Nepotism didn’t help us in our Bollywood journey: Sikandar Kher, Adhyayan Suman, Vardhan Puri bring out the other side of the debate

The nepotism debate rages on, however the field workplace has all the time proven there’s just one arbiter of an actor’s destiny: the viewers. While some star youngsters equivalent to Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt and Kareena Kapoor Khan or Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt, Sara Ali Khan from the youthful lot made it massive in movies, for a lot of others their movie backgrounds didn’t translate into showbiz success.

For occasion, Harman Baweja, son of producer Harry Baweja, was launched in Love Story 2050 (2008), and went on to do Victory and What’s Your Rashee? (each 2009), however didn’t discover business success. Sooraj Pancholi, son of actor Aditya Pancholi, and Athiya Shetty, daughter of actor Suniel Shetty, had been launched by actor Salman Khan in Hero (2015), however don’t have a giant hit in their kitty but.

Adhyayan Suman, son of actor-host Shekhar Suman, debuted with Haal-e-Dil (2008), acquired some success with Raaz: The Mystery Continues (2009), however then his profession hit a low. “I was talking to dad about this, this debate is wrong. It is actually groupism,” he says,” including, “As even Sushant (Singh Rajput) said, the problem is only when star kids are being pushed ahead. My point is if that was the case, we wouldn’t have Ayushmann Khurrana or Rajkummar Rao. And Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan — they must have got it easy for a couple of years, but if today, someone tells me Ranbir is not a good actor, I will slap them. They have the X-factor.”

HARD WORK WORKS?

Sikandar Kher, son of actors Kirron Kher and Anupam Kher, doesn’t deny the existence of nepotism, however feels exhausting work triumphs.

“When I go and ask for work, I’ll get a meeting with filmmakers. Millions come to the industry, they might never get one. But everyone I met hasn’t given me work. I don’t think anybody is going to put money on you just because you are somebody’s son or daughter, it’s a business. My first film Woodstock Villa (2008) was offered to me by Sanjay Gupta. That is probably because of where I come from. But as you go on, you just work at it,” he tells us.

Pranutan, daughter of actor Mohnish Bahl and granddaughter of yesteryear star Nutan, was additionally launched by Salman, in Notebook (2019), but it surely didn’t do effectively. Bahl says his daughter bagged the movie on her personal. “People say ‘Salman ki dosti hai’, they don’t want to believe that,” he says, including that Pranutan has bagged one other movie, Helmet, and auditions even at this time.

AUDIENCE RULES

Late actor Amrish Puri’s grandson Vardhan didn’t have it straightforward both. “I was young when my grandfather passed away. When I wanted to start as an assistant director, I had nobody to make calls for me. I gave 25-50 interviews, till I met Aditya Chopra and begged him for a job,” says the actor, who made his movie debut with Yeh Saali Ashiqui (2019) and despite the fact that movie bombed at the field workplace, his efficiency was appreciated..

Agrees Mustafa, son of filmmaker Abbas of the Abbas-Mastan duo, who debuted with Machine in 2017, however didn’t strike gold. “It doesn’t help being the child of a famous parent. The audience makes you what you are,” he says.

TALENT AND CONTENT MATTER

Trade knowledgeable Atul Mohan feels all of it boils right down to expertise. “If talent wasn’t there, Ranbir wouldn’t have got a chance after Saawariya (2007). The one place where industry insiders are lucky is they get more chances after their first film doesn’t work. But there are examples who didn’t click after many chances,” he says.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh shares there have been star youngsters in the 1970s and 80s too, whose connections didn’t help. “Eventually, all boils down to content. With Deewana (1992), Shah Rukh Khan became an overnight sensation. When you walk into a theatre, it’s for what the story offers,” he says.

Actor Sonu Sood, a rank outsider, sums it up: “When you have connections, a launch is guaranteed. I didn’t have that privilege, my son will. But only talent will make them survive and if that’s not there, no matter how big a star kid you are, you are not going to survive.”

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