Pankaj Tripathi on nepotism: Star kids do get opportunities quicker

Pankaj Tripathi. Image sourced from mid-day archives

Debates and discussions around nepotism and groupism in Bollywood have been amplified by fans and users on social media post the unfortunate death of Sushant Singh Rajput. There has been an increased hostility towards Bollywood, as the late actor's fans believe he was wronged by the industry and deprived of opportunities. Several celebrities have since then spoken about this issue.

Pankaj Tripathi, as an outsider, has also spoken about this debate and has a rather different take on it. Vidyut expressed his thoughts in an interview with The Times of India. He said, "Nepotism has never really bothered me in any way. I have always been busy working on my craft. People might think I am lying when I say that I have never felt uncomfortable in the industry. But this journey and experience have been mine so I only can say how it was so far. My truth is that I have had my share of struggles. I have worked immensely hard to bag roles in films. I have struggled for eight long years before people started recognizing me."

The actor added, "Although I have never had any such experiences, I would not deny that I have seen these things happening in the industry with others. Star kids do get opportunities quicker than others because they belong to a certain family. I never got opportunities so easily. However, nobody stopped me too. No matter if you become a recognized actor after eight years of struggle or just a mere eight days if you do not have the talent; you will not survive in this industry. The audience is very smart. They know who is talented and who is not."

On the work front, he was last seen in The Kargil Girl, a biopic on Air Force Pilot Gunjan Saxena who played a pivotal role in 1999 Kargil War. He played the role of Janhvi Kapoor's father in the movie. When the trailer of the film was released, Janhvi was trolled on social media for the raging debate on nepotism and insider-outsider.

Also Read: Piyush Mishra On Nepotism: No Kapoor Or Khan Family Came In My Way

After the tragic demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, the star kids have been under the scrutiny of the social media users. Several celebrities like Dharmendra, Koena Mitra, Shamita Shetty, Rithvik Dhanjani, Raveena Tandon have revealed the dark side of the showbiz.

Recently in an interview, she talked about the ire of social media users and how she hasn't made peace with it. She said, "I haven't made my peace with it. I hope it's not something that I have to deal with every release."

She adds, "I've skipped many steps that many people have had to fight for. I've gotten chances that many people wouldn't have gotten easily. I'm here already through a much easier route than most people have had. So from now if the journey is a little bit of an uphill climb and it's a little bit harder for people to accept me then I'll accept it. If I've skipped a certain portion of the journey that people are subjected to then this is my journey from here on, and I'll embrace it."

Also Read: Vidyut Jammwal Compares Nepotism To 'Beggar Knocking At Car Window': Outsiders Are Often Considered Invisible

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