The nepotism debate has revived in Bollywood after Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise. (Photo: Taapsee Pannu, Kangana Ranaut, Anurag Kashyap/Instagram)
The nepotism debate has been reignited after the demise of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput. While there is no official statement by authorities on the reason behind his suicide, Twitterati and many celebrities have concluded that his death was in some way connected to nepotism in Bollywood.
Recently, Kangana Ranaut appeared on a channel where she spoke about the prevalent culture of nepotism in Bollywood and how that resulted in Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. The conversation around nepotism was first ignited by Ranaut on Karan Johar’s chat show Koffee with Karan in 2017, where she called the filmmaker the ‘flag-bearer of nepotism’.
In Kangana Ranaut’s recent TV interview, she called Taapsee Pannu and Swara Bhasker “B Grade actresses” and “needy outsiders.” To this, Pannu said in a tweet, “Before that there is someone trying to use divide n rule policy in the film industry. Yes, there are differences between people born with pedigree and the ‘outsiders’ but we aren’t battling each other we are battling for a better system to co-exist not by mudslinging and name-calling. (sic)”
Simi Grewal applauded Kangana’s frank attitude in the interview and tweeted, “I applaud Kangana Ranaut who is braver & bolder than I am. Only I know how a ‘powerful’ person has viciously tried to destroy my career. I stayed silent. Because I am not so brave.” She added, “I don’t know what all of you felt after watching #KanganaSpeaksToArnab but it has left me quite depressed. I’m distraught at what Sushant Singh Rajput endured and also what many ‘outsiders’ go through in Bollywood. (sic)”
Replying to a tweet, Taapsee Pannu shared, "There is no film as 'solo' film , there is no actor such as 'chota mota' actor. A film is a TEAM effort including all departments, all actors. The protagonist in NOTHING without the support of the ‘supporting’ cast. Respect is EARNED not COMMANDED." The tweet mentioned had the video of Kangana Ranaut talking about cutting roles of actors in her directorial Manikarnika.
In another tweet, Anurag Kashyap wrote that his films aren’t produced by Dharma, Excel or YRF. In fact, he has made his own company. He added, “When Kangana did not have any work, made Queen. When Tanu Weds Manu was stopped, I helped Aanand L Rai and made him meet financiers.”
On Tuesday, actor Ranvir Shorey took ti Twitter and shared, "So many independent-film-crusaders have turned mainstream-bollywood-flunkies now. These are the same people who used to rant 24/7 about the “system” for attention before they were given entry into the pearly gates of mainstream Bollywood. #Hypocrisy much?" To this, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap replied, "Do you really mean that @RanvirShorey. If you do please explain. Please say exactly what you mean and whose flunky is who?"