'Wanted to prove star kids aren't dumb dropouts'

In the past few years, the words 'nepotism' and 'star kids' have almost become cuss words for the Bollywood industry. While many prefer to distance themselves from the debate about the privileges of star kids, others continue to offer their thoughts on it and the latest celebrity to discuss the subject is Tusshar Kapoor. The actor, who is Jeetendra's son, said star kids don't have it easy, contrary to popular perception.

Speaking to Divya Dutta on the second day of the 'Khushwant Singh Literary Festival' at Kasauli, Tusshar said that he considers himself an outsider as well.

"A red carpet is not laid out for every star kid. While shooting for my debut film, 'Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai', I had to wait for my co-star and another star kid Kareena Kapoor Khan for 12-14 hours as she was simultaneously working on four films. Her first film was yet to release but such was the demand for her that she had already signed all these films."

Tusshar added that he wanted to dispel the popular notion that 'star kids are dumb dropouts', which is why he wrote a book.

"After my son came into my life, everybody - be it acquaintances, media persons, colleagues or friends - would ask me: How do you manage? So, I decided to publish a book on the subject. Besides, the general perception is that star kids are dumb dropouts, who can hardly string two words together and I wanted to prove that that's not true," he said.