Interview: Janhvi Kapoor (Mili)

Posted on November 7, 2022

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Posted in: Cinema: Hindi, Interview

205 Responses “Interview: Janhvi Kapoor (Mili)” →

Jay

November 8, 2022

Hey Baddy,
I haven’t watched this interview nor do I plan to. I like your approach of interviewing anyone and everyone in the movies with no specific criterion. But this is a deal breaker for me because these hacks have absolutely poisoned the well and your interview(and I consider you a legend in the field) legitimizes their art and acceptance amongst doubtful viewers.
The girl has sleepwalking through 6 pr 7 movies under very good banners
/directors and yet there is seemingly endless opportunities for her. I don’t know why this hurts me even though it shouldn’t because I am nor going to work in this industry but if one can’t see how bad this is then I don’t know what to say. Ananya Pandey, Athiya Shetty, Sara Ali Khan, Jhanvi Kapoor and upcoming Suhana Khan,Nysa Devdan, Ibrahim Ali Khan. What gives ?
These nepos keep saying they accept their privilege and it is the first chance they get easily and then it is a struggle . Bullshit. Every single one of them seems to have a bottomless well of opportunity. This is dirty. None of these hacks care about art, it is all about privilege, Prestige and peer pressure for them . Jhanvi is now on a PR spree trying to be relatable to the normal public while she lives the lavish life no other struggling aspirant in Bollywood can dream of.
I wished you never took these nepos on board and legitimized their craft or whatever that is. It is literally like they need to do the bare minimum of not being ridiculous in their performance to garner these appreciations. I notices every movie review title and it had Jhanvi’s best performance so far in many ( Sucharita,Rahul Desai). When did that become a thing. Are you guys reviewing the movie or trying to see if Pappu pass ho gaya ? All in all , these nepos have completely taken over Bollywood and it looks like every respectable film journalist is in cahoots with these hacks in their career building exercise.

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brangan

November 8, 2022

jay: Does this headline bother you? (Just saw it today.)

“Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj’s son Aasmaan Bhardwaj is all set to make his directorial debut with the film titled Kuttey. The film is co-produced by Vishal, Luv Ranjan and Ankur Garg and stars Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah, Arjun Kapoor, Radhika Madan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kumud Mishra and Shardul Bhardwaj.”

Do you think a first-time filmmaker from the “outside” have managed such a cast or these producers?

You will probably say “… but Vishal Bhardwaj is different”. And my reply is that you cannot lump “nepo-kids” into one bucket. I like Janhvi (she was lovely in GHOST STORY). I like Sara’s energy/confidence. I am not going to lump them with Ananya just because everyone is a “nepo-kid.”

I like Alia / Ranbir. Who’s to say that Suhana Khan or Agastya Nanda will not possess similar talents? Could anyone who saw STUDENT OF THE YEAR foreseen Alia’s capabilities?

About “legitimising”, I am not saying “oh you are great and therefore you DESERVE to be interviewed”. My attitude is always “okay, you seem interesting, and let’s see what you bring to the table in an interview”.

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lurker

November 8, 2022

It’s striking how there is so much antagonism towards ‘nepo kids’ of Bollywood, but the ones from the south get a free pass. Why is there so much vitriol against Jahanavi, while there was no fuss when Shruti Haasan debuted? There are many ‘nepos’ in all southern film industries, but for some reason their lineage is never held against them in the way that it is for Bollywood stars.

As for Jahanavi, I found her to be pretty earnest in this interviews. She seems to be intent on earning her stripes, even if she got a launchpad easily because of her background.

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Madan

November 8, 2022

lurker : Exactly what I have commented on in the thread about the movie. It seems to me that when it comes to Bolly, people can’t get past the SSR moment. I would much rather they give that time to Manoj Bajpai’s films given how tirelessly he bats for them. And there have been SSR like cases down South too. The Kadhalar Dhinam actor went nowhere after that film and eventually took his own life.

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Jay

November 8, 2022

Wow, a reply from the man himself 👏 Thank you, Legend !!
I was indifferent to all of this nepo debate for a long time and I was totally chill with the producer doing what is right for their movie.
I don’t know what flicked this switch in me and now it looks like Bollywood is now filled with an endless supply of nepo kids. Why are they making the movies their private property ? I am questioning that power structure which I don’t think was that evident a few years back. Of course, I am staggered at the starcast Vishal Bhardwaj’s son has assembled when I hear interviews of first time directors who describe their struggles to get their movie to theaters.
Like I said, you have been consistent with your logic of separating the private life of an actor from their professional life as an actor and kudos to you for that.
You could hardly pick a moment from Jhanvi’s career ( from a Zoya Akhtar directed short?), Sara’s energy was all over the place in Atrangi Re( a movie that I liked in which I constantly kept thinking if only this role was played by a better actress) and of course Ananya Pandey who you really don’t rate at this point
For me, it looks like Bollywood is simply shut for outsiders due to this conveyor belt of star kids all over. To me, none of these hacks are worried about their craft more than the prestige, fame and money that comes with it. I haven’t seen even one of them play the lead actor’s sidekick , go to a webseries and hone their craft, do short films, theatre etc. It is like their divine right to be the hero/heroine of every movie just because they were born in a clbkcparticular family. There is something seriously disturbingly about this trend.
And honestly, if you do talk to Rahul Desai or Sucharita , ask them why their thumbnail or headline is Jhanvi’s best performance yet ? Is that what the movie was for them ? It just seemed very odd that the whole point of a review was to ensure word went out that she has earned her stripes now.AC seemed to be one who didn’t care much for anything in the movie after having watched Helen.
To your point on why wouldn’t I want to see Suhana or whoever next, my point is I am not into watching a few powerful people monopolizing a field. People wonder why Bollywood is struggling when it is evident that many movies are being made to somehow build a career for mediocre star kids .I don’t think there is scope for great artistic creations when these fundamentals are all wrong.

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Jay

November 8, 2022

Lurker : I am not giving anybody a free pass. It is just that I was indifferent to all this for a long time. But Bollywood literally is now a training ground for all nepo kids . Literally every newcomer is some star kid and it is nauseating to watch them slowly work their way to making themselves acceptable to the masses even if none of them has any of the tools to make it as an actor when they first come in. It is literally like do nothing all your life and then some big daddies will take care of your career.
Down south, are star kids being launched left ,right and center? I know the Telugu industry belongs to a few but I think there is a saturation of star kids there at this point and new talent seems to be breaking through perhaps because NTR Jr,Mahesh Babu etc don’t have kids grown up enough to act at thus point.
Regarding Jhanvi, it is not about the launchpad, she literally had A grade directors and producers all her career somehow propping her up. I can’t think of an outsider being persisted upon after repeated failures like hers. This literally applies to most nepos at this point in time.

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Jay

November 8, 2022

Madan: I am not one of those post ssr anti nepo guy. I was indifferent to all of it and in fact I still find it hard to believe that the entire country stopped to listen to one sensational news after the other about the circumstances that led to his death.
I don’t know if it was early this year or whatever that I started noticing this but Bollywood seems to be filled with a lot of mediocre performers now. None of these nepos look like they were working all their life with dedication towards this. It literally is like a Prestige and power trip for them at this point. If that star kid is in the industry now, another one cannot be left behind kind of mentality. They seem to have absolutely taken over the industry and it isn’t looking like any outsider can breakthrough in thus environment.

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lurker

November 8, 2022

@Jay – Quite ironic that you reference Mahesh Babu and NTR Jr, because they are second gen (at least) stars in their families. In Tamil, the biggest superstar today is Vijay, a director’s son. Many leading heroes like STR, Suriya, Karthi, are actors’ sons. In Telugu I’d have to think long and hard to name an actor who is first-gen. In Malayalam, Dulquer and Fahadh are sons of a famous actor and director respectively.

