Not a big deal: 'Tare Zameen Par' actor on nepotism

Using one's influence to launch a family member or help their career is a common phenomenon in Bollywood and Tisca Chopra feels it is unnecessarily blown out of proportion.

The actress of the 'Tare Zameen Par' fame was in the city to participate in Knowledge Factory. DH was a partner in the event. Varun Gandhi, MP, delivered a talk on 'Discovering Bharat' at the event.

Tisca told DH on the sidelines of the event: "If my father is in the business, he will help me. This is no big deal for the Indian family-oriented culture. It is normal to help our friends and relatives."

She said there was nothing out of the ordinary about it and people called it nepotism and made more noise. “If you are good enough you will find a way. I am not necessarily averse to it,” she said.

“If I am into films and my daughter wants to become an actor, don't you think I will help her?" she asked.

Speaking about the #MeToo campaign, she said she had to leave some film projects as she did not “relent”. “Listening to both sides is important. It’s about time the conversation happened. The movement will change phases before it brings significant changes,” she said and felt calling out names is okay.

Speaking during the discussion at the vent, Tisca said fame was a sought-after drug. She narrated an incident during her first time at the set that left her thinking.

"The spot boy handed me food and told me that this was the food meant for artists. At a distance, I could see a beeline. Junior artists and other crew were waiting for food. This was the first time I knew there was something called the 'artists ka khaana'," she said.

Veteran actor Bharat Bhushan was among those standing in the queue, she recollected. Shocked, she asked the spot boy why he was in the queue, only to be told that his times in the film industry were not great now and he must be glad they had a job for him.

"That was the moment I realised nothing here was real. It's a bubble. I learnt not to take the euphoria nor the downs too seriously," she said.