My lineage carries a weight, says Shruti

Actor-singer Shruti Haasan is ecstatic at the kind of music journey she has been able to forge for herself. And this one, she says, has solely been on the basis of her hard work. But being the daughter of actor Kamal Haasan, Sarika, did she at any point, feel that she needs to emulate a certain kind of career or live up to the name?

She says ‘no’. “I always had my music, which is my own separate thing. But I didn’t feel that in my first film, either, because I didn’t even know what I was doing in it. I started feeling it later on. I felt it the most when I went to London, UK, and started my music there as an absolute nobody. It was like starting from scratch, and when I got judged positively, for me, that’s when I realised I have never experienced that in my entire life,” says Hassan.

The 34-year-old says that because of the ‘environment she grew up in’, she was always aware of her parents’ popularity. “There was no avoiding it. I was always so and so’s daughter, but at the age of 30, to go to London, and to see what I could do, was humbling and gave me confidence,” says Haasan, who is set to release an original track called Edge.

She started her movie career in 2009, and has been acting since. But does she feel the entertainment industry is a fair place with equal opportunities? “I don’t know how one can even judge that. I am aware that my lineage carries a weight and it opened doors for me, no question about that,” she says.

Carving her own niche is what the singer-actor really wanted. “I want to have an authentic journey, which is not about using the name I made in India. Labels would be happy and say ‘let’s work with her, she brings so many followers’, as today, data is power. But for me, it’s been a very authentic journey,” she signs off.

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