Mrunal Thakur on nepotism experience: Was snubbed at award function

Mrunal Thakur. Image sourced from mid-day archives

The age-old debate on nepotism has reinvigorated after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput on June 14. The debate has exploded on social media over the last few weeks and a lot of television and Hindi film actors have been talking about it and how Bollywood functions. Several celebrities have also spoken about the dark side of showbiz.

Actress Mrunal Thakur also opened up on the nepotism debate. Mrunal has faced the brunt of it quite early in her career. Speaking to Pinkvilla, she recalled two events - both at award shows where she was snubbed for being an outsider. "First, it happened to me at an Awards ceremony. I was getting the Critics Best Actress award for my film and after I went on stage, I was told, 'Ma'am, that's the exit!' Whereas at the same ceremony, when a star kid went up, they literally were shoving the mic in her face."

Apart from award organisers, she also raised an important point of how media treats people differently. She shared, "I was at this event giving interview bytes and suddenly, the entire media ran away because a star kid arrived. That poor girl couldn't even handle her outfit properly and the media was just all over."

Commenting on her nepotism experience, the Super 30 actor said, "It's not just the industry, it's also the audience and the media, no? After all, this is what the audience wants to see which is why the media is also giving it to them. I don't blame the starkids for this at all."

In an earlier interview to mid-day, the Love Sonia actress had talked about how being in the world of showbiz wasn't easy. "Once you got the eyeballs on you after your first, people look forward to what you're going to do next. That was the most difficult phase of my life. It gets 200 per cent more difficult once you enter Bollywood. And trust me, acting is way better, but the way you position yourself... It's not just how you take care of your films, but also a lot of other stuff. It's about your image, the way you share everything on social media. Being an actor is not easy, being an actress is definitely not easy. There comes a lot of baggage, and it comes with a lot of responsibilities," she had said.

Also Read: Nepotism Debate: The Audience Has Made Us, No One Else Has Made Us; Says Kareena Kapoor Khan

Recently, Nawazuddin Siddiqui had spoken about nepotism in an interview. He said, "There are thousands of filmmakers who work outside the formula. If you dream of one day becoming a hero or a heroine, in films with five dance numbers, then that is what you deserve. There's a long queue of actors wanting to do those films."

He added, "I am sorry to say, these Bollywood formula films do not require talented actors. There are thousands of filmmakers who work outside the formula. You should also know where your talent will be used."

Also Read: Exclusive! Vidyut Jammwal talks about Nepotism, the insider vs outsider debate, and how things will change

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