‘Nepotism’–a word used to mean the practice of favoring one’s kith and kin, friends and near and dear ones. It can be in any profession and could be any kind of favoritism in terms of employment and monetary benefits. It is present in all types of work life.
A very important question arises here that when we just read the definition, does it really sounds ethically wrong?
As this topic has been trending in the field of Bollywood, let’s talk about it. The suicide case of Sushant Singh Rajput gave goosebumps to the public of India, he is said to be a victim of Nepotism. This topic of nepotism is not a new one but was not in discussion until the suicide happened. Many Actors and Actresses have talked for and against the prevalence of nepotism in the film industry. Let us have a quick review of it in the subsequent paragraphs.
Kangana Ranauthad a lot of debate on this topic recently and blamed Karan Johar for nepotism calling him as a flag bearer of it and intolerant towards ‘outsiders’ in the industry. Bollywood Actress Huma Qureshi has also talked about it, agreeing with the fact that it is not like the star kids aren’t talented, but they get far easier opportunities, with bigger projects and huge budgets, compared to the one who is an outsider.
Actress Alia Bhattsaid that it is true that a star kid can get the first film due to nepotism but for continuing in the profession, having a filmi-family is not possible. Tara Sutaria, a newcomer to the industry said that she has received a warm welcome and did not face Nepotism.
Sonam Kapoor too quoted that the top actresses like Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra are outsiders too, but they are doing well. She said that her father did not have a Godfather and has worked really hard for 40 years to get where he is now and if his children do not take advantage of it, it would be really disrespectful towards him and his work, because every parent works for his/her children.
Sara Ali Khansaid that nepotism brings with it lot of unfairnessbut there is no pressure on her that she needs to live up to the legacy of her parents, agreeing that she has more access to things than the outsiders. Meghna Gulzar, the daughter of a renowned lyricist said that she once waited for a long time(12 hours) to get access to an actor, which shows that although people knew whose daughter she is,it did not bring instant access to her.
Raveena Tandontoo has quoted that although it is difficult for outsiders but it is not like they don’t have success stories. Shahid Kapoor too has talked about it saying that everyone who has contact with an actor, director or producer tends to become an actor and the others who do not belong from the fraternity suffers.
Surveen Chawla too agrees of nepotism and said that the people holding a good position in Bollywood are not open to newcomers and they seek to continue their work with the people they have been working with from time immemorial. Lisa Ray also agrees on the existence of nepotism. Ranbir Kapooragrees that he is a product of nepotismand he will continue with it if he has kids too.
Ayushmann Khurranaagrees that he would have been launched earlier if he was a star kid, but that doesn’t mean that there is no regards to talent as the star kids are talented too, in fact, compared to the ’90s, the industry is much open to the outsiders and the word is overused as a new actor gets launched in every 6 months. He added that an industrialist’s son will want his son to be an industrialist too, he would have done the same.
Nimrat Kaurmade the same sense like Ayushmann Khurrana quoting that it is obvious that it will be easier for a lawyer’s son to be one, but that holds good for only once but the final verdict lies with the audience. Tapsee Pannu said that she knows that it exists but she doesn’t like to play the victim card and rather deal with it because she believes that the only validation she requires of her work is from the audience and a movie if good, it ought to do well.
Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra agrees that star kids do get better launchpads but that doesn’t mean that the individual efforts do not matter as it can be seen that self-made stars like Rajkumar Rao, Ayushmann Khurrana, Richa Chaddha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pankaj Tripathi are doing really well.
Lastly, To the notice what Sushant Singh Rajput who seems to be a victim of nepotism once said that- He strongly believed that there is no harm and nepotism could co-exist with the idea of encouraging new talent from outside the industry, but if it doesn’t coexist the industry would collapse and he thought he had both the opportunity and the luxury of choices to make a film of his choice.
CONCLUSION
It can be seen that Nepotism exists in all fields be it politics where unqualified people tend to stand out due to their connections, or in Bollywood industry, or in any other private sector. But what can we as individuals do about it? Who encourages Nepotism? Are we also not responsible? If we truly believe that someone who is not talented, is making a movie, why watch it then, rather than putting that person down with all the hate comments, which is not going to do any good to the victims of Nepotism. We as citizens of India hold the right to file writ petitions in case of public authorities to question the position one holds. The Choice is Oursand hard work, a determination never fails to be paid off, is what I truly believe, and GIVING UP wasn’t and will never be an OPTION.
