Nepotism will always exist but you can’t stop those hungry to prove themselves: Zinta

MUMBAI: Nepotism is an oft debated topic in Bollywood award shows and interviews but it is not a new concept, says Preity Zinta as she believes it is natural for parents to help their children.

Preity, an outsider herself, said the industry is dominated by people who have made a name for themselves, irrespective of where they come from.

“It is an age old thing that parents will help their children. Nepotism does exist. But then there are stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and others who are not from industry and are superstars,” she said in an interview.

“There will always be nepotism and you can’t change that but one should never under estimate those who have hunger to prove themselves in the industry.

The actor said growing up, she always wanted to be financially independent.

“My dad passed away when I was young. There was a strong desire within me to be financially independent. I was doing criminal psychology, I wanted to crack crimes. I am a great investigator, I can find out anything. I used that part of me in developing characters,” she said.

Preity, who stars in “Bhaiyaji Superhit” opposite Sunny Deol, said she took a break to focus on her IPL team.

Looking back, Preity said she had no knowledge about cinema when she entered Bollywood but knew that hardwork wins over talent.

“I never thought I would become a big actor or star, I didn’t even think it was possible. Then I was sure I would work till I am excited. After I did ‘Veer Zaara’ and ‘Salaam Namaste’, I reached a point where nobody let me experiment. (AGENCIES)