Nepotism is a much-debated topic in our society. It brings up starkly different views, leading to unending arguments. For the past hundred years, the Hindi film industry - Bollywood, has been one of the most dominant and distinctive features of Indian culture. Nepotism in the Indian film industry has existed for a long time. Nepotism is the favouritism which is shown to a family or members in fields of business, sports, politics, the entertainment industry and more (Saxena et al. 75-82). On the face of it, Nepotism is unavoidable as every parent wants their child to be successful. Be it the medical profession, where doctors want their children to follow in their footsteps and become a doctor, or politics, where politicians want their children to become even more powerful and influential politicians; the same holds true in the Sports industry.
Bollywood is a very powerful and influential industry, which impacts both Indian society and international audiences. It is one of the most sought-after industries across the country, and several professionals want to have their careers associated with Bollywood. Nepotism, therefore, plays a crucial role in the industry. Nepotism has been seen and observed over generations in Bollywood. We have seen many talented relations and families like Kapoors, Bachchans, and Khans, who have been and are great artists. In recent times, there has been a rise in Bollywood actors and actresses coming from privileged families with connections in the film industry. Due to Nepotism, the more deserving candidates - more talented, with grit and hardworking - are sometimes sacrificed and deprived of the opportunities they deserve, and lose over the ones stemming from nepotism. In the last few years, it has come to light that the entire industry, including its various stakeholders has been ostensibly tailored to propagate the ‘star-kids’ phenomenon.
As the film industry is highly volatile and full of risk, nepotism is encouraged by influential families to push their children forward by getting more influential and memorable roles. Several talented actors like the late Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Manoj Bajpayee, and many more have been ignored for a long time. They have had to fight many tough battles for years to be accepted in the industry. Amateur new actors are rarely given a fair chance to come into the industry and make a memorable impact with their films. They seldom are given a fair opportunity to work under known directors and show the world what they are capable of, even if they are more talented than the actors from star families. There exists a political economy in Bollywood as “It characterises, above all, a political economy in which ‘pre-modern’ familial forms of sociocultural capital dominate the relations of production.” (Basu). Political economy is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences that focuses on the interrelationships among individuals, governments, and public policy.
The mindset of people flared up over nepotism, especially after Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and brought in a new wave of the debate of nepotism when Kangana Ranaut called out Karan Johar on his favouritism towards actors from star families and termed him as the ‘flag bearer of nepotism’(Adhikary). Not all celebrities agree that nepotism does in fact exist in the industry but a few have taken a stand and agreed to the ordeal. In an interview, Sara Ali Khan opened up about nepotism and stated “I definitely believe that knowing people in the industry does help. That’s not a fact that I can run away from. I’ve often admitted to the fact that the biggest advantage of nepotism is that we have easy access to people. I can call up Karan Johar without doing any film. I can go to Rohit Shetty’s office. So these are privileges I’m well aware of. There’s also a level of protection that we enjoy. Not that we’ve asked for it, not that we choose our parents, and not that we need to work any less hard. But anyone who denies this isn’t cool.” (Sarang) Jahnavi Kapoor, the daughter of Boney Kapoor and Sridevi further adds “I am so lucky to do it (acting) and there’s no other way to be. I am in a place of privilege where I have had this opportunity come to me so easily. I can’t for a second take it for granted.” She further added, “My mom and my family have given them (audience) so much in terms of entertainment, content…given Indian Cinema so much. And they (the audience) have given my mom, dad, and everyone so much love and admiration. Honestly, the life that I am living and the opportunities I am getting are all because of these people’s love.” (Sarang).
Taapsee Pannu, having made her own space in the industry, says that she feels “the star kids take away all the limelight with their presence and the newcomers who have worked hard to make a name for themselves often get ignored because of star kids. Actors like me, have worked hard to gain stardom from scratch and are then too taken out from projects which I find hurtful.” (Times of India). Vivek Agnihotri has stated that nepotism has also become evident after the 2000s as before stars like Sridevi, and Amitabh Bachchan, among others, were outsiders too and have henceforth, built a niche for themselves as well as their family members. When their children came into the film industry, there was already a safety net drawn out for them to anchor them into this precarious industry. Thus, Bollywood became ‘A very close-knit kind of a mafia’. He also added that before the 2000s, most successful actors, directors, writers and producers were not from ‘star’ backgrounds which is not the case anymore (HT Entertainment Desk). In India, actors from star families are given more importance and are favoured over kids who have no apparent connections in the film industry.
