"I find this whole discussion is completely weird.”
Bollywood superstar Kareena Kapoor Khan has contributed to the nepotism debate which has been raging in the film industry and has stated that she “can’t be apologetic about it.”
The actress is a fourth-generation actor belonging to the renowned Kapoor family in Bollywood dating back to Prithviraj Kapoor (1906-1972).
Her impressive lineage makes Kareena an ‘insider’ as she is classed as a ‘star child.’
In fact, the nepotism debate was reignited in the wake of the late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s tragic death.
The late actor committed suicide on 14 June 2020. Many people believe he took such a drastic step because he was considered an ‘outsider’ and suffered from depression as a result.
According to an interview with Barkha Dutt, Kareena Kapoor weighed in on the nepotism debate. She said:
“21 years of working would not have happened with just nepotism. It is not possible. I can take a long list out of superstars’ children for whom it’s not been able to happen that way.”
Kareena added that even she has struggled in her career despite her lineage. She says:
“It might sound weird but my struggle is there. There is a struggle but it probably is not as interesting as somebody who comes in a train with just Rs 10 [£0.10] in his pocket.
“Yeah, it’s not been that and I can’t be apologetic about it.”
Speaking about the importance of the audience, Kareena explained:
“The audience has made us, nobody else has made us. The same people pointing fingers, they are only making these nepotistic stars.
“Aap jaa re hon a film dekhne? Mat jao. [You are going to watch the films, right? Don’t go.]
“Nobody has forced you. So, I don’t understand it. I find this whole discussion is completely weird.”
Kareena Kapoor went on to highlight some of the biggest actors in Bollywood who are ‘outsiders’. She said:
“The idea is that today so many of our biggest stars whom you [the audience] have chosen, whether it is Akshay Kumar or Shah Rukh Khan or Ayushmann Khurrana or Rajkummar Rao, are all outsiders.
“They are successful actors because they have worked hard. Whether it is Alia Bhatt or Kareena Kapoor, we have also worked hard.
“You are enjoying our films and watching them. So, it’s the audience that makes or breaks us.”
Reportedly, Sushant was sidelined or replaced from numerous projects because he was an ‘outsider’.
Actress Kangana Ranaut has also claimed that the ‘movie mafia’ is to blame for his tragic demise.
However, according to the lawyer of Sushant’s family, Vikas Singh, nepotism has no connection to the late actor’s death. Speaking to Zoom TV, he said:
“If tomorrow, the Mumbai Police feel that any outsider or any person who comes from a small town to this industry needs protection and they feel like it is a cognisable offence, then they can go ahead and do that angle.
“Maybe an actors’ association or producers’ association can take up this matter but I don’t think that this case has anything to do with what Kangana has suggested or anybody else is talking about.”
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