At a time when the word ‘nepotism’ wasn’t as controversial as it is today, Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt’s niece and Mohit Suri’s sister Smilie Suri made a dazzling debut with Kalyug (2005). Her chemistry with Kunal Kemmu, who also started his journey as an adult actor with it, was much talked about, and soon, Smilie earned the moniker of the Jiya Dhadak Dhadak Jaye girl. However, another film and a couple of cameo appearances later, she faded into oblivion.
Recently, she made a comeback with Zee5’s House Of Lies and is gearing up for the next innings of her career. In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, Smilie looks back at the years that passed by and says that she could never really reap the fruits of belonging to a family with a film lineage. “In my case, I never received the perks of nepotism. Yes, I began my career with Kalyug. But I had to audition for it. After that, I only worked with other production houses. It never mattered to anyone that I was Bhatt sahab’s niece or Mohit’s sister,” she says.
Smilie reveals that she did ask her family for work subsequently but that they were busy boosting her first cousin, Emraan Hashmi’s career. This was the time when he appeared in a plethora of films produced by the Bhatts like Gangster, The Killer, Awarapan and Jannat. Speaking about it, she shares, “I did ask both of them (Mahesh and Mohit) for work after Kalyug but at that time, they were largely working with Emraan, who’s also my brother. I don’t think they had anything for me back then.”
Smilie, who also dabbled in television with shows like Jodha Akbar and Nach Baliye 7 following her film career, further continues, “You can’t force anyone to write roles for you. I don’t think Uday Chopra did that to Yash Chopra or Bobby Deol did it to his family. And yet, they all made it in their own way.”
However, she has no complaints or insecurities looking at the height of commercial stardom her cousins Emraan and Alia Bhatt has received today. “I’m very happy for them. I’m not somebody who gets jealous. I’m the kind who would clap for you more than I would clap for myself. Having said that, I know that a day will come when people will clap for me too,” she remarks.
So, what’s next on the plate for her? “Hopefully, I’ll feature in Heeramandi 2. I’m ready to audition for it. Please tell Mr Sanjay Leela Bhansali that I’m coming to audition for it. I’ll reach out to him. Let’s pray for and manifest this!” Smilie says excitedly.
Talking about how auditions have never deterred her, she says, “Actors do that all the time in Hollywood. Even senior actors there have no qualms about auditioning. We’ve casting directors today and that means that you’ll have to test yourself for a part or for a film. I’m hungry to learn a lot and I think you tend to learn a lot through auditions.”
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