Over the past few months a lot has been said about Bollywood and, sadly, none of it has been positive. The film industry has been labelled corrupt, misogynistic, incestuous, corrosive and operating like the mafia.

Some may argue that trashing Bollywood is not new and has been going on since the first movies hit the screens, but the recent controversy is a low point for all of us and completely unwarranted.

 Bollywood no doubt in the last few years has taken itself to a totally different level. The craze for a Bollywood movie all across the globe is insane and as Indians we are really proud. The status bollywood industry has today is unparalleled, but there is a downside to it, something which has crippled it and grown its roots in the last 20 years and has been a hot topic of debate. This is the topic of nepotism.

It is indeed the bitter truth of Bollywood that the seeds of nepotism have now really grown into big trees.

The very famous movie Om Shanti om starring Shah Rukh Khan stated that the fact outsider Om Prakash was a struggling actor and had to die and take birth in the family of superstar to make it big says a lot about nepotism in bollywood.We cant deny the fact that there’s nepotism and favoritism existing in Bollywood.

Nepotism or not, star kids have always been a part of Bollywood. Some of those who made an entry riding on family names made a quick exit, while others like Alia, Ranbir Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Kajol, Hritik Roshan, have carved a niche for themselves without depending on their star parents.

The question is, should those using their lineage for a foothold in the industry stop pursuing acting as a career? Or should the ‘outsiders’ give up so easily, despite having oodles of talent?

It would be wrong to say and put all actors in the same plate and target them with bullets of nepotism and say that they don’t deserve their status as an actor. There are certain actors despite coming from privileged families of Bollywood  who have proved themselves worthy with their acting skills.

But yes they definitely had an upper hand over the people not coming from so called star families and they already got a kick start due to their connections.

The debate of talent Vs privilege has been a contentious one

 If countless outsiders spend years slogging it out in small films, is it fair that star kids in their early twenties get to start their careers with lead roles in plum projects irrespective of their skills?The difference between star kids getting a movie as compared to an outsider is that they have to constantly struggle to prove themselves again and again to survive in this industry and these people literally have to thrive hard to be casted by good directors.

We cannot deny the fact that there are a lot of leading actor and actresses who doesn’t really have a Bollywood background but have still managed to make their way and have foot hold in this industry.

But the thing which has outraged a lot of people right now is why has privilege surpassed talent these days in b-town? Why actors who are really deserving doesn’t get those bright chances and on the contrary there is an entire PR machinery planning and executing  tricks and crores are been spent on an average star kid’s launch. Post launch, if the kid fails, there are the options of relaunch and re-relaunch. There are industry kids who are yet to score a single major hit even after over half a decade, but they still bag projects thanks to familial contacts, one such example is Arjun Kapoor. They always have something on their plate only because they belong to a privileged btown families.

The late Sridevi’s daughter Janhvi Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor’s half-brother Ishan Khatter in Dhadak, and Salman Khan’s brother-in-law Ayush Sharma in LoveYatri, were other blue-blood launches last year besides Sara. Although these films were forgettable, each debutant saw ample publicity boost.

last year Karan Johar, big daddy of B-Town nepotism, geared to introduce Chunky Pandey’s daughter Ananya in Student Of The Year 2 and is all set Sanjay Kapoor’s daughter Shanaya in an untitled project. Sunny Deol directs son Karan’s debut flick Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas. Sajid Nadiadwala shoulders responsibility of launching Suniel Shetty’s son Ahaan.

Be it when actor Kangana Ranaut called director-producer Karan Johar the ‘flag bearer of nepotism’ on his own show Koffee With Karan or the time when young Ananya Pandey ‘complained’ about it and debutant Siddhant Chaturvedi ‘silenced’ her, nepotism has and will always be one of the burning topics in the Hindi film industry. 

Being an outsider we really don’t know the reality going inside this industry but for sure this industry does have a dark side that directly or indirectly affects a lot of people who are struggling to be a part of this concept of pure art form and not a money making business scheme.