I ACCEPT AND ACKNOWLEDGE MY PRIVILEGE: SAIEE ON NEPOTISM

Lending her thoughts to the nepotism debate, the actor says she is grateful and continues to work hard

Unlike her peers, actor Saiee Manjrekar chose to take the unconventional route in her film career. She started off with Dabangg 3 (2019) opposite actor Salman Khan and then went on to do a Telugu film, Major.

While she is working hard to prove herself in the industry, being the daughter of filmmaker-actor Mahesh Manjrekar she admits to having faced the nepotism debate. The 24-year-old quips, “Honestly, if someone says nasty things like, ‘You have an advantage’, I would probably agree with them. I am not someone who would ignore the privilege, I would accept and acknowledge it, and still do something about it.”

The actor, who will next be seen in Kuchh Khatta Ho Jaaye, adds that nepotism is indeed a reality. She explains, “It exists. I did probably get an opportunity to be in the movies a little easier than others would. I make sure I am grateful for that. There is someone else who is working 10 times harder to be where I am right now. So, I have to work 10 times harder to stay where I am.”

Apart from this, the toughest thing she’s had to deal with in her career so far is preconceived notions about how a heroine behaves. “There have been times before Dabangg 3 released, I went to family events and while sitting for lunch, they just assumed and said, ‘Would you eat, are you dieting?’ People started assuming actresses are dieting all the time. These people, who I have known forever, started thinking ‘Saiee is going to become arrogant and change, have an air about her’. That is a stereotype that has been created and etched in people’s minds. It is really hard to step out of it,” she admits.

PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM Saiee Manjrekar; (below) with her father, Mahesh Manjrekar