Enough! Can the whole debate around ‘nepotism’ just end?

Nepotism! A word that was nowhere in sight some months back and nor did many people knew what it really meant. But then, one feisty actress took on an A-List filmmaker by calling him as the “flag-bearer of nepotism” in a TV show and that one statement created a furore in the film industry. Soon enough, every person in the industry started discussing it and debating over it. You all know it was Kangana Ranaut I’m referring to and her statements for Karan Johar on ‘Koffee With Karan 5’. The episode and her statements provided enough fodder to gossipmongers and made for interesting headlines on nepotism. (Also Read: Dear Kangana Ranaut, aren’t you letting your boastful ego do the talking?)

The man who faced this comment, filmmaker Karan Johar, is still pondering over the after-effects of the statement as he went on to say that he is not introducing his nieces, nephews, or siblings and in fact was instrumental in launching many new directors. But, why the explanation Karan? When you trust yourself and your abilities, then why the need to defend yourself over what another celeb taunted you with. Karan Johar is the most adored man in Bollywood and one statement by an A-list actress was enough to depress him to such an extent that he is still giving explanations over how he is not nepotistic at all. And then, after saying these things, he recently took Kangana’s name when asked as to who nailed the fifth season (rolling my eyes in disappointment).

The sensational episode was aired on February 19, and the debate over nepotism still continues to hold prominence in celeb interviews and movie promotions. By now, plenty of celebs like Aamir Khan, Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Anushka Sharma, Sonam Kapoor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rajkummar Rao and many others have already commented on hot topic

While some celebs stated that it does exist, some said it doesn’t exist and the others simply chose to stay neutral. But, every celeb does have to speak on nepotism all of a sudden. This word existed in the dictionary, but nobody really talked about it earlier. It was just one statement by Kangana that triggered a whole new debate on nepotism.

Personally, it’s time we get over this debate now and focus on more consequential things happening in the world. We all know that to some extent nepotism does exist, in fact not just in Bollywood, but in every sphere of life. But, the whole debate over it in Bollywood is a bit too much now.

We see many actors from non-filmy backgrounds using it to their advantage and blaming the star kids for having it easy in B-Town. Then, we also see, the star kids defending themselves by saying that they may have landed their first project easily, but it ain’t easy to sustain oneself in Bollywood and it all depends on your talent at the end of the day. Agreed!

The whole point here is that nobody really has it easy in the industry and you may land a few early projects because you’re a star kid, but to sustain your stardom for years on end is no mean feat. Also, I would like to tell the outsiders of the industry, that yes you’ve had a little tough route at the beginning but ultimately you have survived solely on your talent. This whole debate over star kids talking about sustainance and outsiders talking about star kids having it easy makes no sense because the audiences’ taste keeps on evolving and it doesn’t depend on your family background.

The sole point I’m trying to make here is that it’s been over a month now and I’m pretty bored of seeing every celeb talking about nepotism. It’s high time this discussion stops.

Prajakta Ajgaonkar

Passionate about writing, and a Bollywood lover, she is all that is sweet and endearing! She desires to put her best foot forward in everything that she does and loves to help anyone who’s in need.