Raima Sen on her struggles of being a ‘star kid’: People judged me, criticised me, expected me to be a know-it-all

Coming from a family of accomplished actors, Raima Sen certainly had a lot of pressure put on her. The actress recently opened up about the struggles she had to face due to her ‘star kid’ status in the industry.

In conversation with ETimes, the actress said that people had expected a lot from her when she first started her career. Raima is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of Suchitra Sen. Raima’s sister Riya Sen is also an actress. Raima said that star kids had a tough time getting their start in the industry, with a lot of people judging them. Newcomers did not have to carry the kind of ‘baggage’, star kids have to. “They had already judged me, criticised me. They expected me to be a know-it-all”, said Raima.

The actress spoke of how difficult it was for her to catch a break in the industry, and to follow the legacy left behind by her grandmother. She considers her 2002 film Chokher Bali, which starred Aishwarya Rai, as the turning point in her career. The actress said that after the film, people had started to see her as Raima, and not just as Moon Moon’s daughter or Riya’s sister. The actress had made her film debut with 1999’s Godmother, which she said was not an ‘ideal launch’.

Raima opened up about the hardships she had to face during the initial days of her career. She revealed that she had been ‘thrown out’ of a few movies as well. But she said that she now looks back on them as ‘blessings’, as she was able to learn a lot from them and credits them for making her ‘stronger’. The actress said that although she did not have any formal training in acting, she was able to learn a lot from practical experiences.