Athiya Shetty – My father’s success or failure never affected me

Actress Athiya Shetty, who is making her Bollywood debut with “Hero”, says the fate of her father Suniel Shetty’s films at the box-office never affected her.

In “Hero”, Athiya stars opposite actor Aditya Pancholi’s son Sooraj, also making his debut. The film is co-produced by superstar Salman Khan.

“There was no discussion about his work at home. As a child we were never affected by his success or failure…

everything was always the same. There was no Friday fear at home,” the actress told PTI.

Athiya loved her father in comedies but stayed away from watching his action movies.

“I did not watch many of my father’s films because he used to do action movies. So when anyone punched my dad I used to get scared. I have loved him in comedies. I loved him in ‘Hera Pheri’.”

Suniel, 54, shared screen space with a number of actresses, but his dauhgter loved his pairing with Karisma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon the most.

When asked if she visited Suniel on his sets as a child, Athiya said, “I did not visit any of my father’s film sets. We were never allowed to visit sets.”

The actress said she was always sure about entering Bollywood. “I always wanted to be an actor since I was young, not because my father is in the industry. I love watching movies a lot.

“I was three years old and I was dancing to “Ek Do Teen”… I used to dance, sing and act in front of the mirror.

I wanted to do it, but I was not vocal about it. I did a lot of theatre while I was in school,” she said.

Athiya, who went to a film school in New York, said she is quite confident about handling successes and failures in her journey in the film industry.

“I get confidence from myself as I am comfortable in my own skin. I know I am not perfect. As long as you know your goals there is nothing to be under-confident about.

“My father is a realistic person when it comes to industry. He has told me that with success there is failure and I would also go through this phase, and that I should be ready and be respectful for both the aspects as that is life,” she said.

When asked about any do’s and don’ts she has thought of as an actress, Athiya said, “I would be too naive to say I would do this and that. It depends on the script…role. It all depends on the script.”

“My father trusts me and my judgement. I will not let him down,” she added.

Inputs by PTI