Nepotism in Bollywood
Nepotism or favouritism is the lowest and least imaginative form of corruption. In simple parlance, it refers to the unfair use of power in favour of relatives or friends especially by giving them jobs. This practise has been prevalent since the beginning of time and is omnipresent in every field of life even today, be it film, business, sports or politics.
Nepotism in Bollywood can be dated back to 1950s, when Raj Kapoor, the pioneer founder of Indian Cinema, introduced his children into the same line of work. Ever since, the Kapoor’s have been one of the most influential clans for almost 5 generations in the 92-year-old film industry.
Stealing fair opportunities
It is no lie that nepotistic culture in the film industry has hindered the professional growth of innumerable talented individuals who had dreamt of making a name for themselves. In opposition to this, some may say that a director or producer has every right to choose whom they work with.
However, the problem arises when cartels are formed to steal fair opportunities from the meritorious. It is an open secret that actors with pure talent are side-lined as relatives and favourites are given more priority. Although there is no guarantee that all star-kids are talented, most of them are offered more opportunities, bigger projects, high budget films on a silver platter.
While the paparazzi and tabloids are busy focusing on Superstars’ children who have not (yet) set foot in the industry, they fail to capture the struggles and accomplishments of self-made stars. But some say that media houses cannot be blamed as they are delivering what is widely demanded by the audience.
Most of the Indian audience have the least cognizance for realistic and top-notch content. They would rather invest their money and time into movies with a clichéd storyline over movies which have newer and better scripts because they are enacted by artists without a branded last name. Hence, the audience is to be equally blamed.
Now, with Sushant Singh’s death, a new life has been given to the debate of nepotism, many claiming he was treated like an “outsider”.
Divided on the debate, many from the industry feel it’s time nepotism ends and genuine talent gets a chance they deserve, while some maintain that Rajput’s death has got nothing to do with the star-kid culture
Talent over nepotism
Implementation of an effective, unbiased and transparent system of selecting talents can avoid nepotism. Nepotism on the counterpart does not always help an actor to acquire fame. Being a star kid brings in a lot of judgmental eyes and controversial effects on the actor. This might be an additional burden for her/him at times. Sometimes nepotism goes unnoticed. Fame comes only when the actor has some real talent up their sleeves and has put in loads of hard work.