Shruti Haasan on nepotism: I'm in the industry because of my father Kamal Haasan

Actress Shruti Haasan, who has opened up on the nepotism debate in her latest interview, has admitted that her entry into cinema was on account of her father Kamal Haasan.

In an interview with the website Cinemaexpress.com, Shruti said it would be criminal to deny that being Kamal Haasan’s daughter had helped her to enter the industry.

"The doors of the film industry opened for me simply because of my surname," she said. "It would be criminal to deny that. But over the years, I learned that things are different in Tamil and Telugu cinema when compared to 'Bollywood'."

She explained: “I made my debut alongside a star like Suriya in Tamil, an actor who also got his break because of his father, Sivakumar sir. And yet, his path to stardom was carved by his work. After that initial launch, every actor has to prove their talent and work hard to get their next offer, especially in Telugu and Tamil cinema. Your background stops being such an influence after your debut. I am not sure whether this is the case in 'Bollywood' [commercial Hindi cinema]. I think it’s different there."

Shruti, who stars in Tigmanshu Dhulia's long-delayed Hindi film Yaara, which was released on the Zee5 OTT platform over the weekend, has a project each in Tamil and Telugu in her kitty.

In Tamil, she will be seen in Vijay Sethupathi’s Laabam (2020), which has been directed by SP Jananathan. In Telugu, she has reunited with Ravi Teja for the upcoming Telugu actioner Krack (2020) after Balupu (2016). Both Laabam and Krack are being geared up for release soon.

Shruti is also busy with her independent music career. Not long ago, she took a sabbatical from cinema to focus on her singing.