Bollywood Nepotism Debate.
Whether it’s a discussion or a debate, whenever the word ‘Nepotism’ comes, Bollywood is the sweet target for people
Whether it’s a discussion or a debate, whenever the word ‘Nepotism’ comes, Bollywood is the sweet target for people. Bollywood mostly dominated by big families who run the industry. For example, take the Bachchan family or the Kapoor family. Or take the most trolled Johar’s family. Karan Johar has a big name for introducing new talent to the industry (mostly star kids) from his Dharma Productions. Even Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan are planning to launch their sons in the next few years.
Similarly, even Tollywood has powerful families like the Mega family (Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, etc.), Nandamuri family (Jr. NTR, Balakrishna, Kalyan Ram), Daggubati family (Venkatesh, Rana, Abhiram), or Akkineni’s clan (Nagarjuna, Naga Chaitanya, Akhil).
For those who aren’t aware of nepotism, it a privilege granted to the next generations by their ancestors in occupation. It not just limited to cinema. It’s everywhere like sports, business, the medical field, etc. But, only the film industry blamed for it.
The reason for it discussed in the later part. Now, the question is why do audiences always target Bollywood for nepotism? This may be due to the fact that there is more number of Hindi speakers in the country and the heat Bollywood receives is relatively high. But, there are several other factors as well!
1) Behavior In Public
An actor’s respect decided by how well they act offscreen more than onscreen. Like the way, they talk and treat others, manners, appearance, and etiquette. It literally decides the perception of an actor irrespective of their success. If you can recall, Alia Bhatt asked about nepotism in Bollywood and she gave a rude reply, which in turn bought her a lot of hatred.
She said that even star kids have to work hard and those who say they get chances very easily should get punched in the face. This unnecessary statement passed by Alia. She’s a public figure and should choose the right words before speaking something as crores of people are watching her.
Do you remember the famous dialogue ‘Main bohot struggle kiya hai’? In a round table discussion, Ananya Pandey reveals her struggle stories in Bollywood. She said that her dad Chunky Pandey has never worked in Dharma Productions, and she has never appeared on Koffee With Karan show. She also mentioned that it’s not as easy as people think. Everyone has their own journey and struggle. This statement made her a piece of a joke and sparked a meme fest on social media.
If star kids find it so hard to find chances in the industry, then why did Tiger Shroff say that he got his first role because of Sajid Nadiadwala? Also, he mentioned that it’s easier for the people in the industry, but outsiders have to put in double the effort to make it big.
Even Sara Ali Khan made her Bollywood debut with a bang. At that time, all eyes were on her as she was the daughter of popular stars Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh. Interestingly, Sara revealed that knowing people in the industry helps a lot.
Sara claimed that she can call Karan Johar without doing a single film or I can go to Rohit Shetty’s office. That’s the biggest advantage of nepotism. You have easy access to people. “Nepotism comes with privileges and I’m well aware of them,” said Sara.
2) It’s A Deeply Rooted Culture
In Bollywood, there are many big families including Khans, Kapoors, Roshan family, and Bachchan family. Coming to Tollywood, only three families rule the industry. Not today, but for several decades. In the previous generation, the TFI was mainly dominated by legends like NTR, ANR, and Krishna. If we move to the next league, Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna completely owned the masses, whereas Nagarjuna and Venkatesh used to win the hearts of the family audience.
Skip to the 2000s, pop culture, and dressing were rising, and gen-z kids are getting used to the new-age cinema. At this point, Pawan Kalyan attracted the youth with his rom-com. Even Mahesh Babu made a mark for himself with films like Okkadu, Athadu, and Pokiri. Besides, Jr. Ntr struck a chord with his power-packed action films and massy dialogues.
Coming to the present, apart from stars like Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu, and Jr. NTR, there is a huge fan following for Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, and Prabhas. Interestingly, all these actors are a product of nepotism. Even Rana Dagubatti spilled facts on how Tollywood actually functions.
Back in those days, the film industry didn’t get the respect it’s getting now. It always looked down upon by white-collar job holders. Usually, people who fail in their academics come to the industry. They were like my son failed in the 10th grade. Why don’t you make him an assistant director in your film?
Rana also admitted that during the beginning phase, it was the big families who paved the way and built the industry. This is what we do, and this is what we will do. Creating a successful ecosystem, generation after generation.
3) Tollywood Hides Its Flaws Better!
Presently, there are totally six-star heroes in Tollywood and each of them will hardly do one film a year or more, thanks to the Bahubali phenomenon. If we go beyond these stars, there’s another tire of self-made stars like Ravi Teja, Nani, Vijay Devarakonda, Nikhil, Adivi Sesh, and Naveen Polishetty.
Unlike the regular potboilers and masala films, these heroes try to do a unique kind of cinema which the audience loves them for! Telugu audiences are the craziest people in the world. They encourage nepotism as well as new talent.
Also, they do reject things without a second thought. Actors like Manchu Vishnu, Manchu Manoj, Nandamuri Tarak Ratna, and Ramesh Babu (Mahesh Babu’s brother) have a film background. But, they were not accepted by the audience as most of their films tanked at the box office.
During a talk show, Nani stated that one lakh people will watch his first film, whereas one crore people will watch Ram Charan’s first film. The audience actually loves nepotism. They want to see their idol’s children on the big screen. In the same show, Rana stated that it’s a pride to carry your family’s legacy and achievements forward.
If you can’t do it, then you’re not a good fit for your family. These are two very contrasting views on nepotism. Nani blames the audience for nepotism whereas Rana takes pride in it.
Not only actors but even awards cannot escape the nepotism tag. RRR’s Naatu Naatu win at the Oscars is a proud moment for Indians. But, many people claim that the RRR team has won the Oscars by paying money. Another famous director-producer Tammareddy Bharadwaj also stated that the RRR team has spent a whopping 80 crores for the Oscars.
However, there is no evidence for their claims. Some people even felt that instead of spending that much money, we can make many films with that budget. Did RRR really win the Oscar by paying a huge sum? If so, then what about Hollywood artists? Can’t they pay for the award? What do you think?