The dark cloud of nepotism doesn’t seem to stop chasing Sara Ali Khan. The actor starred in two films this year — Mudassar Aziz’s romantic comedy Pati Patni Aur Woh Do and Aakash Kaushik’s spy comedy Udta Teer, both opposite Ayushmann Khurrana. But the daughter of actors Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh continues to face allegations that nepotism paved the way for her career, currently in its eighth year. Sara has now issued another explanation, both acknowledging her privilege and underlining the extent to which it benefits her.“I’m not naive or delusional enough to not accept and be grateful for the fact that it has opened doors. It has given me access. It has given me recognition and fame, maybe even before I became an actor,” said Sara. She was already popular on social media even before she made her debut, both in films and on Instagram.As soon as she made her Instagram debut less than four months before the release of her debut film, Abhishek Kapoor’s romantic film Kedarnath, Sara gained over 2.46 lakh followers within 24 hours. “Having said that, sometimes I do feel that the bar is too high. Nepotism has just become a bad word for people. And what I don’t appreciate is that it takes away from the effort that one has made,” Sara told Filmfare.Sara defended not only herself, but also her contemporaries — Janhvi Kapoor and Ananya Panday — both of whom come from film families. While Janhvi is the daughter of late legendary actor Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor, Ananya’s father is actor Chunky Panday. “Whether it’s Janhvi, Ananya or me, we haven’t chosen who we were born to. We were just fortunate enough. I don’t think it’s fair to be hung for what’s not our fault,” argued Sara.Saif Ali Khan didn’t help Sara secure a debutSara admitted that being born in film families does give them the edge, since it helped them secure a “debut that people crave for”. But she claimed that if she’s survived eight years after that in the film industry, she should not be liable to explain to people now. She also pointed out that she’s a product of a broken marriage, since Saif and Amrita parted ways in 2004, when she was just nine years old.“I live with a single mother. I’ve not had a father going to offices, negotiating my contracts, and begging people to take me in their films. When I had a problem with Kedarnath, I was sorting it out myself. There was no one with me. It’s a double-edged sword. Because I’ve not had a godfather in the industry at all,” added Sara.By the time Sara debuted with Kedarnath, Saif was still a leading star, but had then moved on in life and married fellow actor Kareena Kapoor. Amrita, though an A-list star in the 1980s and the early 1990s, took a backseat from acting in 1994, when she was expecting Sara. Though she did return to acting eight years later, her films became far more sporadic.Story continues below this adAlso Read — Elnaaz Norouzi says she’s Iranian, will never truly belong to India: ‘I’ve to constantly prove myself’When her debut film Kedarnath was still in production, Sara went on to sign another owing to delays in the former. That prompted the makers of Kedarnath to sue her in court for Rs 5 crore. However, the matter was settled outside court when Rohit Shetty made room for Sara from his cop drama Simmba so that she could finish shooting for Kedarnath. Sara has now clarified that, contrary to certain reports, Saif didn’t help resolve that conflict.