I'm not a daddy's darling: Amita Pathak

Producer Kumar Mangat's daughter, Amita Pathak, speaks to Hiren Kotwani on on her Bollywood debut Haal-e-Dil.

Right off, she says, "I was fascinated when I saw the crowds around Madhuri Dixit during Khilaaf." That's Amita Pathak about to make her debut with Haal-e-Dil next month.

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Her father, producer Kumar Mangat, insisted that she should get her degree in economics from Mumbai's Mithibai College. Once she graduated, he gave her permission to sign up for an acting course with Kishore Namit Kapoor.

Training ground
She assisted John Mathew Mathan during Shikhar and Vishal Bharadwaj during Omkara. Then she took off on a holiday.

On her return, she was shown a script almost designed for her. "During the narration, I discovered that my character Sanjana and I were alike in many ways. It had me wondering if the writer had researched me," she giggles.

However she did suggest some changes which director Anil Devgan readily incorporated. "Anil's previous two films, Raju Chacha and Blackmail, may not have worked, but he's a good story teller," she states in response to a question that she had accepted him as a director only because he was a Devgan.

No pampering
She denies being pampered on the sets because her father is the producer. "Dad made it clear at the beginning that I should not expect preferential treatment. In fact, I was really at a disadvantage being daddy's darling," she smiles.

Recently, it was reported that her father had reportedly requested Ajay Devgan and Kajol to skip the film's music launch because he did not want the attention to be diverted from his daughter.

"That's not the reason for their absence," she snaps. "Their daughter Nysa was a bit unwell. We're family, there can never be any misunderstandings between us."