Actor Shahid Kapoor talked about feeling like an ‘outsider’ in Bollywood despite being the son of veteran actors Pankaj Kapur and Neliima Azeem, in a recent episode of the podcast No Filter Neha, with actor Neha Dhupia.

“I didn’t have the qualities to be a campy person (part of a Bollywood camp). I came from Delhi to Bombay (Mumbai) and for the longest time, I was an outsider because my accent was different,” the 43-year-old actor told Dhupia, adding how he wasn’t able to “jump-start” his career despite his father’s industry connections.

The Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya and Farzi actor also recounted enduring persistent “bullying’ throughout his life, “I came into this industry and realized, ‘Yeh toh school ki tarah hi hai. Outsiders are not accepted easily here. So, for many years, I dealt with that,” said Kapoor, adding, “But I don’t like this campy thing. I think people who want to creatively collaborate should do that. But that doesn’t mean you diss other people and try to put other people down or close the doors to other people.”

The actor, who started out as a background dancer for songs in films such as Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) and Taal (1999), and made his acting debut with Ishq Vishk (2003), recounted not having the confidence to fight back as a teenager. “But now, if you try to bully me, I will bully you right back. I will bully the bully because they deserve it,” he said.