Star kids have to struggle more: Anil Kapoor

Mumbai: Actor Anil Kapoor believes that star kids have to struggle more in the film industry as there are lot of expectations from them.

Anil, who has three children - of whom Sonam is into acting and Rhea has turned a producer while son is still studying - said, “It is a different kind of struggle that they have to do. Our struggle was different. Their struggle is that the expectations from them are more as they are celebrity kids. I feel their struggle is more than us.”

Sonam made her acting debut in 2007 with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya opposite Ranbir Kapoor that bombed at the box office. She subsequently starred in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Delhi 6 (2009) opposite Abhishek Bachchan, which again was a flop.

Her next release, Karan Johar’s production I Hate Luv Storys (2010), was her first commercial success.

Later again, four of her films, Aisha (2010), Thank You (2011), Mausam (2011) and Players (2012) did not impress the audience.

“I feel Sonam has had a fantastic journey. She did a lot of hard work. It is a different kind of struggle that they have to do. If they do something good, people still expect more. There is certain expectation from her as she is the child of a celebrity,” he said.

Though Sonam’s journey in Bollywood may not be that happening, she is always talked about, especially about her fashion sense.

“When she did Sawariya and Delhi 6 people started saying she should wear fashionable clothes, she is doing Behenji type of roles. She does not have that thing. So when she did Aisha they were like… do that kind (de-glamorised type) of a film. She has proved herself, from Sawariya till now,” Kapoor said.

“She has done de-glamorised roles in films like Mausam and others but people forget that and talk about her fashion. Fashion is also an art, you don’t have to look down upon it. It is a big business and there is more money in it than films,” Anil said.

“The way she chooses colours or pattern, there is a certain art in that, she has that sense inherently. You either have it or don’t. She is blessed with that talent, where she has great aesthetic sense, her grace, her beauty, the way she presents herself,” the proud father said.

Anil, who has had a brush with international cinema, says Sonam’s fashion sense has been praised by producers and directors abroad. “They think she is like an international personality. She has an aura about her, when she walks in. She inherited it from her mother,” he said.

His other daughter Rhea turned producer with Aisha (2010) which was not a box office hit. Rhea is all set for her next production venture Herogiri based on a book written by author Mainik Dhar, which revolves around an ordinary man possessing extraordinary powers.

The 25-year-old producer, who has bought the rights of the book, would turn it into a full-fledged screenplay and would announce the cast soon.

Recollecting his own struggle, Anil said, “I have worked very hard to get into films. I used to roam with my pictures from one office to other. In the film Shakti (1982) no one noticed my role. Then I did Telugu and Kannada films. I did Prerna that was shelved in between. So to reach where I am today, I did face hardships and went through lots of ups and downs. I used to travel in bus and train to learn acting.”

“People love underdogs. When I came into films, people started saying he will surpass Amitabh Bachchan, but it does not happen like that. I was an underdog, so people tried to put me up there but I was sensible enough to not get carried away,” he said.

PTI