This is not to take anything away from their accomplishments. For every successful nepo kid, there are tons of failures we just don’t see, so there must be something the successful ones are doing right. Sure, they have an entry route which is inaccessible to most others, but isn’t that true for all professions?

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hari prasad

November 8, 2022

In Telugu , there’s Nani , Vijay Deverakonda…

Chiranjeevi who’s now running a movie dynasty like the NTRs was a first generation hero…

Atleast in Bollywood , for every Fardeen Khan , Harman Baweja and Arjun Kapoor , there’d be outsiders like SRK , Kartik Aryan , Vicky Kaushal who’d pop out frequently to restore the balance…

But in Telugu , its highly impossible for an outsider to survive as a top actor and it’s rare to find one.

And how ironic is to see these #boycottbollywood bois show Telugu cinema as a standard to show how the Hindi industry should be while them being worse than Bollywood when it comes to nepotism.

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Madan

November 8, 2022

” They seem to have absolutely taken over the industry and it isn’t looking like any outsider can breakthrough in thus environment.” – I don’t disagree but again, I don’t remember any new Tamil star being launched for at least the last five years. Nobody after VJS and Siva Karthikeyan. At the most, I can only surmise that the overdriven PR machine behind the likes of Janhvi is generating this anti-Bolly angst. But otherwise, this is happening across industries. I am on the wrong side of 35 and Allu Arjun is older than me! Yash is just a year younger. Where are the 20 something new heart-throbs? The industry as such reeks of the odour of maturity and I don’t mean that in a good way.

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hari prasad

November 8, 2022

Even the current heartthrob of India , Vijay Deverakonda is about to hit 35 in 2 years…

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Jay

November 8, 2022

Lurker : There is no irony there. I am pointing out what is happening at the moment. I did point out that Telugu industry ran like a family owned business and by some twist of fate oy doesn’t look like there are new nepo kids waiting in the wings.
Malayalam seems to have a healthy mix of nepos and non-nepos and lot of non-nepos can make a name for themselves here. Nivin,Tovino, Nimisha,Parvathy,Basil, Suraj have all made it without a relative.
VJS,Arya, Ajith are all non-nepos, right?
At this point in time, all of this isn’t even comparable to what’s going on in Bollywood.
Nepos are going to exist but it is just that Bollywood just seems to be dealing in a conveyor belt of very mediocre nepo kids. Jhanvi,Sara,Ananya,Suhana,Nysa,Ibrahim,Ahaan,Athiya, Sunny Deol’s son, Ishaan,Harshvardhan. The list is exhausting to type. There are so many of them everywhere . Doesn’t this look bad to you guys. It’s like the entire oxygen in the system is being sucked up by these kids with nothing left for a struggle from outside .

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Madan

November 8, 2022

“For every successful nepo kid, there are tons of failures we just don’t see, so there must be something the successful ones are doing right. Sure, they have an entry route which is inaccessible to most others, but isn’t that true for all professions?” – Well, I certainly think the film industry is one of the worst offenders in this regard, behind only politics. I don’t know where from the idea that you can’t get a decent, well paying job in corporate without being the son or daughter of so-and-so came from but it’s not been my experience.

Every company I’ve worked in bar one was a blue chip while my father’s career was spent mostly in a <1000 cr turnover company. I don’t deny that I gained some measure of privilege from having a middle class upbringing but I don’t agree with those in Bollywood who extend privilege and network so far as to absolutely equate it with nepotism which is a completely different thing.

In most fields, an outsider has a decent chance provided they can demonstrate their qualifications/capabilities but that does not seem to be the case in the film industry. And to be clear, this is specifically an Indian film industry issue. We are told that the US or UK are older on average than India and yet new, young actors seem to get launched all the time there. Why? Because their film industry, while by no means perfect and not completely free from nepotism, nevertheless still works much more like a professional set up ought to. And I am sorry to say it shows in the final product too.

I was OK with ‘relativizing’ quality in the name of Indian context and tastes when movies genuinely had to be made on shoestring budgets and makers had to make do with whatever technology was available. I am not sympathetic to that argument anymore when the star takes away 50% of the budget. That’s just money spent badly, on the wrong things. Say what you will about SSR, the other, well alive one, but he has already delivered three blockbusters without being at the mercy of stars (though he still hires stars to play the roles, WITHOUT spending all the money on them). When is the industry going to get the memo?

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Madan

November 8, 2022

“Doesn’t this look bad to you guys. It’s like the entire oxygen in the system is being sucked up by these kids with nothing left for a struggle from outside .” – It does but for all you have convinced yourself otherwise, it’s not an exclusively Bollywood problem. Nobody here is saying things are AOK in Bolly. Just that the correct counter-examples remain, depressingly, abroad and not in other industries. I am pretty sure Fahad or Dulquer would ace any audition but the fact remains that they are nepo kids in a manner of speaking. They are just nepo kids we like nay love to see on the screen. But it is the same nepotistic system that throws up Ananya Pandey and Arjun Kapoor.

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Jay

November 8, 2022

Madan: I don’t think the other industries have an environment which prevents new actors/technicians from breaking through . You make a good decent film in Tamil /Malayalam with newcomers with no connections in the industry and there is an audience for it and careers are made then and there.
Bollywood at the moment seems to be stuck in a cycle of giving movie after movie to these mediocre nepo kids to prove their worth. At this point, I think the nepo kids either act for free or give these producers money to act. I can’t seriously think who in their right mind watches their previous performances and gives them these challenging roles. Boney must have paid Mathukutty a bomb for Mili. It must have been easy money for him when he just needed to recreate the movie scene by scene while ensuring Jhanvi doesn’t tank it.

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Madan

November 8, 2022

” You make a good decent film in Tamil /Malayalam with newcomers with no connections in the industry and there is an audience for it and careers are made then and there.” – Again, endha newcomers? After Sivakarthikeyan, there hasn’t been anybody. Unless you want to count Udhayanidhi Stalin, lol? I don’t know how frequently you watch South films because it seems from the discussion that you regard these faces as new or unfamiliar and they are not for those of us who do watch South films regularly. As hari prasad pointed out, it is in fact Bollywood that launched Vicky Kaushal in the same period. And new actresses still keep breaking in all the time in Bollywood. The problem is much more with male stars and it’s difficult not to hold the audience and its fondness for descending to idol worship of somebody who is only good at enacting a few scenes for the camera. If the star system broke down, as it did long ago in Hollywood, you would see the levels of nepotism go down too. We have to first say we are NOT going to go blindly to watch a movie based on star but want to know if the team behind it, i.e. director, scriptwriter, cinematographer is good too. It MAY happen now, at least in Hindi, for all the hate it gets. Because they have had a brutal year and they have seen Rajamouli succeed without stars who are well known to the Hindi audience. And they know the star of Brahmastra is Ayan Mukerji and the vfx team more than the stars. They are being compelled to prioritize content in a way Telugu and Tamil haven’t.

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hari prasad

November 8, 2022

Speaking of Jhanvi Kapoor , I think she doesn’t has that much hatred down here in the South , I see a lot of people jollu oothing whenever she post her photos on Instagram as if they had never seen a woman’s cleavage and say stuff like ” Madam ku slave aaganum” and ” Uyir ungaludayadhu Jhanvi”.

I think she has a bright future here in Tamil and Telugu if Bollywood dumps her and she can easily claim the ” Maida maavu coloured loosu heroine™” throne , along with Rashmika Mandanna.

