Shriya Pilgaonkar on nepotism: I didn’t come into the industry as a star, I was not on the cover of magazines

She didn’t have a fancy launch that most star kids with famous parents in the film industry would have, but Shriya Pilgaonkar reveals that she never aspired to have one, and preferred to work her way up. And for her, that’s all the more reason why she doesn’t appreciate the dialogue around nepotism.

“Everything I’ve done, I’ve auditioned for. People will see the work that you get, they’ll not see the work that you don’t get. I’ve never operated from a place of entitlement, which is why when I started acting, some projects I got, some I didn’t. I didn’t come into the industry as a star, I was not on the cover of magazines. I didn’t have that kind of journey, so people don’t throw that nepotism word often at me because they have seen that journey,” she shares.

The daughter of actors Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar, the actor says one must give credit where credit is due.

While she agrees that access is a reality for people like her, she adds, “We don’t know everything about a person’s journey even if we claim to know it. You do get the privilege of access when you come from the industry, but that is not enough for you to last here and we’ve seen enough examples.” 

The 31-year-old also point that she doesn’t get the logic when the viewers cry foul because the onus is also on the audience.

“If there are certain star kids whose work you might not like but still watch their film and their films are working, so why should the producer not invest in them?” she asks, and adds, “The audience is a huge factor in deciding who becomes a star, who stays, who goes.”

But star kids should not be targeted the way they have been in the past few months, feels Pilgaonkar.

“You can’t make star kids feel apologetic about it. But at the same time every actor who comes from a family of film should not feel entitled and not take it for granted,” she explains.

The Mirzapur actor believes that the anger directed towards star kids is rather misplaced, and asserts that it’s also a fact that even their journey is difficult.

“I’ve had my own struggles and people have seen that. They’ve seen my ups and downs. People right now are generally so angry about so many things and they just want to find a way to blame people. If you don’t want to watch a film, don’t watch it. The industry has nurtured wonderful actors, there’s no insiders or outsiders, talent gets its due,” she concludes.