Sanjay Kapoor’s Daughter Shanaya: Understanding the Highs and Lows of Acting | – Times of India

Sanjay Kapoor’s daughter Shanaya will be stepping into the industry following cousins Sonam, Arjun, Harsh Varrdhan, Janhvi, and Khushi. Ask Sanjay what he has advised his daughter, who will make her debut with a pan-India film, and he says, “Shanaya has grown up in a filmi family and has seen the ups and downs in my journey. I am always there for her, but she is smart enough to understand the highs and lows associated with pursuing a career in acting.I would just advise her to stay focused, keep working hard, and be sincere. That’s what I did even when I went through a low phase. I didn’t lose hope and worked even harder till things turned around.”
‘I told Shanaya that trolling happens to the greatest of actors’
Things turned around for Sanjay with the Lust Stories anthology, and after that, he has been taking on more work, especially in the OTT space. He admits that the new medium has been a challenging arena for a 90s actor like him to break into. He wishes for his daughter to hold onto one key lesson – to remain zen through the highs and lows in her career. He elaborates, “She shouldn’t get excited about success or feel low when things don’t go in her favour. Recently, I told her, ‘A section of people would always troll you. It happens to the greatest actors. You can’t please everybody, so you should not be affected by the negativity’.”

‘Why is the nepotism debate limited to Bollywood?’
Today, star kids find themselves in the line of fire for an unfair advantage. Talking about the nepotism debate, he says, “When I started, nobody spoke about nepotism, we were judged on our talent. There are and have been so many star kids who have disappeared after doing a couple of films. Eventually, your work speaks for you. I am an example of that. I belonged to a film family with strong connections and a great circle, but I didn’t get work because of that.”
Sanjay wonders why the nepotism debate is limited to Bollywood. Pointing to the South film industry, he explains, “I am surprised that nepotism is not a topic of debate in the South. The ones who have delivered the biggest hits across India today from that industry are also film producers and actors’ children, but no one calls them nepo kids. Everybody knows that sheer hard work begets work. Yes, people recognise you even before you start acting, but no one will cast you just because you are an actor’s child.”