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Jay

November 8, 2022

Madan: You are missing the point. I am saying that Bollywood seems to be stuck in a nepo kid launch mode for a while now.It is one launch after another for the nepo gang and then propping up the career of these kids because they don’t seem to be ready at all in their first few movies. In the meantime, the audience has to live through shite movies and performances that are made to make sure it doesn’t make the nepo kid look bad.
Tamil/Malayalam are the industries I am most familiar with .While there is a nepo/Star driven system in place , there is also nothing preventing new talent from coming through. I think I have watched one Fahad(malayankunju), one Prithviraj( Jana Gana mana) and one DQ (Salute) movie all year. The only true blue nepo kid in malayalam to me is Pranav Mohanlal. He didn’t look like he was very good( although he was good in Hridayam ) from the get go and things are being done to prop his career up. Fahadh( in his second stint),Prithviraj and DQ looked competent from the get go unlike many of the nepo kids in Bollywood.

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Madan

November 8, 2022

hari prasad: In fact, nepotism is not a big talking point in the South at all. The irony is the South is winning because it is an ecosystem that in many respects functions in the old way and has an audience that accepts that. Where star is kind, where the movies are loaded with masala and where single screens still thrive. For Bollywood, it is virtually like turning the clock back 20 years. MAYBE they took the wrong path in 2001 when they chose the way of Lagaan rather than Gadar but it’s still water under the bridge. It’s a really long time. Also, the pandemic played havoc with movie releases so you have all these movies that were waiting to hit theaters getting sandwiched into 2022. To the audience it feels like Bollywood is just not responding at all to the criticism but what it simply is, is that these were all films that would have at least got into post production stage by first half of 2022. So there was no chance to correct. Tiger’s new film is apparently not happening, so perhaps a reckoning is already underway.

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lurker

November 8, 2022

@Madan – If we are discussing regular jobs, your arguments would also apply to the film industry right? You don’t need any special connections to be part of a film crew, it’s likely that most of the crew are outsiders. My point was limited to top slots of professions, which are also certainly available to outsiders, but a second-gen contender has a definite leg-up

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Jay

November 8, 2022

Madan: Haven’t been following Tamil a lot because the . Was the hero in Rocky a nepo ? He looked like a pretty unknown face to me. Tomorrow any of these technicians decides to make a movie with newcomers , people will watch it. That has been the USP of Tamil for a few years now. It does feel like Tamil is going through a slump creatively at the moment.

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Madan

November 8, 2022

“I am saying that Bollywood seems to be stuck in a nepo kid launch mode for a while now” – So…it also seems that way because these were films either already made before the pandemic or during it. So they have all got sandwiched into the 2022 calendar. By the way, Puri Jagannath is not a ‘Bollywood’ director and he still cast Ananya Pandey. So the problem is not only with Bollywood. You keep hyphenating Tamil and Malayalam but they are not similar at all. Malayalam is the most evolved of our industries and this has been the case for many years. I am saying this for the last time, I haven’t seen a new star launched in Tamil for years. Emphasis on the word star. In small films, new actors get roles but this happens in Bollywood too. Gehraaiyan was just the third film for Siddhant Chaturvedi. He is young and has got the opportunity to work in high profile projects but he’s just not a STAR.

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Madan

November 8, 2022

“Was the hero in Rocky a nepo ? He looked like a pretty unknown face to me. ” – No, but Rocky is not a big budget film with a star driving it either. I just mentioned Siddhant Chaturvedi in my earlier comment. These kind of actors get chances all the time in Bollywood. You have to watch the smaller-mid budget films in Bollywood to see them, just as you’d have to in Tamil. Shantanu Maheshwari who had a significant role in Gangubai is also not a nepo kid.

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Jay

November 8, 2022

Hari Prasad: My criticism is not just about Jhanvi, it is a bunch of them who have just literally shot up like weeds everywhere.
I agree that she would do well down South on account of the white maida skin but then her ego, power trip etc isn’t going to let her take that step down. It is a shit fight there in Bollywood with the worst possible talent I have seen in any industry. Tiger, Sara,Ananya ,Jhanvi LMAO.

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Madan

November 8, 2022

” My point was limited to top slots of professions, which are also certainly available to outsiders, but a second-gen contender has a definite leg-up” – I still don’t agree because especially with the proliferation of start ups, there are so many CEO jobs going around that it’s simply not possible to wait to hire Sharmaji ka beta. One needs to look into the funding for the production houses in films which has always been a murky issue. How do they have the deep pockets to go on bearing losses with nepo kids who drop like thuds? And even if they do, how do the distributors survive? Because this is the main disincentive in the corporate world. Even if the CEO or Chairman and MD is a nepokid, papa will make sure to appoint a veteran COO to hold his hand. The stakes are simply too high to be frittered away over nepotism. So why does this not affect the film industry? That’s a whole black box.

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hari prasad

November 8, 2022

Remember Akhil Akkineni , Nagarjuna and Amala’s son?

That guy did 5 flops and is still accepted by the Telugu audience…

I think a lot of Telugu fans suffer from ” Devudaculosis ” , if a guy gets accepted as a star by them and presents himself as a saviour of the masses in his movies (ex. NTR) , then his whole dynasty are considered as their Devudas.

The reason why Balakrishna has a large fanbase despite him pulling off universally trolled action sequences and mouthing hilarious punchlines is because he’s NTR’s son.

I don’t wanna get political but if Udhayanidhi Stalin was born in Telangana instead of Tamilnadu , then he would have become the next Chiranjeevi in his 5th movie.

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Madan

November 8, 2022

hari prasad: And if Jay is talking about guys like the lead actor in Rocky, it’s not even apple to apple. There are plenty of smaller films, even reasonably big sized ones at that like Darlings, which have room for outsiders. It’s the A-list space that’s hogged by nepokids and entrenched stars (who could be either nepo or outsider). That’s no different from the other industries.

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hari prasad

November 8, 2022

The guy who was the leading man of the Tamil Rocky is Vasanth Ravi and true to his name , he is the son of the owner of the Vasantha Bhavan restaurants and he’s playing the kutty villain role in Rajinikanth’s Jailer as the latter was impressed with his raw performances in Taramani and Rocky.

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Jay

November 8, 2022

Madan : None of these nepos are stars because they don’t have a body of work behind them. I saw someone mentioning Vicky Kaushal – he is a nepo too. His dad is a famous action master or something. BTW all of Siddhanth’s movies have been multi starrers right ?
Like I said, I haven’t been following Tamil a lot recently but nothing much has fundamentally changed with Tamil . The environment for a newcomer to come through, thrive and make it to the top still exists in Tamil like it worked for VJS, SK. It is just that there seems to have been a lull in terms of good movies in Tamil for a while now.
Malayalam at the moment is a bit like Tamil movies a few years back when you had great creative ideas come through from a lot of new creators.
In Bollywood, Kartik Aaryan is a bit of an anomaly at the moment and you can almost sense that there are vultures around him hoping that he stumbles.

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Madan

November 8, 2022

“I saw someone mentioning Vicky Kaushal – he is a nepo too. His dad is a famous action master or something. BTW all of Siddhanth’s movies have been multi starrers right ?” – OK, at this point your mind is made up. So while there are many more examples I could give, I will bow out of this argument.

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hari prasad

November 8, 2022

Naan dhan , Ayushmann Khurana nu solrathuku badhila oru flow la Vicky Kaushal nu adichu vitten

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Madan

November 8, 2022

hari prasad: Your example is still valid. Kaushal’s world famous stunt master father lived in a chawl. Yeppa, yevlo privilege, ore silver spoon mayam.

