Krishna Shroff: ‘Daddy’s fame or money can’t give this to you’

She could have taken the usual road traversed by star kidsmdashgrow up and pursue acting But Krishna Shroff was clear that it was not her calling She considers herself the blacksheep of the family who has defied the expectations people had from her as she was Jackie Shroffrsquos daughter and Tiger Shroffrsquos sister But she would rather be her authentic self than give in to peoplersquos expectationsAfter finding her purpose by opening her own mixed martial art studio she is now set to make her television debut with Khatron Ke Khiladi 14 KKK 14 In conversation with midday Krishna talks about her journey from an overweight and underconfident teenager to finding her own voice and her familyrsquos reaction to her decision of joining the showEdited excerpts from the interviewIs this the first time that Khatron Ke Khiladi was offered to youNo this is the second time the makers came to me Two years ago when they first approached me I wasnrsquot very confident or secure enough in myself to feel that I could put myself out there Fast forward to today Irsquom in a different place in terms of how I feel about myself and from within Irsquom ready to let the world know who I amHow did you build your confidence in the two yearsIt has to do with age and experiences Irsquove come into my own now Irsquom secure with the businesses that I run KKK 14 is not something that I need itrsquos something I want and thatrsquos what makes me comfortable going through with it Irsquom looking forward to seeing how much more I can push myself not just physically but also mentally because itrsquos a game that tests your mental strength Many contestants in the past have overcome many things with the power of the mindA Shroff an entrepreneur fitness enthusiast actormdashwhich role do you identify with mostAn entrepreneur Irsquom blessed to wake up and do what I love every single day Many donrsquot have that liberty or that pleasure I love being my own boss and doing things on my own terms Irsquom blessed with the platform I have because of my family and the name that they have in the industry Itrsquos given me the security to do what I feel passionate about Irsquom happy with what Irsquove been able to do away from the family legacy that I come from I am now trying to create my own identity in the fitness worldWas there ever any pressure to follow in your father and brotherrsquos footstepsPeople think Irsquom absolutely crazy for not taking the opportunity to act But therersquos a world beyond it The pressure definitely hit me when I was a teenager At that age yoursquore influenced easily by outside noise and opinions I felt like that this is something I have to do because people are expecting me to do it Thatrsquos when I got my bachelorrsquos degree in film production I came back to India assisted on a few of my brotherrsquos movies That is exactly when I realised this is not what I want to do From there I was not going to waste any more time giving in to what people expect from me I found fitness about seven years ago and it was the most liberating and empowering feeling Two hours in the gym feel like therapyHow did fitness help youNo matter what was going on in my life I was focused Seeing how far I was able to push myself week after week had a direct impact on my mind It gave me a newfound sense of confidence I didnrsquot necessarily have growing up because I was an overweight kid who was sometimes thrown into the limelight when Irsquod go out with my father People are cruel Reading criticism at such a young age was a lot I was able to channelise that in a positive way through fitness People need to be a little more mindful While I was able to take it in a positive way a lot of people wonrsquot and probably canrsquotWhat were the highs and lows of that journeyThere were many days where I didnrsquot feel like going to the gym or sticking to that diet But I am so proud of myself for sticking with it because no amount of daddyrsquos fame or money can give this to you Itrsquos your hard work and itrsquos you versus you every single day I was able to overcome thatTo participate in a show like KKK 14 where do you think your strengths lieI love challenges Irsquove purposely put myself in uncomfortable positions with my body to see how far I can push my mind to overcome certain things I believe Irsquoll be ready for whatrsquos thrown my way I tend to thrive under pressure and my competitive nature comes out thenWhat was your familyrsquos reactionMy brother got a good laugh out of it He was like lsquoI canrsquot believe yoursquore doing thisrsquo My parents were initially a little hesitant They asked me if I surely wanted to do it and I said yes It wasnrsquot long until they were 100 per cent on board Irsquove always been the black sheep of the family Irsquove steered away from what everyone expected me to do