Salman didn't want to do Prem Ratan Dhan Payo with me: Sonam Kapoor

People are quick to judge Sonam Kapoor's fame, crediting her film offers to her famous father, Anil Kapoor. Dispelling that notion, the Neerja actor dishes the details on how she made it into Bollywood.

"I lost out on a lot of films because of my father. Salman Khan didn't want to do Prem Ratan Dhan Payo with me. He was like, 'Anil Kapoor has been my close friend. How can I romance his daughter?' It was really difficult and weird," Sonam reveals in an interview with HuffPo India.

Relating another similar incident, she says, "Farah Khan is one of my mother's best friends yet I haven't done a Farah film, nor does she look at me as an actress she'd want to cast. It's a different, non-work relationship."

She also adds that the top actresses in the industry do not come from the film fraternity.

"The top heroines today -- Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra -- are both women who aren't from the industry. And are you telling me that Alia Bhatt is where she is because of her family and not because of her talent? Nepotism exists everywhere but that doesn't make the journey any easier."

Pointing out why the silver spoon upbringing doesn't help in the bagging films, Sonam explains, "It's a business and nobody will invest crores in the film's production, and another few in marketing only because you're related to someone... and completely talent-less. It just doesn't add up."

"You audition. I auditioned for Saawariya along with Shivani Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. There's a process and we are all equal when we go through it. I even auditioned for Delhi 6 and projects for Yash Raj Films. I didn't just wake up one day to have all these films in my roster!"

Having said that, the actor believes that regardless of what the story is, it will always be highlighted in a manner that benefits the media.

"It doesn't suit the popular narrative, which is that of an industry girl having it easy. This version almost contradicts it. At the end of the day, people, including journalists, are biased and believe in what they choose to believe in," she says.

She's one lucky actor to not have been linked to any scandals, but she has her PR team to thank for that, Sonam says, "I cannot imagine life without them, we've been with each other since I started out as an actor. They know everything. And they're good at controlling it because very rarely does something about my personal life come out in the papers."

But that's also because she lives a rather scandal-free life.

"That's true. I have never dated anybody from the industry, never had a scandalous affair with someone, I avoid parties and I cannot touch alcohol. I'm literally curled up in my bed with a book by 10 in the night almost every other day."