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Rahul

November 8, 2022

I loved the interview. She is an admirable young woman. I could see her flinch visibly when BR talked about the youtube comment. I couldn’t help but feel protective of her. She is very articulate and self-aware.
By the way, I think the phone call between her and Vijay Sethupati would have been hilarious. Some youtube comic should recreate that.

We’ve covered a lot of ground on nepotism, but let me highlight one more aspect. According to this interview, I don’t believe Jahnavi would have agreed to participate in this remake if her father hadn’t effectively used emotional coercion to get her to meet with the director. There is also a comfort level of the producer\director that they can work with an actor in their own family, especially after she has so many films under her belt now. It is possible that the father needs his daughter more at this time than the other way around.

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lurker

November 8, 2022

@Madan – I see where you are coming from, but in corporate India, don’t you think that the ‘promoter’ concept indirectly favours nepo kids?

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hari prasad

November 8, 2022

Kartik Aryan has gained a lot of fans in this pandemic , especially after he walked out from the sequel of Dostana , citing creative differences with Karan Johar , the supposed ” bada main villain”.

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JPhil

November 8, 2022

I remember writing the UG medical entrance exam for the Armed Forces Medical College Pune (years ago now). It was conducted in some local school. There was this Sardar kid who sat at the back of the classroom, and I noticed, wasn’t doing much (ie not really writing anything). About 15 mins before time ran out, the invigilator (a guy in uniform) approaches him surreptitiously and hands him a small piece of paper. This lad feverishly starts filling his MCQ sheet. Clearly, he had been handed the answers. When we left, I saw him join his family, a big burly daddy Sardar in military uniform and perhaps an elder brother.

That has stayed with me for years now. I suspect little sardar is a doctor now, perhaps decent enough to not kill anyone. But completely devoid of ethics: why would you want to be his patient?

Not irrelevant to a debate on nepotism I would say: no one’s dying because of this but we the ticket buying, art loving lot need to endure their mediocrity. They ‘come of age’ at our expense.
@Jay, I feel you bro.

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hari prasad

November 8, 2022

You could have said that without mentioning our poor Sardar kid tale , which by the by was nice.

But where I differ from you is , unless you’re a reviewer like Baddy and is willing to suffer, spend your hard earned money by supporting a small budget film that’s been made by a promising director rather than endure that mediocrity.

No one thought Lokesh Kanagaraj would become this big of a director when we all supported Maanagaram and made it a hit….

No one thought Pa. Ranjith’s works are gonna get compared with that of Spike Lee’s when Attakathi released…

Instead of feeding money to shitty movies despite knowing its gonna suck , let’s help an up and coming director to rise at the top..

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JPhil

November 8, 2022

@Hari, 😉
My humble point only was that he was an insider (to the defense establishment), and clearly received more of a ‘boost’ than an outsider like me. There were multiple levels of injustice that had to be in place, for him to get through, if he did.
I also pondered about making a complaint but didn’t have the gumption to, at the time. I also remember doing very well in that exam but not getting a seat. These things hit hard, and are not some abstract argument re privilege or the lack thereof.
The sequel to my piddly tale is that I get through a merit seat elsewhere and am a specialist today, no favours received.

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hari prasad

November 8, 2022

Belated congratulations Phil… but you said that endure mediocrity thing right…. That’s why I’d to talk like that….

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Madan

November 8, 2022

lurker: ” but in corporate India, don’t you think that the ‘promoter’ concept indirectly favours nepo kids?” – Very much depends and is contextual so I wouldn’t agree with a blanket statement like that.

Take the Mahindras. The chairman is Anand Mahindra and before him, it was his father. But every group company has a professional CEO. The Tatas now have even a professional chairman because they have run out of heirs to hand over the reins to. Then there are companies which have never been family driven like L&T. The IT majors with family ownership like Wipro and HCL have also followed the Mahindra formula. And I think that’s fine. The family put in its wealth to start the company so they can hold onto directorial oversight as long as they let a professional run it so that the interests of employees, vendors and other stakeholders aren’t compromised by an incompetent nepokid CEO.

We notice the outliers like Anil Ambani or Vijay Mallya but many more companies today have a professional CEO. Heck, even I was offered the job of CEO for a small export-import logistics company in Bangalore. But I didn’t even go to the interview because they wanted me to attend the interview the next day with a travel reimbursement limit of 10000 all inclusive for airfare and taxi (and I am in Mumbai)! I said now I know enough about you guys not to bother applying. But the point of my example is to show that the field is indeed more open today than perhaps 20 years back when the shadow of licence raj India still loomed over the corporate sector and they had yet to kill old habits.

I have 13 years post-qual experience and have worked in five companies and haven’t been in one where the promoter or his/her son/daughter was the CEO. Sure, there are companies like that – some like Luxor are getting run into the ground while others like Godrej continue to thrive. But there is no dearth of opportunities today for a professional CEO and I have never heard people complaining about nepotism in the corporate world.

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Anu Warrier

November 8, 2022

@Jay, the A-listers in Malayalam are also all nepo kids, by the way. The fact that they are stunningly talented and/or charismatic makes a difference. I can give you the entire list with their family tree, if you want. 🙂

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Jay

November 8, 2022

@Anu : I am aware of the nepos in malayalam but are you comparing the situation in malayalam with Bollywood ? Bollywood now literally has a star kid launch every month. Khushi Kapoor is in the gym phase, Suhana and Aryan are in the snapped at Airports phase , Nysa Devgan and Ibrahim Ali Khan are in the snapped at party phase . There are different nepo kids in different timelines to ensure there is a steady supply of them through the year.
And it is an important point that you make about the nepos in malayalam being stunningly talented. I think being talented makes it a bit palatable but I see most of the Bollywood ones being utterly incompetent and learning on the job despite having all the resources to have prepared well before coming in.

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Jay

November 8, 2022

Hari Prasad : Yes, people like Akhil Akinneni is who I am referring to and Bollywood at this point in time is choc-a-bloc with nepos with comparable talent and skills. They really have no business being actors and the fact that there are producers splurging on them movie after movie is inexplicable to me.

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Jay

November 8, 2022

@JPhil Yep, it looks like a very unfair playing field. The stars have money, power , prestige and they want their kids to have more of it and the kids are equally ruthless in their quest for money , power and prestige. I don’t know how many outsiders are looking at the whole charade and wondering if it is even worth trying to get into Bollywood.

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Jay

November 8, 2022

@Madan: Yes, my mind is made up at this point about Bollywood functioning like a beast to serve a privileged few . One Siddhant who is struggling to get by is not really an example and his presence in multi-starrers is pointing to the fact that producers aren’t willing to take the risk on him as a solo hero but somehow Jhanvi ,Sara who have had flops after flops keep getting better roles with no real rhyme or reason and even then their movies seem to be write offs financially.
I read many of your comments and you are accepting that this is a problem but your point seems to be that it is the case in every movie industry across India. My point is Bollywood is the worst of the lot at this point in time and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down on its supply of nepos. Other industries by design or accident seem to have opened up to outsiders a lot more than Bollywood and it feels like people with talent can still make it in those industries.
Also, about Vicky Kaushal, his dad is a well known action director. Are you talking about Sham Kaushal’s origins or that Vicky Kaushal had it tough? Looks like Sham Kaushal has been in the industry for years now and it is hard to believe Vicky had a really tough life growing up.Irrespective, Vicky had connections thanks to his dad.

