It’s not that nepotism has benefitted all star kids and catapulted them into fame, and perhaps that’s why actor Shikha Talsania — daughter of veteran actor Tiku Talsania — likes to believe that even if one is an insider, no two people can have the same journey in the film industry.

“Yes, my father is an insider. But 2009 (Wake Up Sid) was my first film and 2018 was my seventh film (Veere Di Wedding) where I played my first ever lead role. People didn’t know I was my father’s daughter. He didn’t make any phone calls for me,” says the actor.

Asked if she feels things would have been easier or any different had people known about her father, Talsania says, “It’s a hypothetical way of thinking if this had happened then that would have followed. This is the path that I chose, and have no regrets. I don’t judge people making different choices.”

Referring to the whole talk around nepotism, the actor says in her case it worked very differently. “Nepotism benefitted me in the sense that I didn’t have to move cities to come to Mumbai, or rent a place. I had that security. There were no reservations, fears and doubts as regarding work shifts,” she says.

On the alleged drug nexus in Bollywood, Shikha feels the narratives right now is “unfair to everyone” and she hopes for the truth to come out in a more “dignified manner”.