. I got that because of my surname, I cannot deny that," she said. Shruti Haasan Admits of Getting the Privilege of Being a Star Kid, Says ‘Overall I Have a Hard Journey’.

"But I am a slow learner, in general, in life. I do not take away the fact that I am privileged, though overall I have a hard journey. I would say, it was easy to get in but hard to stay in," Shruti Haasan said in an interview with Cinema Express.

She said in an interview with India Today recently, "I understand why this topic is at the forefront again. I’ve always said that being a star kid gives you a key to open the door to the industry. After that, I saw a stark difference when I enjoyed being a nobody in London. People wanted to listen to my music and that was amazing. It was a reconciliation of the fact that this is not an imagination, that I have talent." Shruti Haasan Joins Sister Akshara and Chiyaan Vikram in Don't Breathe Remake?

Shruti's stance on nepotism, in the past, has not been a great one. In 2017, she suggested that people who talk about nepotism should jump off the cliff.

In an interview, she said, "I am very proud of my surname, but my parents have never really helped me. I am the nepotistic product of anti-nepotism. In the beginning, people would say, ‘Kamal Haasan aur Sarika ki beti hai’. I had to work for years to build my career. So, when people talk about nepotism, I want to tell them, ‘Please go jump off a cliff’. Even if you are not from the industry, you will have that one person helping you — technically, even that is nepotism."

That is not all.

While promoting Behen Hogi Teri, she said, "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,"

"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.

In another interview, around the same time, she had said, "I don’t agree with the term nepotism because I believe there are people who don’t have famous parents but get a lot of support from certain people, which I never got. You know, the coin flips both ways,"

In another interview with DNA, the actress had said, "Of course, nepotism exists, but I know actresses who got parts meant for me just because they were hanging out with somebody, which is not fair. I am not going to lie and say that getting a break in films has been an uphill struggle for me. The fact is, the door is open for star children. I got my break quicker than other people, but nobody gave me a film after that."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 02, 2020 08:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).