3 min readChennaiMar 22, 2026 11:50 AM IST
Shruti Haasan doesn’t fight the fact that she’s a product of nepotism. The actor-singer is the daughter of seasoned Tamil actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan and actor Sarika. She claims that being the daughter of her parents helped her singing career even more than her acting career. Though she began singing at a young age, she was completely “untrained” then.
“When people say nepo and stuff, I never really fight it because it’s so easy for me to say my first opportunity to sing was in appa’s film for Illayaraja sir. This is no ordinary shit,” said Shruti. She made her singing debut when she was just five, with the song “Potri Paadadi Ponne” in Bharathan’s 1992 Tamil action film Thevar Magan, starring Kamal Haasan, who also produced and wrote the movie.
“He (Illayaraja) always said I have a strong voice. Because he came home once, and I screamed for my parents. He was like, ‘Range hai,’” recalled Shruti, laughing. However, she added that the same “dominant” voice that impressed Illayaraja becomes a problem for her outside of singing. “I wasn’t yelling at you. I was just saying I’m proud of you,” said Shruti, claiming that her “quality of voice”, combined with people not being used to “women giving it back” doesn’t work in her favour.
Shruti Haasan went on to train formally at the age of 14 under veteran music composer Suresh Wadkar, followed by Pandit Manohar Kulkarni, before she completed her vocal training at the Musicians Institute in California. “So, I’ve had just incredible gurujis from all races. My roots are Hindustani Classical,” added Shruti.
She claimed that she’s never gone up to Kamal Haasan or her Coolie c-star Rajinikanth for advice on career strategy. “The only tip is that they’re both so hardworking. And it’s not hardworking like yaar main itna kaam kar raha hu. I’m so tense. They’re chupchaap hardworking. They will give their lives for it quietly. They’re not creating tension. They’re maintaining their offices and their families, and working like beasts. That trick is beautiful,” said Shruti.
She clarified that she and Kamal Haasan don’t discuss work as much as the “normal baap-beti stuff”. “He sends lots of reels on Instagram. There are some cringe reels. Then I’d tell him, ‘This aunty is really not funny, appa‘ (laughs). But he’ll also send really artistic stuff. Then he’ll send a little girl singing, which I know is a callback to me. That’s cute. He loves when people are cooking in villages in reels,” added Shruti.
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Shruti Haasan hasn’t shared screen space with her father much, but she appeared alongside Rajinikanth in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s action film Coolie last year. Kamal and Rajinikanth are now all set to reunite on screen 46 years after IV Sasi’s 1979 fantasy movie Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum. Their upcoming film will be helmed by Nelson Dilipkumar.