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Jay

November 8, 2022

Lurker:I don’t think Corp India is filled with relatives of the owner at the top. In fact, I think the owners take special care to put in competent people at the top to make sure their business doesn’t shut down. I don’t think it is comparable to Bollywood .

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mb

November 9, 2022

“I would say: no one’s dying because of this but we the ticket buying, art loving lot need to endure their mediocrity. They ‘come of age’ at our expense.”

Agree with this. It is scary to think how many practicing doctors have reached where they are by paying to get into med schools , by recommendation or by cheating in exams . Compared to this Bollywood nepotism is harmless.

I too honestly feel that it is very unfair that Jhanvi gets author backed roles in almost every movie she does. I am sure it isn’t that hard to find someone more good looking and talented than her in whole of India.But then this trend is not going to change anytime soon. The plan is to keep bombarding us with as many movies of hers as possible to familiarize us with her face and to accept her eventually. This is a family business.Sreedevi, Raveena, Jyothika have all gotten great movies in their 2nd innings bcoz of their famous producer spouses.
Simran in her comeback should have definitely gotten more main leads like Jyothika, but she had to play Suryas’ mother in her comeback role in varanam ayiram, because she isn’t married to a famous star/ producer.

But on second thoughts, the producer is spending crores of money to get the movie made. I think it is only fair that he /she gets to choose whoever he wants to cast in his movies. And I think going by the craze star kids gets in their insta and other social media handles, it is only natural that the producer will try to cash in on the built in fame the star kids come with. I think there was a huge sympathy wave for Jhanvi after her moms’ death.
Personally, I haven’t watched any of the nepo kids movies from Bollywood. I don’t think any of them are great actors. They all bore me.

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Raghu Narayanan

November 9, 2022

In every sphere of activity, people fall into three categories. First category are those who make things happen, then there are those who watch things happen and then there are those who wonder what happened! Unfortunately (or should I say fortunately for others ?), as far as the movie industry goes, I will fall somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd categories – mostly 3rd and a bit of the 2nd :). I generally watch things happen as far as I can understand and then make things up in order to complete my understanding :). Hence, my position is more fatalistic and resigned to looking at things from a distance. But like most of us, I love watching movies and the experience and for folks like me, OTT has been the greatest blessing.

So from my resigned, fatalistic, arms length POV, I have come to accept the fact that nepotism is there and I will not be able to anything about it. It has always been there and while it was more subtle earlier, its more ‘in your face’ now. Its a well orchestrated and media managed process in order to ensure commercial success and those who have the power (who makes things happen) will ensure that the star product is as de-risked as possible in order to ensure early pay-back. And I don’t see it changing anytime soon.

And its there everywhere – in cinema, politics, business, profession…just about everywhere. However, in business and profession there is a certain criteria for eligibility which needs to be crossed before gaining entry at the door. Even though there are instances of corruption in gaining this eligibility, still there is an established validation process. And this is not the case with cinema and politics. Just the surnames or initials will suffice.

I feel that, more than mere nepotism, the greatest angst among us is the fact that people get opportunities without earning them though a proper, organized and transparent qualifying process. This is what is causing the ‘inequality’ red flag to get raised. If there was such a process in cinema or politics and star kids do come through this test, people will find it more acceptable.

Until then…

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Jay

November 9, 2022

@Raghu Narayanan I was indifferent to all thoz to begin with but it feels like Bollywood is like a mafia of the stars and their kids at this point in time. I really can’t explain producers willingly losing money in the name of promoting a star kid ?

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nepo bias

November 9, 2022

“the A-listers in Malayalam are also all nepo kids, by the way. The fact that they are stunningly talented and/or charismatic makes a difference.”
Didn’t we mallus get lucky? Don’t know if u include Prithvi in the list of talented/charismatic actors. I do find him very charismatic .

Weird random ramblings and trigger warning…Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Mallika never divorced Jagathy ? She would be in a miserable marriage and would have never married Sukumaran and there would be no Prithvi!! That guy has won the genetic lottery….The looks, intelligence, language proficiency (His mom is from a family of academicians and writers. His maternal uncle in his interviews doesn’t sound impressed that Prithvi has chosen acting career and says he wished Prithvi studied further and did something more worthwhile).
The fact that being an actor wasn’t even on his radar, but after a decade of working in the industry, he goes on to direct the highest grossing film is pretty impressive. He was never my favorite but after AK and Lucifer, I have a new found respect for all his talents, efficiency and intelligence. I mean what he did with Mohanlal in Lucifer and Brodaddy is amazing. Must have been one hell of an ego boost for Prithvi to have the kind of talent to be able to give a fading superstar’s career a new lease of life. .

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Raghu Narayanan

November 9, 2022

@Jay – yes, indeed its a mafia like space to say the least. Author Chetan Bhagat once quoted A R Rahman in an interview and said Bollywood is like a lake filled with crocodiles. One can go and dip his feet in it, but should not try to take a bath! Now if this is the case with folks like Rahman and Bhagat, we cannot even imagine the amount of abuse an absolutely new kid with no Godfather or backing will have to go through irrespective of whether he/she lands an opportunity.

And I’m sure that the star kids too will be facing something tough within their own cocooned world. Like, I am sure that a Pankaj Kapoor’s kid will not get the same treatment as a Anil Kapoor’s who will not get the same treatment as a Rishi Kapoor’s. So there will be an hierarchy there as well. And then the star pressure to make it big, drugs, sleaze, etc. must make it a veritable cesspool of a world.

So yes, my sense of indignation did peak for sometime during the Sushant Singh Rajput episode, and when the months ticked by and nothing happened, disillusionment replaced indignation, which eventually gave way to indifference. And now, I am quite philosophical. Like, among all my other problems, how much time and emotion should I invest on something which equals the cost of a movie ticket? I should rather be more worried about the cost of theatre snacks 🙂

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Anu Warrier

November 9, 2022

@nepobias – I would definitely include Prithviraj in that lot. He’s charismatic and talented – though I do think his brother is a far better actor. But I have also watched enough untalented star spawn make a mess of their parents’ legacy to not feel so bothered about the Hindi film industry’s propelling of star kids. Most movies, even of the so-called A-listers don’t tempt me to watch any more anyway.

But coming to the nepotism debate – in my view, the media and we, the audience are equally culpable. What has Shanaya Kapoor done that she has X number of followers on Instagram? Or Khushi? Why is the media so invested in clicking their pics and giving us a blow-by-blow account of their day? Why is news about these non-entities being consumed so avidly? Some of it may be paid PR, sure, but not all. I should know. I work in media.

There is no reason why Taimur Ali Khan or Jehangir Ali Khan should be photographed so often. Supposedly, their photos sell at an obscene amount of money. And in their case, there is no paid PR or the parents calling up journalists to come and take their pics. Saif is a famously private person.

The so-called ‘nepo kids’ are there because there is a demand to see them. If Aryan Khan were to debut as an actor tomorrow (his father has dissuaded him from doing any such thing so far), do you know the hysteria that would arise? (Plus, the negative press, the trolling, et al because you can’t be a Muslim and do anything at all today.)

Do you honestly think that the audience will go watch a completely new leading pair whom they have never seen before? All these people making noises on social media about nepotism are the ones who will chup chaap watch their films and then crib about it.

If you [general you] really feel strongly about this issue, stop watching. Don’t feed the beast. On my part, a Khushi or a Shanaya or an Ananya or a Nysa won’t tempt me to watch a film, unless it is bolstered by a But yes, a Ranbir, an Alia, a Vicky, an Abhishek will, nepotism be damned.

The same way I will watch a Zoya Akhtar film or an Ayan Mukherjee film – or does this ban nepotism tag extend to directors and technicians as well? Because then, you might as well not watch a Hindi film.

