Nepotism debate used to settle personal scores: Gulshan Devaiah

Actor Gulshan Devaiah has weighed in on the nepotism chatter seemingly sparked off by the cast announcement of Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies. In a long Twitter thread, Gulshan argues that the ‘nepotism debate’ is used by a select few to settle personal scores. He agrees that actors from outside the industry do struggle for opportunities. However, this divide between them and the ‘privileged ones’ is ‘a bit of an illusion’ amplified by the opinion of others.

Slated for Netflix, The Archies marks the Bollywood debuts of Suhana Khan (daughter of Shah Rukh Khan), Agastya Nanda (grandson of Amitabh Bachchan) and Khushi Kapoor (daughter of producer Boney Kapoor). Zoya, whose debut film Luck By Chance looked at the struggle of outsiders, has been accused of using her new film as a launchpad for star kids.

In his thread, without naming The Archies, Gulshan contends that the arts cannot be merit-based due to their subjective nature. “If a producer wants to capitalise on the public interest in a star kid then it’s their prerogative to do so,” Gulshan writes. “It’s no crime. This method has its more than fair share of failures. Film production is a private business. It’s not based on merit the way for eg: education, sports are.”

“The Arts cannot have a system based on merit because it’s the most subjective of fields & people are picked for an opportunity based on subjective opinions. Talent, experience, work ethic etc do play a major part, but it’s still a subjective opinion that creates the opportunities,” the actor wrote.

“This is the nature of this business. It’s tough.. very very tough & hence, forget being rich & famous but to be a regularly working actor is most desirable. People have to find their way through this very very subjective & judgemental business (audiences also judge).”

Those who cannot, he adds, “end up as fodder for ‘some’ to use for their self-serving interests.” “Aap ka kuch nahin hoga lekin woh loog aap ke angst ka bharpoor upyog karenge by making you feel that you are not where you are because of Nepotism! (you won’t get anywhere but they will utilize your angst....),” Gulshan ended.