Since Kangana Ranaut passed a dig at Karan Johar for being the “flag-bearer” of Nepotism, the hush N-word has been quite at the limelight in Bollywood showbiz.
While some straight-up deny the existence of favoritism, some are bitter at the unfairness. Let’s take a look at what the following stars had to say about Nepotism.
Kangana Ranaut- The controversy queen has never shied away from difficult conversations and she is the one who has sparked the controversy of Nepotism in the first place in Koffee with Karan. She has spoken about the issue many times since then. In a talk show with Anupam Kher, she said, “Do these Bollywood kids know that it takes almost 10 years to build an audience and to get a critic. These star kids already start from a point where they have everything and they are not aware of the fact that for an outsider, it can take his entire life to reach the starting point.” After the very recent and tragic death of Sushant Singh Rajput, she again broached the topic and said how the industry had never valued his worth because he was not an ‘insider’.
Ayushmann Khurrana- Ayushmann Khurrana has been very vocal about Nepotism and even mentioned that in an ideal world, where Nepotism doesn’t exist, he would have gotten his break with the movie, Vicky Donor at the age of 22 instead of 27. He said in a Huffington Post, “My debut, Vicky Donor, was when I was 27. If I was a star kid, it would’ve been 22. I don’t think the difference of five years would’ve affected much. I think I was a much more mature actor at 27.”
Tapsee Pannu- An actress who is well-known for her strong acting and choice of brilliant script too has been at the losing end of nepotism. He said the fact the often an actor is pulled out of movies without any explanation because someone else was recommended and it is ‘hurtful’. She relived one of her experiences while an interview with PTI and said “It is not a shocker to me that a film went out of my hands, not because I was not credible, but because I was not so-and-so’s daughter or sister or dating so-and-so.”
Sara Ali Khan– Takes on nepotism of the Bollywood starlets are very interesting. While some deny the very obvious privileges, some like Sara Ali Khan is not hesitant in accepting the fact. Sara Ali Khan said that avoiding the conversation and denying the existence of the privileges is very hypocritical. She even explained the privileges saying that being the daughter of Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh gives her the privilege of walking into the office of Rohit Shetty and to request his consideration for the movie Simmba. This initial head start is a perk of being a starlet, although afterward, existence is solely dependent on talent.
Rajkumar Rao- Kai Po Che actor Rajkumar Rao is vocal about the existence of nepotism but he says his problem is not with nepotism as nepotism is practically present in all fields. His problem lies with the talentless acting on screen that can be seen due to it. “I want to see the talent on screen. I don’t care where they come from or which family they belong to. There are actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, they are such talented people working in the film industry.”,
Alia Bhatt- Daughter of director Mahesh Bhatt, this actress was launched by Karan Johar in his teen drama ‘Student of the Year’. Regarding nepotism, Alia Bhatt said, “I wanted to be here (in films), this was my dream. My connection to the family has made things easy for me. Nepotism exists. It exists in Bollywood, the business world, and during admissions in schools as well.”
Priyanka Chopra- Priyanka Chopra is a self-made actress who has reached heights of success worldwide. In interviews, she revealed her personal experience regarding favoritism. “Every star has their individual journey. In mine, I have faced a lot. I have been kicked out of films because someone else was recommended to the producer. I cried and got over it.”
Siddhant Chaturvedi- A very real answer was given by Siddhant Chaturvedi who played the MC Sher in Gully Boy. In an interview when star kid Ananya Panday said that star kids do have to struggle, he quipped back by saying that starlets do need to struggle but their struggle begins where an outsider’s dreams end. Meaning, an outsider never gets a movie on a platter and has to fight for it. “Jahaan humaare sapne poore hote hai, waha inke struggle shuru hote hai”
Some actresses like Kajol and Vidya Balan are seemingly bored with the topic and decides to stay mum on it as it has been under the discussion way too many times.