Let’s extend this argument – say, a Sidhant works with Alia or Ananya or a newcomer works with a nepo kid – do I avoid the film because of the latter or do I go to see the former? Where does this end?

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JPhil

November 9, 2022

Well, in that case, the two genera for study are:

genus ‘nepo kid’=talentless,overhyped,forced on ticket paying numpty ad nauseum eg Suraj Pancholi, Ananya Pandey

vs

genus ‘ talented star kid ‘, gifted, versatile, worth the ticket eg Ranbir,Akshaye(note the e),Fahadh

The genera also apply to directors,music directors,costume etc though cinematography is exempt, as genus nepo kid would train the camera on themselves ..

The issue therefore becomes, how many times do we encounter genus NK before we realise that they are not genus TSK? Four films? Twelve interviews? What are the early markers of genus NK, so we don’t have to endure them? The angst lies in that wait.

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nepo bias

November 9, 2022

None of the malayalee actors that I like now like DQ, Fafa, Prithvi etc started out that great. They have a bunch of bad performances in the early part of their career. Fafa in some of his early movies looked so bland and had nil screen presence to the extent that I would have mistaken him for a background actor.. Prithvi has hammed it up to the skies in his earlier films. But they have remarkably improved themselves and honed their skills. I wouldn’t have touched a Prithvi film with a barge-pole a few years back, but he has proved himself enough times in the recent past that I’m looking forward to see how he is going to surprise us next.
I don’t know if it is bcoz of an overly critical audience that refuse to accept mediocre actors or bcoz of good directors who guide them well in their films, or bcoz of their innate intelligence, after getting enough chances most of the mallu actors have become reasonably good at what they do.
In Bollywood I don’t see much change in, say ,an Arjun Kapoor. I guess if their movies flop, they don’t have much to lose, so why work very hard or be innovative …might be their attitude. I mean he still gets to go for all the expensive vacays and get invited to all the happening parties. Then why take risks or get better at what he does.

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Jay

November 9, 2022

@nepobias : Prithvi was very good in his first movie- Nandhanam. He reminded me of Mohanlal in some ways. He had the looks and personality to go with it and his ascent to superstardom was destined. His acting, roles at that point in time are a reflection of the movies that were being made at the time. He acted in Stop violence or something at 21 and didn’t look out of place in it.
FaFa received a shellacking from his first movie and his second movie wad Chaapa kurishu and I did not even know it was the FaFa that came 6-7 years before that. He absolutely was prepared in his second stint as an actor. He had 22 FK, Diamond necklace etc to begin with in his second stint and that sort of settled the ability debate.
DQ chose a very unconventional path with Second show but he got a very good second movie- Usthad Hotel and kind of a cult movie in Neelakasham. So yeah, that kind of settled the debate on him pretty early too.
The problem with the Bollywood kids is that they show no sign of being any good and yet get backed with roles one after the other.
Malayalam is survival of the fittest- you still see Gokul suresh struggling, Kalidas Jayaram is as good as out from the industry now. That is a healthy industry where you give them a chance and own them or reject them based on ability.
Pranav Mohanlal is the only anomaly here, he is being propped up despite being a below average actor. Mohanlal talks a good game about him free to choose what he wants to do but behind the scenes he seems to be pushing Pranav into the movies.

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Jay

November 10, 2022

@Anu Why do many of you keep saying Indrajith is the better actor? Ok, Vattu Jayan in left right left was an incredible performance but there aren’t a lot of performances out there to say that he is a better actor or anything.

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tonks

November 10, 2022

I first began reading this blog because I enjoyed the writing. I had been regretting the change to the video format. But this interview is absolutely brilliant. Very receptive interviewing that flows naturally, intelligent questions and for the first time I see Jhanvi not just as a good looking woman but as a self aware, humble, sincere artist. Hats off.

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mb

November 10, 2022

The becharapan roles that she is talking about…Hasn’t Alia Bhatt made a career out of evoking sympathy by playing mostly victims in a lot of her movies? Of course she has done fun films occasionally too. But I mostly remember her playing young vulnerable bechari to whom horrible things keep happening.
That is going to be a career strategy for a lot of young starkids to show off their acting chops . I won’t be surprised if Ananya gets a similar bechari role pretty soon where she is a victim of some sort and fights against all the odds to come out a winner.

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lurker

November 10, 2022

“And in their case, there is no paid PR or the parents calling up journalists to come and take their pics. ”

Do you really think the paparazzi click any and all sightings of celebs and their families because someone asks them to? It’s more likely because those photos get eyeballs. It’s one of those things that are part of today’s Instagram culture.

I saw a youtube video recently, where Suriya had to shout at the papz not to click his children’s photos.

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Rahul

November 10, 2022

Indrajith was great in Amen. Prithvi I find average in most of his movies, though he was terrific in that scene in Mumbai Police when he discovers he is ……. (spoiler).

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Anu Warrier

November 10, 2022

lurker, in case of [some] celebs themselves, yeah, their PR agents do call up journalists to ‘inform’ them where they will be at a certain time. It’s not stated but everyone concerned know what is expected.

Of course, there are people like Ranveer Singh, Kartik Aryan, etc., who fully embrace today’s media culture and revel in it [neither of them need to call the paps; they follow them around!] and are really friendly and engage with the media.

But there are also a lot of actors who are not really comfortable with having cameras thrust in their faces all the time. I remember even Amitabh, famously polite and forbearing, losing his cool at one point.

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Anu Warrier

November 10, 2022

Jai, Indrajith is much better at the micro expressions than Prithvi is. And I adore Prithvi. 🙂 But his brother makes an impression even in the minor scenes he appears in. There’s an ease with which he slips into the character that reminds me of his father.

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Anu Warrier

November 10, 2022

@mb, in which films has Alia played bechari? Offhand, the only films in which she is the ‘victim’ were Highway, Udta Punjab, Gangubai Kathiawadi and Darlings. In none of which did she play bechari.

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shaviswa

November 10, 2022

I find Prithviraj’s acting very laborious and artificial. He is not a natural. Takes effort though.

Dulquer – he is very good in light romantic roles. Not seen him enough in serious roles to judge the quality.

FF – he is at a different level today. Awesome actor.

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hari prasad

November 10, 2022

You didn’t watch DQ Salmaan’s Kammattipadam?!?

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shaviswa

November 10, 2022

@hari prasad

No. Haven’t seen that one yet.

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Nepo bias

November 10, 2022

Loved prithvi in ayyappanum koshiyum. Loved his funny bits in amar akbar Antony too.
But I became a fan after seeing the kind of stuff that he makes happen in the industry. The fact that he directed the highest grossing film in the industry is pretty awesome . That came out of nowhere. He could have taken the easy route by making a low budget arty film that doesn’t have much risk involved. But he put his neck out there and did a big commercial film with the mohanlal himself. That took balls and he earns mad respect for that. And then to follows that up by directing a light breezy comedy like brodaddy is even more gutsy.

I absolutely love his singing too. His base voice and singing in vannu pokum song and thathaka thaitharo is all my favorites.
He distributes all the high budget other language money making films in kerala . So he knows how to earn big money too.
His interviews are a pleasure to watch.
So my admiration for him is not just for his acting but for all his other talents too.
All this he achieved after getting trolled, banned and being hated for a long time in the beginning of his career. It feels good when he comes on top with his A game despite all the hate he got. The guy has been slogging in the industry from 19 years of age or something.
I know that fafa is a big deal. But I don’t understand the craze. He is ok (blasphemy, I know).

