Shweta’s parents didn’t want her to become an actor

She always wanted to take up acting as a career. But her parents’ reaction was more like, ‘Could you do something else?’, reveals Shweta Basu Prasad (below), who rose to fame as a child actor in films such as Makdee (2002) and Iqbal (2005).

“I come from a family of engineers, doctors and CAs. My parents weren’t eager to make me work in the industry. They were selective (about my projects),” says the 26-year-old. After graduating from college, they wanted her to take a break, and Shweta is glad she followed their advice. “After Iqbal, my parents made me cut off from everything. I am grateful to them, as those were my formative years, and I learnt so many other things in that time... I don’t recommend that child actors continue to work through their teenage years because during this time, one can discover so many other things which they enjoy,” she says. The actor, however, continued to get film and TV offers. “While in college, I did one or two southern films. I had TV offers as well, but I wanted to wait for the right project to make my comeback,” says Shweta, who now stars in a TV soap.