Saif Ali Khan clears his stand on nepotism, calls it a horrible thing

Saif Ali Khan, who got embroiled in a much publicised debate after he chanted "nepotism rocks" at an awards function, says he may have benefited from his lineage but is "totally against nepotism".

The actor, who had to apologise to Kangana Ranaut for his remarks at the IIFA function in July, says nepotism is "horrible" specially if it results in pushing forward the undeserving person.

In an interview with PTI, Saif says, "Nepotism is a horrible thing. I am totally against nepotism. I have benefited from it for sure. Definitely, we have more opportunities than people who are not connected to movies.

"But how long can one survives depends on talent and hard work. There are so many people like Shah Rukh Khan who have survived without any conjunctions. For one star kid succeeding there are fifty star kids which are failing."

Saif, who is the son of yesteryear actor Sharmila Tagore, is looking forward to the acting debut of his daughter Sara Ali Khan. He says nepotism by virtue is negative and such topics need to be highlighted at times.

Saif, however, hopes his daughter Sara, who is making her debut with Abhishek Kapoor's "Kedarnath", will be able to deal with the pressure of this debate.

"Good things outweigh negative things. And I feel there are a lot of good things around to motivate Sara. It is a high paying, high pressure great job. But it has got a darker side as well. It is ok, that's part of the profession and she will understand that.

"She will have to deal with a lot of things. It is not like an academic subject where you are giving a presentation.

It is like you are offering your soul for interpretation.

She has to be open to criticism. I have faced a lot and have been open to it," he says.

Saif will next seen in "Chef" directed by Raja Krishna Menon. The movie will release on October 6.