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Jay

November 10, 2022

@NepoBias @Anu In a weird way, I think Prithviraj is underrated as an actor and Indrajith is overrated . Indrajith now has this mythical status as an underutilized actor when he has around 15 years of work with just a few characters that stand our. It is a bot like Abhishek Bachchan, he did well in Yuva and then goes on a spree of doing crap movies where he is crap as well but the couple iof performances that stand out somehow give them the status of underrated actors.
Prithvi is now distracted with multiple other things but before all that he was a consistent performer. I loved Nandhanam, stop violence, Swapnakoodu, Mumbai Police and many other movies that sort of followed the template of those times and recently Ayyappanum Koshiyum, Bro daddy(Blasphemy,I know) ,JGM.
Kuruthi was bad , like really bad that made me wonder of how acting skills were on the wane but that looks like an exception than an example

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Jay

November 10, 2022

@NepoBias @Anu In a weird way, I think Prithviraj is underrated as an actor and Indrajith is overrated . Indrajith now has this mythical status as an underutilized actor when he has around 15 years of work with just a few characters that stand our. It is a bot like Abhishek Bachchan, he did well in Yuva and then goes on a spree of doing crap movies where he is crap as well but the couple iof performances that stand out somehow give them the status of underrated actors.
Prithvi is now distracted with multiple other things but before all that he was a consistent performer. I loved Nandhanam, stop violence, Swapnakoodu, Mumbai Police and many other movies that sort of followed the template of those times and recently Ayyappanum Koshiyum, Bro daddy(Blasphemy,I know) ,JGM.
Kuruthi was bad and that may have been an exception because he made up for it with JGM

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mb

November 11, 2022

@ anu…You forgot raazi and dear zindagi .Even in Kapoor and sons, she was low key sad and crying about some bad things that happened to her life and I remember thinking ..u poor thing. That is a major chunk of her filmography.
Baby faced, vulnerable and delicate looking girl women trying to act all brave and fighting against the big bad wolves/ the whole world evokes sympathy and I always felt protective about the helpless poor thing roles she did. Everyone expected more romantic comedies from her like Humpty but once Highway clicked in the beginning of her career and she got critical acclaim for it, it was pretty smart for her to pick and choose more roles like that.
She is definitely a good actress and I am not taking anything away from any of her achievements, but when I think of her I mostly remember her crying at some unfair thing happening in her life.

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nepo bias

November 11, 2022

jay”I think Prithviraj is underrated as an actor and Indrajith is overrated.Indrajith now has this mythical status as an underutilized actor when he has around 15 years of work with just a few characters that stand our. ”
True that. I have never felt that Indrajith is exceptionally good or better than his brother. Would it be too much of a controversy if I borrow THE Sonam Kapoors’ famous line about good looking actors not getting enough credit for their good performances.
I too liked Prithvis’ swapnakoodu (who can hate on Kunjoonju achayan and his sleazy smile at all the girls. I wonder if Kunjoonju character will be accepted by the audience if made today. Ishtamallada song is so not going to work in the present “no means no” times.), nandhanam , JGM (his court room mass performance was whistle- worthy),even ayya(. Brodaddy was good too ( I have always felt that it is his dream come true to be playacting as Mohanlals’ son. His fondness for Mohanlal is pretty obvious off screen too). I know that kuruthi isn’t a crowd favorite, but I liked that movie. Kept me at the edge of my seat.

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nepo bias

November 11, 2022

jay.. Why do you say prithvi reminds you of mohanlal? He gives me Mammootty vibes. Mohanlal by his own admission is a “thonniya pole cheyyunna thonnivasi” in front of the camera. I think in real life too he is pretty much the same. Prithvi is a thinker and everything he does including his acting has a studied, deliberate, well thought out feel to it. I think behind all the film star glamour, he is a front-bencher class nerd with thick glasses who will be happy to be sitting in a library reading books. Like Mammooty , Prithvi is pretty disciplined in real life and his acting too doesn’t have the kind of natural flow like Mohanlals’ did in the beginning of his career.
Mohanlal has committed too many faux pas publicly too . One doesn’t expect any foolishness coming from mammootty or prithvi in real life.

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Jay

November 11, 2022

@nepobias I compared prithvi in his first movie with mohanlal only in terms of acting, screen presence etc. There was a charm and playfulness in that role that reminded me of Mohanlal in his younger years. I am in no way comparing their personalities. I think Mohanlal likes these decisive kind of guys and now Prithvi is literally his right hand man in real life. In real life, you can see Mohanlal struggles with his decision making, articulating his thoughts. I heard someone saying on TV saying that Mohanlal’s actual personality is that of an actor’s which is why it is so fluid.

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Jay

November 11, 2022

@nepobias Prithvi tanked Kuruthi. Absolutely hated that performance. It was way too dramatic to show evil.

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nepo bias

November 11, 2022

“There was a charm and playfulness in that role that reminded me of Mohanlal in his younger years”.
You mean the chubby faced, shy smiling chakkarakuttan roles. Yes Nandanam Prithvi had that. Good that he followed that up with a lot of action films so that he wasn’t slotted in that sort of roles.
I think after ok kanmani, DQ is thought of only as the loverboy and he gets invited to play such roles in tamil and telugu. By his own admission, he would like a change. I am guessing chup, kurupp is all an attempt to break out of that mould.

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Anu Warrier

November 11, 2022

Hey, I’m a Prithvi fan all the way. 🙂 I became a fan right from his Nandanam days. I thought Ayalum Njanum Thammil and Ayyappanum Koshiyum really showed what he could do, given a chance. Really liked him as the alpha male in Mumbai Police, and quite recently, thought he did a great job in Jana Gana Mana – can’t wait for the sequel.

And I do like his interviews; I like what he’s doing in Malayalam cinema, and I hope he continues to experiment, not just with his roles but also as a producer, director and story teller.

Was not a fan of Brodaddy though because Mohanlal tires me these days. Wish he would go back and give us a glimpse of the great actor he can really be instead of clunkers with his coterie. That’s one area where Mammootty scores over him – he’s had his share of superstar, alpha male, toxic masculine roles, but he doesn’t have a coterie, and he has a wife who really gives him a reality check once in a while. He’s really evolved into playing characters like he did in the early part of his career, and that makes him more interesting to me. Though I don’t think his latest outing is great either.

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Jay

November 11, 2022

@Anu I disagree on Mohanlal and Bro Daddy. He was fun in it.I agree that he does dogshit movies and some are unwatchable but in many of those movies when I rewatch scenes he still has done a good job in many of them. You can blame the bad script, bad direction, bad everything but he isn’t actually bad in many of thetc.
Also, totally agree with Mammotty being the well read and sorted of the two but Mammootty had close to a decade of mediocrity before he found his mojo again starting with Peranbu. The thing is I think Mohanlal is totally lost in every other aspect other than acting. He can no longer blindly go and act with just the synopsis of the movie like in the 80s and 90s when there were genius scriptwriters and directors. And of course, all the idiots orbiting him are driving him to the ground now

