Mohnish Bahl: If you look at it this way, my entire family is the product of nepotism--Shobhana Samarth, Nutan, Tanuja, Kajol, and Ajay Devgn

Mohnish Bahl has made us love and hate him through his brilliant performances in films throughout his glorious career in the film industry. Now, his darling daughter Pranutan is taking the family’s legacy forward. ETimes caught up with the actor for an exclusive interview where spoke about his daughter and shared his thoughts on the raging debate of nepotism in the industry. Excerpts…

Your mother and your legacies are being carried forward by your daughter Pranutan. How is she as a daughter and as an actor?Oh, she is a wonderful daughter! There are no two ways about it. She is wonderful at home in terms of taking care of things and helping her mother out. She has taken her studies very seriously. She decided to practice law for a while and only then move to other things. She created a strong foundation, which is very sensible.

As far as her acting prowess goes, there are two things I would like to say. An actor can be as good as the opportunity that he/she gets. I have seen a lot of improvement in her from her first film to the second, and to whatever she is taking up now. Her confidence level has grown. To put it plainly, I think she is much better at this stage than I was when I was her age. I guess if destiny is with her then things will work in her favour. It is a matter of getting the right film, at the right time. Commercial success is very important. That is what gives you the option to choose and decide what you would like to do.

In an earlier interview with ETimes, Pranutan told us how she accompanied you to the sets...Actually, I used to accompany my mother on the sets. I used to go on outdoor shoots as well--be it in Kashmir or Chennai (Madras as it was called then). I used to sit on the crane on the sets and ride around in the trolley, and Pranutan has done the same things. Her mother also encouraged her to come on the sets. She has always been a filmy baby and is comfortable with this environment. What she needs to understand is that it is a very insecure line. You don’t know what's coming next so you need to deal with those insecurities. I feel she will learn as she grows up.

What are your thoughts on the debate of nepotism raging in the industry right now?I think the debate is very superficial. There is no such thing as an insider or an outsider. Anybody who has been born into a particular family profession will have a much easier journey than someone who has not. It is as simple as that. It makes things simpler because your parents know the way to guide you.

As far as Pranutan is concerned, she never used the family name to get in. She bagged her first film after giving auditions. Even when she went to a big production house, she put down her name as Pranutan and not as Pranutan Bahl. She did not reveal her family lineage. When I asked her why she isn't telling anybody about her family name, she said it was because she was testing the waters. She wanted to know if she has any value as an actor or are people just offering her tea because they know me. I thought that was a very mature point of view.

Go on…I agree that it is easier for industry-bred kids to find their way inside and get an audition. But that is the case with other professions also. If my younger daughter wishes to pursue law in future, it would be easier for her because we already have a lawyer in the family. Once you start your performance as an actor, you are on your own. There is no Mohnish or Nutan ji standing behind you in front of the camera. It is just you. That is why I feel all this debate is superficial. I don’t give it much thought. If you look at it this way, my entire family is the product of nepotism--right from my grandmother Shobhana Samarth to my mother Nutan to Tanuja to Kajol to my cousin brother-in-law Ajay Devgn--it is basically everybody. Where do you stop? Hats off to people who come from non-film backgrounds and make it on their own but there is nothing shameful about being an industry kid too. Eventually, you have to make it on your own.

Frankly, if nepotism really helped people, I wouldn’t have been playing negatives and parallel leads all my life, considering whose son I am. There are so many other examples of people who have not even gotten as good as me and outsiders who have made it big.