It was not the generation next of south Indian films, but rather the next generation - of established names from tinseltown - who met us at the concluding session of FICCI Frames 2009 Media & Entertainment Business Conclave.

On the panel were actress-singer Shruti Haasan, eldest daughter of Kamal Haasan; CEO of Ocher Studios Soundarya Rajnikanth, youngest daughter of the 'Boss' Rajnikanth; Chairman and Managing Director of Sathyam Cinemas Kiran Reddy, dancer-theatre artist Vara Laxmi, daughter of Sarath Kumar, and actor-animator Rana Daggubati, son of producer Suresh Babu and grandson of D Rama Naidu.

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Moderated by Jennifer Arul, Managing Editor of NDTV Hindu, the session was a free wheeling one - addressing the pitfalls of fame, their varying aspirations, and diverse outlooks on life and career. And since no talk at the conclave was complete without a reference to the 'topic of the moment', the menace of privacy, we had that, too.

As star children, the conversation had to begin on an obvious note - how easy or otherwise was breaking into the industry for them. And, quite obviously, we got the same old stale answer - fame opens doors, but being a star child is a double edged sword because people expect too much, and Daddy's contacts don't get you special treatment. Boring!

It would have been fun if at least one had said, 'Yes, coming in clutching daddy's coattails made life a hell of a lot easier for me.' But for that to happen we would have to inhabit Utopia. Sigh!

Conversation picked up as we moved onto their pet topics - movies, music, animation, theatre. As youngsters well versed with technology, they were unanimous in their belief that south Indian films had to improve their technical and technological standards. Soundarya bemoaned that India is known today only as a great place to outsource animation work to, not as a place that creates great animation. "I am trying to change that with Sultan [an animation that stars dad Rajnikanth]," she said, but also admitted that there is a lot of fear - what if it doesn't work? It'll be back to the drawing boards then.

Shruti feels she is blessed because she has her feet in two different boats and is trying to find her balance in both music and movies. Though she does go to Dad for tips, her choices are her own. And her take on technology was a tempered one. "While technology is great, and quite essential at times, we musn't forget the human element," she said. "Nothing can beat the human voice or the warmth of a single musical instrument."

However, Kiran stood up for technology. He couldn't but - after all he runs a multiplex. "At Sathyam, we are at the cutting edge of technology. In fact, we are ahead of the curve," he said. And so great is his desire to be be a leader that, he claims, he doesn't wait for prices to drop to snap up new technology - even if it means spending double.

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Meanwhile, the audience had a doubt: though the next generation works out of India, they went abroad to study. Didn't they believe India could offer them as much? Varu interrupted to say she had an agenda behind going abroad. She did her MBA overseas only as an excuse. In reality, she wanted to study different art forms, like tap dancing and Latin American dancing, and bring them back to India. And she has succeeded. She is now all set to participate in the Latin American dancing event at the 2012 Olympics.

The mantra of 'Contetn is God' was repeated at this session, too. Rana, who said he entered actiong because it was the only field that gave right over his intellectual property, claimed that as an actor the script is everything to him. As for piracy, he didn't have much to say.

The girls, however, did. According to Shruti, especially when it comes to alternative music, she feels it should be free. Upload it on the internet and let the users download it. After all, if you can't fight it, then join it.

As for movies, Soundarya's take is that the only possible way to fight piracy is to make the movies so good that you are forced to watch it in the theatre to get its full impact. Makes sense!

Just as we were wondering how the conversation would wind down, a member of the audience had a question. What of the common man? Do you feel disconnected from them? The reply was vehement. "We are the common man!" Ummmm, no. You are the uncommon ones, we wanted to say. But then again, if they equated themselves with the rest of us, maybe they will stay more rooted in reality. What say?