Star sons like me are spoilt brats: Parikshit Sahni

It is difficult for star sons to replicate the success of their fathers as they are handed everything on a platter rather than go through the grind, says Parikshit Sahani, son of Bollywood legend Balraj Sahni.

Parikshit Sahni, who was here in the capital recently to launch his new book "The Non-Conformist: Memories of my Father Balraj Sahni", said he himself belongs in that category of "spoilt brats".

"The simple reason that no star sons made it as big as their father in the industry is that they didn't go through that grind. Sunil Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra... just look at their back-breaking journeys.

"Or read my father's autobiography and see what a hell of grind he has gone through in his journey. That is what made them. They had seen both sides of the life," the actor said.

Star sons, on the other hand, had access to best of the schools and colleges, he said.

"We were spoilt brats," Parikshit said during a conversation with actor Deepti Naval.

The 75-year-old actor said he did not have kind of passion for acting his father had. This is why he never blamed anyone for not giving him good roles.

On people doing comparisons between the two, Parikshit said his father was a "class apart" and those drawing parallels should know that while one is a "race-horse" the other is a "jack***".

"As they say in English, 'All comparisons are odious'. I have written in my book how much effort my father would put in his roles to make them look effortless, I never did that. I have never been a serious actor and have done the roles because they came to me," he added.

The actor said he found success early in his career with hit movies like "Anokhi Raat" and "Pavitra Paapi" but felt at home with the profession only when he started doing "character roles".

Parikshit Sahni said many of his famous character roles came to him because actors like "Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and others recommended his name to directors" and successfully pursued them to give the role to him.

"Amitabh is responsible for getting me good roles. He always canvassed for me and said 'Balraj ji ka beta hai isko le lo'. Same was the case with Dharamendra. The role that I did in 'Kala Patthar' was supposed to be done by Dharam ji. (But) he asked me to do it.

"Then in 'Desh Premee' again, there was some big shot who was supposed to do that role, I guess Shatrughan Sinha. But someone said 'Nahi Parikshit ko lo' (No no, take Parikshit). These were the character roles I enjoyed doing the most," he said.

Published by Penguin, the book, whose foreword has been written by megastar Amitabh Bachchan, gives an intimate glimpse into Balraj Sahni's life as a "man and an actor, as a husband and a friend, as a parent and a patriot".