I accept and acknowledge my privilege: Saiee Manjrekar on the nepotism question

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

While she is working hard to prove herself, being the daughter of filmmaker-actor Mahesh Manjrekar, she admits she has faced the nepotism debate. The 21-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, candidly adds that nepotism is indeed a reality. She elaborates, “It exists. I did probably get an opportunity to be in the movies a little easier than many people would find it. I make sure I would be grateful for that. There will be somebody else who is working 10 times harder to be where I am right now, so I have to work even 10 times harder to stay where I am.”

Apart from this, the toughest thing she has had to deal with so far in her career, 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. Then people, who I have known forever, started thinking ‘Saiee is going to become arrogant and change, have an air about her’ That’s a stereotype that has been created and etched in people’s minds. It is really hard to step out of it,” she admits.