I am pretty sure this is a common phenomenon in the Bollywood sphere (and even in real-life workplaces) but how far is too far when it comes to judging actors who got their breaks with the aid of industry connections? We are talking about power siblings like the Gyllenhaals', people like Chris Pine, Emma Roberts and Bryce Dallas Howard, as well as those who did through somewhat indirect links, like in the case of Allison Williams.
As an avid watcher of Bollywood films, I am aware that most of the stars who are huge right now like Alia Bhatt, Shraddha Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, the Kapoor (there are many Kapoor families in Bollywood but let's not get into these details for now) dynasty (current generation includes Kareena and Ranbir), Varun Dhawan, Sonakshi Sinha etc. have no doubt been vocal about getting helping hands from prominent filmmakers like Karan Johar as well as actors like Salman Khan, who encouraged them to pursue acting and obtain roles in movies. However, they have clearly thrived through the sheer talent and effort they put in for quite some time already, because they have no doubt made audience members sit up with their incredible performances. So it's a no-brainer that there is still a demand for them.
Nepotism has consistently been a hot topic of discussion there in spite of this - that if they weren't discovered through their connections, no one would have noticed or hired them. Which is true and I admire the fact that figures like the actor Shah Rukh Khan and actresses such as the eminent Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut and Deepika Padukone are self-made actors in the face of a hard-hitting industry. They earned it by proving their mettle and hopping from one casting call to another, having to endure sexism (for the women, in particular) on top of that, only to be rejected for trivial issues repeatedly until they got their lucky breaks. Really have to salute them for this! But when it comes to the aforementioned star kids, it must be said that nepotism can only take one so far and after given maybe 2 or 3 chances at least, if one fails to demonstrate that they could actually act, they will fail in the industry somehow and not even their connections can save them because ultimately, we want excellent performers,don't we? That's why Abhishek Bachchan's (Aishwarya Rai's husband and son of the renowned Amitabh Bachchan) and Uday Chopra's stars have vanished without a trace now.
That being said, I notice that people in the West take this far worse when it comes to Hollywood stars. I don't think there is any interview of Jake Gyllenhaal's that I have come across so far that doesn't bring up his family background and how he managed to secure his initial movies with their help! Also about his famous godparents etc. Which I find super annoying because he has been around since forever, yet he is easily the best actor of his generation and I doubt most of the current crop of actors today have successfully picked many, many diverse, strange roles as he did and proved their versatility time and time again. Probably his connections helped when he was just starting out, but after being lauded critically for each of his subsequent roles, everything took off from there and he had things offered to him by folds. It was up to his initiative from then on and he has been continuously transforming himself ever since. Nevertheless, ironically so, he is still considered underrated compared to say Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Leo DiCaprio etc. who can open movies with their billing. Although in fact, he is on par with people like Christian Bale, Leo, Johnny as far as talent is concerned. It's such a shame that he is also always passed over for Oscar nominations and the like. I can never forgive the Academy for not nominating him for Nightcrawler!
He is still a bit "luckier" than most these days. Let's not get started with Maggie who, while people still acknowledge her for her talent, has surprisingly fallen under the radar though she still delivers nuanced performances which are acclaimed. And people like Chris Pine who still hasn't gotten his due to date; same goes for Joseph Gordon-Levitt (I think he had connections but guess I have to research this again) and the like. So, what's your take of nepotism in general? I am interested in knowing everyone's thoughts on this issue.
Submitted March 30, 2018 at 10:02AM by capati_1992 https://ift.tt/2GUB2Nu