'I'm very single'

The sound of a film generator reminds her of homework on the sets and when she was young, she had the biggest crush on Mogambo. Shruti Haasan on stepping before the camera after growing up in a film family

WE meet Shruti Haasan a day after Father's Day. Kamal Haasan and Sarika's daughter says she did actually wish her illustrious dad, 24 hours before the big day because she knew she'd get caught up in work after she's in Mumbai to promote her first film as actor, Soham Shah's Luck, in which she stars opposite heartthrob Imran Khan.

"I miss my dad on Father's Day, but he's not too big on days. I get so excited about birthdays, but he's like whatever. Not a big deal," she says, laughing. Twenty-three year old Shruti is pretty obviously a doting daddy's girl and sportingly does a string of first experiences she's shared with dad Kamal, one of the India's best actors.
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When did you realise your father was such a huge movie star?
When I went for a premiere when I was a kid I don't remember which film. I had never heard so many people scream like that at the same time. I was petrified, petrified. He was like, 'Relax.' I thought, 'Okay, you're kind of a big deal.'u00a0

What was the first film set of your father's you visited?
Appu Raja. There were these four Pomeranian dogs doing the coolest tricks. I still don't know how my dad did the dwarf thing it's like some family secret that I'm not in on. That was a great set for a child to visit. There were tigers and clowns doing tricks. That stuck in my head.

What was the first review that you read of your dad's film?
I've never read reviews till I actually worked on a movie with him. I was on the costume and other departments of Hey Ram! I was 13-14 then and suddenly I became interested in what people had to say. To date, it's one of my favourite films but it was very misunderstood. The reviews were stinkers. I remember crying to my dad and saying, 'How could they do this? We put in so many hours of work.' Of course, he was nonchalant. He said some things work and some don't, but you do what you have to do. That deeply impacted me.u00a0

What was the song your dad sang to you when you were small?
A patriotic song in Tamil that my grandfather used to sing to him at the time of pre-Independence. Half of Tamil Nadu won't know of it today.

The first music recording you attended?
The one I sang for when I was five, a song in Thevar Magan. That was the first time I ever faced the microphone. Ilayaraja sir was the music director and he always said, 'This girl is going to sing. You've named her appropriately.' I remember it was an AKG mike and they have those hearts on them!

Do you have a memory of a big punishment he gave you?
Never. He doesn't believe in punishments. I don't even think he's yelled at me. Once, when I was a teenager, I stayed on beyond my curfew he pulled it back from 11 pm to 9 pm; it was devastating. When you make him upset, there's this whole loss of respect that I find scary. It's like, 'Don't disappoint me; I have faith in you.'

What's one of his rules?
To write something everyday a poem, a song, an essay, an idea, whatever. I've written many short films, but none that I have the guts to make.

His big piece of advice?
No pain, no gain. I completely agree.

Who was the first friend of your father's that you hit it off with?
I had the biggest crush on and was completely fascinated by Mogambo. When Amrish Puriji came home, I forgot everything else. He was so nice too.

Do you remember when your dad spoke to you about death?
Oh yeah, clearly. I was very young and it was just after my grandfather passed away. I loved him to bits. He told me, 'You know I might cross the street tomorrow and die or someone may slip in the bathroom. You have to face that.' That was an important lesson.

Lady Luck, mom Sarika and more

On her first time in front of the camera
Luck is my first film, but I did one shot for Hey Ram. I got to walk across the camera. Yay! I was 13 going on 14. At first on Luck, the camera was this dominating, scary thing following me around, but now, it's one of my best friends. What struck me when I was shooting at Film City was the sound of the generators. That's when I felt, 'I'm home!' I've grown up with that doing homework, hanging around it. I could totally go to sleep with that sound.u00a0u00a0

On crazy stunts in Luck
We shot over here, South Africa and Bangkok. A lot of the other offers I got wasn't getting my mojo going. This character was simple and real. And then, I did all these stunts u2014 it was just a bad-a'' thing to do (laughs). They were wicked. There were highs, lows and in-betweens. Director Soham (Shah) exhausted the possibilities. The experience was like Fear Factor for me, but I think I've emerged braver and stronger.u00a0u00a0

On being lucky
I feel I've been blessed, but blessings don't come handy till you know how to use them. I'm not lucky in love. I'm very single today and that's the greatest luck bestowed on me. I'm happily single. I always say even if I get married tomorrow, I'll be a single girl at heart. Relationships take too much time and I have lot of other things to do right now. You should be able to contribute whole-heartedly to another individual. Now, I'm thinking about myself too much and it would be brutally unfair to the other person.u00a0

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On her relationship with mother Sarika
I'd really not like to talk about it. Honestly, it's just something I'd not like to focus on at the moment. She's a phenomenal actress and there's a lot to learn from her as well.

On composing for dad Kamal Haasan's remake of A Wednesday
I've sung one song for Luck, composed by Salim-Suleiman. They didn't make me sound like a nightingale, which I'm not (laughs). I'm more of a cool crow. Since I'm the music director of my dad's next film, I've got him to sing. He sings Tamil folk well, but he also does this mellow rockstar. He's got the attitude. At home, he's always singing music by Queen and The Who. I keep telling him, 'I don't know how you didn't go on the road and do gigs' and he says, 'I was too busy making movies.'

On being compared to her parents
There was a phase when I was discovering myself as an artiste when I kept thinking about what people were saying about me. But I'm past that now. I review myself most critically. You can't compare us because we're of two different generations. My parents are fabulous actors. But you can't compare me to what they are today. That's unfair. So it doesn't make sense.