Michelin Star chef and recently turned filmmaker, Vikas Khanna, recently joined the list of celebrities who have strongly shown their remonstrance towards the alleged culture of nepotism and favouritism in Bollywood, the topic around which a heated debate was rekindled following the tragic death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Backing actress Kangana Ranaut, the celebrity chef stated that he recently fell prey to the cultural phenomena of nepotism and cronyism in Bollywood.
It may be recalled that Kangana Ranaut was one of the first actors who had spoken against the allegedly prevalent nepotism and mafia culture in Bollywood, after the untimely demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput last year. Following Kangana’s assertions, the debate over the purported issue had caught considerable momentum. While many spoke against The Queen actor and called her out for bad-mouthing the industry, a handful had rallied her cause and the latest entrant is chef Vikas Khanna.
In a strongly worded Tweet, Vikas Khanna wrote that hearing about nepotism from Kangana, used to ‘break’ his heart. However, today he had experienced it first hand. “Minions won’t let outsiders enter even if they put their heart & soul in craft. It’s painful to hear “Pay or we’ll destroy you”, Tweeted Khanna.
When I used to hear @KanganaTeam speak ab this issue of critics & favoritism & nepotism it used to hurt my heart.
— Vikas Khanna (@TheVikasKhanna) January 16, 2021
But today I experience it first hand.Minions won’t let outsiders enter even if they put their heart & soul in craft.
It’s painful to hear “Pay or we’ll destroy you”
Prior to the above Tweet, Vikas Khanna had taken to Twitter Thursday to lament that people condemned favouritism and nepotism, but did not give an opportunity to the self-made. He added that people admired the ‘gatekeepers’ but were ‘unkind’ to the new.
Sharing the poster of his directorial debut with Neena Gupta starrer The Last Color, Khanna claimed that the “‘New’ can’t flourish without encouragement & love. When ‘new’ rises, it makes way for “more new”, for all of us.
The Michelin Star chef was particularly miffed by the treatment meted out at him by the so-called film fraternity biggies. He alleged that many had asked him for money and when he didn’t oblige, they gave his movie a 2-star rating to ‘destroy’ him. Sharing some positive reviews from critics, he urged everyone to watch the movie on Amazon Prime.
My 2 Greatest Icons have spoken@VikasSwarup @bhawanasomaaya
— Vikas Khanna (@TheVikasKhanna) January 16, 2021
While many critics are asking for money or they will give me 2 Stars or destroy my movie or not give me AWARDS
I ONLY care for my viewers & not reviewers
My Award is YOUR love. Pls watch #TheLastColor on Amazon Prime pic.twitter.com/FI7tsdtHu7
For the uninitiated, the Indian chef made his directorial debut with Neena Gupta-starrer The Last Color, which had released in January 2019. The movie, which is a screen adaption of Chef Vikas Khanna’s novel also by the same name, has been felicitated at numerous international film festivals. The movie also made it to the Oscar 2020 and was a part of the Oscars shortlist. In light of the same, Vikas Khanna was looking forward to the reviews that film critics had to offer. However, the new filmmaker is not particularly happy with what the industry had to offer to his debut project.