I hate the term star kid: Athiya Shetty

One has to work very hard to live up to a celebrated surname, says 22-year old actress who is making her debut in the Salman Khan-produced Hero. In a free-wheeling conversation she lets us in on her growing up years and more...

Right from the time Athiya Shetty was roped in to play the female lead in a film to be produced by Salman Khan, there has been a lot of curiosity around her. The first-time actress had been so well shielded from the media, that barring a few stray images on the Internet and the fact that she is Suniel and Mana Shetty’s daughter, there was little known about her. The intrigue has certainly helped create much hype around her debut film Hero opposite another debutant Sooraj Pancholi.

She and are parents are just back from a short holiday in Goa. “I am still on the hammock,” she says with a laugh. The 22-year old Athiya is now counting days to the release of her first film. She makes a confession: “Right now I am very nervous.” She continues, “I was with Salman sir a couple of days ago when he said ‘one month left’. I was like, what do you mean one month, only two weeks left. I am not showing it but I am very nervous. I just want us to be accepted. You are in a situation where you are getting positive

feedback but you don’t know until the film releases.” With all the praises coming in for the first look of the film and the songs, we ask the leading lady who is that one critic who keeps her on her toes. She replies, “Not one but so many. But my biggest critic is at home, my father (Suniel Shetty). He never says good things to me and he will always be honest and straightforward. So I am happy to have one person like that and I take his advice seriously.”

We point out how star kids are known to grow up under a certain amount of pressure. She intervenes, “I hate the term ‘star kid’.” Okay, how about kids from the industry? “Yes, that works,” she says with a laugh, before continuing, “I think we get criticised faster, especially on social networking platforms. Even if you make a small mistake, people say things like, ‘she is an actor’s daughter, she should know everything’. I am still learning and there is a lot of pressure. We have to meet the expectations of our parents. They are successful and you aspire to be as successful as them. Yes, there is a celebrated surname that is attached to you but you have to also work very hard.”

Being launched by a superstar like Salman Khan certainly has its own perks. Athiya shares some memories from the first time she met him. “I was eight when I met Salman Khan for the first time. Pyaar Kiya to Darna Kya had released then. Me and Ahan (my brother) were obsessed with that film. Ahan would enact Salman’s part and I used to be Kajol. We would dance and then Ahan would remove his T-shirt just like Salman does in the film. One day, dad asked us ‘Would you want to meet Salman?’ We were so excited but when he was finally right in front of us, we could not utter a word. We just kept staring at him.”

And how are things now? She says, “ He is so much fun and he has this ability of making everybody feel special in the room, no matter who you are. I feel very blessed to have him as a mentor.”

Her father Suniel Shetty has featured in several super hit numbers, among which Sheher Ki Ladki, Hai Huku and Paro are top-of-mind. Does she ever shake a leg to any of these songs? With a naughty smile, Athiya replies, “My father is going to kill me for this. We used to go mad over his songs — we had this cassette of all his songs. I never saw his movies because most of them were action films. I would be paranoid about seeing my papa get beaten up. About two to three months ago, while I was watching one of his songs, I called him and said, ‘Dad what on earth were you wearing!’ And he replied, ‘It was a style back then’.”

Athiya is very close to her mother too. “She is my best friend and my pillar of strength. She allows me to make mistakes and she always says its okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from them. She is a very chilled out person,” she says.