‘Why would you compare Khushi Kapoor with Sridevi?’ asks outsider Delnaaz Irani: ‘Hate breaks starkids before their debuts’ | Bollywood News

It was in 2017 that Kangana Ranaut opened a can of worms labelled ‘nepotism’, and almost a decade later, anyone who has anything to do with the business of entertainment is still answering questions about how nepotism has affected their professional lives. The conversation reignites every few months and gained steam when Zoya Akhtar decided to launch Shah Rukh Khan’s dauyghter Suhana Khan, Sridevi’s daughter Khushi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda in The Archies. While the film had an ensemble cast, the casting of these three in the lead parts raised many eyebrows. In a new interview, Delnaaz Irani, who played a supporting role in the film, shared that she finds the entire conversation extremely “unfair” and recalled that she was mighty impressed with Agastya when she worked with him. Delnaaz shared that she even called up Jaya Bachchan to praise her grandson Agastya’s manners, which left her quite overwhelmed.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
In a chat with Hindi Rush, Delnaaz questioned why nepotism was labelled as a “grave” word and said that if she had a daughter who wanted to become an actor, she would also try and approach Karan Johar, or any of the other filmmakers she has worked with, to make introductions. Talking about her experience of The Archies and working with Agastya, Delnaaz shared, “They are all very talented children and everyone got the same treatment. There were many other kids as well and they were all very sweet.” Apart from the aforementioned three actors, the film also starred Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, Yuvraj Menda and Dot.
She further recalled, “After I met Agastya, and I shot for a few days, I came back from Mauritius and I called up Jaya ji. She was so overwhelmed, like I could feel it on the phone and she said, ‘I will definitely tell Shweta’. I said, ‘He is such a well brought up kid’. I had to do this because he is such a good kid. The kind of respect, the kind of conversation… the work and the dedication.” Delnaaz said that anyone who is a star kid is quite under pressure and can break down even before they make their debut. “I feel they are more under pressure. They can break down even before they attempt anything because there is so much pressure.”
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Calling the practice of comparing the newcomers to their parents “unfair”, Delnaaz questioned, “Why would you compare Khushi to Sridevi? Why can’t you just let her be? As a person, as an actor, as an individual. This is a stupid topic.” She also spoke about Abhishek Bachchan, who has been compared to his father, Amitabh Bachchan, ever since he made his debut 25 years ago and said, “I have seen so much of Abhishek and I feel he is brilliant. So why is there any comparison? Because Mr Bachchan is such a huge mega star. If you compare anyone to him, they will look small in front of him.”
Agastya will next be seen in Sriram Raghavan’s Ikkis.