Nepotism may also arise in a situation where the deserving actors do not get the attention and praise that they have earned due to their talent. “Nepotism may create a fear in their minds that they don’t deserve the work they get. This may result in no job satisfaction and eventually, the decision of quitting or diverting to other fields may arise.” Richa Chadha- an Indian actress has rightly put forth that nepotism is much more than simply belonging to a ‘star dynasty’. It has more to do with making use of any social connection. So even without being from a star family or having a famous last name, a person can make it in Bollywood if they have some connection in the industry. Having these associations may later help in learning how to better navigate the industry. Even after someone gets their first big break, it takes longer for an ‘outsider’ or someone who does not come from a family with a star background to understand how things work without advisors. (VJ)
While also referring to Naseeruddin Shah, she spoke about how in his memoir he has written that good actors such as himself, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil or Om Puri were only cast for roles when the directors and producers wanted to “tell a good story on a smaller budget” and did not have enough money to afford bigger stars. Filmmaker Kabir Khan has accurately pointed out that nepotism is not a problem which is unique to Bollywood but instead it is a major part of the society. He says “We are a feudal country. Nepotism is in our blood, Bollywood is not a special “club”, it is made up of people who are part of our larger society, and so the biases that are prevalent in society will be reflected in Bollywood as well. So unless there is a mass cultural shift, expecting that nepotism will disappear from Bollywood is not a reasonable expectation.” (VJ).
Bollywood can be used as a classic example of hegemony as the film industry has a great influence on the audience. Whatever the big stars endorse and talk about in their movies, the audience tends to follow in their footsteps and follow blindly. The audience gives up their power to make decisions of their own and consensually submit to what is being shown on the screen. The various drug scandals in the industry in recent years have created a buzz about Bollywood on social media which leads to a fall in the brand value of Bollywood. This in turn harms the lives of the audience as the audience often idolise various celebrities and look up to them as their role model (Khamesra).
Another take on Hegemony in Bollywood can be how certain family dynasties like the Khans, Kapoors and Karan Johar hold the most power to influence other actors and the course of their careers. Karan Johar has had a major role to play in launching the careers of various star kids like Alia Bhatt- this hinders the entry of fresh and new talent that is crucial for the development of the industry.
Bollywood holds an authoritative cultural hegemony which is reflected in the influence it has on all the other film industries. “Most often, other film industries take after Bollywood specifically in terms of format and style, adapting as many elements as they can to mirror Bollywood film.” This hegemony has been increasing as earlier, each language developed its unique industry for the film (Maddali). In recent years, Bollywood has struggled to produce quality content consistently and has been losing its audience to better-directed films from other Indian industries like ‘Pushpa’, ‘Darbar’, ‘RRR’, etc. Similarly, the Hollywood film industry offers more value, diverse themes and plots, etc. Filmmakers have been spending more money on getting actors than on the script, visuals, soundtrack, and more which is one of the main reasons why Bollywood has been struggling to produce quality content in the past few years. Due to the prevalent nepotism and shift to OTT platforms, Bollywood is losing its brand value and hegemony (Khamesra).
As is evident from the above discussion, the biggest advantage of nepotism is that one can have easy access to the relevant people to get their tasks done. Also, it is very well understood that ‘Nepotism’ is not a problem distinctive to Bollywood, it is embedded in our society. These biases that are prevalent in our society, do get reflected and highlighted in Bollywood as well, more so due to the brand value that Bollywood carries. Even though nepotism is inevitable, it needs to be balanced. Nepotism, if it is being used to give direction or an opportunity to a deserving candidate, will not necessarily be unfair.
Comments