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sanjay

November 11, 2022

The bottom line to this debate is if someone is immensely gifted nothing will stop that juggernaut on screen. Issue arises when there is middling talent, and we are unable to get a truly breakout moment with a young actor. Yes, constant barrage of nepo kids may be a reason deserving candidates unable to get timely exposure, so it is well argued here by Jay because there is a constant barrage of these nep kids as if they have nothing better in life to do. Few outside talents like ssr and Siddhant C could not capitalize due to their choices. Siddhant in GB for all the macho presence now seems a pansy on screen and never took the route where he showed sparks of something big and raw. Kartik is bit savvier and following srksque model which I feel each newcomer worth his salt should follow as a template to keep develop a proper base to sharks at bay.
What baffles me, Bollywood which is good at copying everything west in terms of script, concepts conveniently leave out the nepotic equation. Very few have the whereabouts of an offspring of a Hollywood stalwart so why can’t Bollywood wallahs do the same and get a life outside movie and why does Tushar Kapoor have to constantly reinvent and keep bombarding the screen and torcher us with GMasti kind of trash. I am sure Jeetendra amassed enough wealth doing a ‘taki oh taki & oyee amma so there wasn’t any dire need as such.
It all boils down to this being a very Indian thing and stems from greed in accumulating wealth as if there is no tomorrow otherwise how can one explain this phenomenon. They fail to understand their own individual self or meaning of life in general and join the bhed chaal. I am sure it cannot be money as they all seem to be loaded and beyond a point money has imitations excess money has a threshold, and one cannot suddenly start eating gold biscuits just because they can afford it. It’s there in all aspects of Indian public life from actors to politicians to businessmen to sports person. Thankfully Gavaskar and Tendulkar could not force their offspring for long since it is performance based so damage in sports is limited though the nepo Shahs still sneak into administrative sports.

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Jay

November 12, 2022

@Sanjay Well said. I feel like many of these nepo kids are in Bollywood because another nepo kid is in the industry and it is simply their little shining toy that they can’t let go off. The jealousy, the need for power runs in every star kid family. Nysa literally looks like Jhanvi now with whatever she has gotten done in preparation for her debut. We are constantly bombarded with each of these mediocre kids till we give up and move on to the next one.
I was indifferent to all this but it is simply difficult to ignore how unfair the system is at this point.Even as a neutral observer with no stakes other than enjoying the movies this just doesn’t look right.

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Vikram s

November 13, 2022

Nepo is not unique to Indian films. It’s there in Hollywood as well, am citing a few examples here. Denzel Washington’s son is none other than John David Washington (Tenet). Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke’s daughter is Maya Hawke (Stranger things, OUATIH), Andie McDowell’s daughter is Margaret Qualley (OUATIH, Maid) Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World) is director Ron Howard’s daughter. Laura Dern’s parents are Bruce Dern and Diane Ladd. Drew Barrymore comes from a long line of actors. Gwyneth Paltrow’s parents are Bruce Paltrow and Blythe Danner. Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis’ kid is Lily Rose Depp. Lily Collins’ father is the singer Phil Collins. Zoey Kravitz is Lenny Kravitz’s daughter. Maud Apatow is Judd Apatows daughter. Wyatt Russell (progeny of Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell).

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Jay

November 13, 2022

@Vikram Nepo is not unique in any field. What is unique is the sheer volume of nepo kids in Bollywood recently. They are sucking the oxygen out of the industry . They keep getting rejected by the audience for their mediocrity yet hang in there like a bad smell.

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Jay

November 14, 2022

And to close the loop on this whole discussion- Mili’s collections are in and it has earned 2.24 crore over a week on a reported budget of 38cr.
What’s Jhanvi gonna do now? -A Maldives vacation to recharge herself is in order and prepare for the next movie from another big banner
The show goes on for the nepo kids

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Ananya

November 15, 2022

It’s shocking how nepo kids in Bollywood keep getting good films even after back-to-back flops. But I don’t find this to be the case with Tamil film industry, where start kids may get their first break but cannot survive without talent. Take the case of Rajini, Kamal’s kids. Although their fathers are at the top, they couldn’t survive (This is also the case with Prabhu, Bagyaraj and Karthik’s son, Arjun and Radha’s daughters). Only the star kids like Danush, Suriya, Karthi who kept proving their talent were able to survive.

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Madan

November 15, 2022

Kamal’s kids couldn’t survive, you say? And yet Shruti Haasan waltzed her way back into Laabam with her stellar record and nothing to do with who her dad is? OK, at this point, this is a perception or an aesthetic (being that some Bolly nepo kids appear to be particularly cut off from the mainstream) rather than an argument about the reality.

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Nappinai (@Nappinai2)

November 15, 2022

Given we’re discussing perceptions, I’m going to list what I have learnt over the past 2 years. This is from some one who used to predominantly watch Hindi films some time back.

You need good karma to be born as a star kid, from Sonam
Audiences are jealous of stars/starkids, from Alia & her camp
Too big a star to be recognized as an actor, from Arjun
Unfairly not recognized as an actor because of the bias against starkids, from Jhanvi
Stardom is beyond box office numbers, from Kareena
Too good looking to be an actor, from Sonam
Too good to audition for any role ever, aka female Amitabh, from Alia
Audiences appreciate only dumb south Indian masala films (Kabir Khan, 83 is ours)
Audiences are cruel and do not recognize the hard work and talent (Sanjay Dutt, Shamshera is ours)
The film is too classy/ elitist for common people, Kareena on LSC
The film is so unique that no existing accounting system can satisfactorily explain its budget/ROI, from Ranbir on Brahmastra

Before someone says, stars can say stupid things, I’d like to point out that there’s a pattern here.

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Nappinai (@Nappinai2)

November 15, 2022

Also, some of the other things I have learnt include:

Saif believes in eugenics
Kapoors think acting is in their blood. Rishi/RK/Kareena, all seem to pride themselves on lack of preparation. They’re so natural that any subsequent takes to the first one, takes away from their craft
Mahesh Bhatt has decided that Alia and RK’s baby has some sort of extra ordinary genes

Now, I don’t get why audiences are being asked to justify their choice. It’s not my obligation to be fair and weigh in on whether rest of the world is similar to Bollywood or how much nepotism is there in other film industries. It’s also my right to decide that I don’t want to watch stars on screen who say dumb things off it.

Kareena is the only one who got this right. No one is forcing any one. It’s my money and my time.

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Madan

November 15, 2022

“Now, I don’t get why audiences are being asked to justify their choice. It’s not my obligation to be fair and weigh in on whether rest of the world is similar to Bollywood or how much nepotism is there in other film industries.” – No you don’t and for that matter, I haven’t and don’t intend ever to watch a movie starring JK in the lead. But this discussion started with commenter Jay objecting even to BR having her over for an interview. I think the same way you have your prerogative, it is BR’s prerogative to interview whom he sees fit to. If you don’t like the person, you don’t have to watch the interview, nobody is forcing you to. And in that context, I am not going to accept that the nepo problem is so uniquely bad for Bolly that BR must shun them for interviews. When you are talking about who can or cannot be interviewed, there has to be an objective standard, it cannot be about whims.

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Jay

November 15, 2022

@Madan I said I won’t be watching the interview just like you won’t be watching her films. I have mentioned in my original post that I appreciate BR sticking to his guns and choosing anyone he likes to interview. For example, I have extreme hatred for Kangana the person and believe that she should not be allowed to promote her craft anywhere but when there was a KR interview I kind of figured BR likes to keep politics and movies separate and that is absolutely his choice.

My only point was that his interview kind of legitimized JKs craft as an actor. Now you might ask , she is already an actor and what difference does the interview make. I think it is one of those things where I think being interviewed by BR for your craft equates to the person having finally made it or that the person is a rising star who has a lot of potential. ( I was fuming as to why these kids have it so easy everywhere.) Wide angle to me is serious discussion on the movies and it was odd to see her there. Again, the post was a rant on many things but I totally get BRs thinking when it comes to choosing people for his interviews and I didn’t intend to attack that

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Madan

November 15, 2022

Jay : It’s the same thing. You say BR interviewing JK legitimizes her. How is that not a problem when he interviews South nepokids? Even if you say nepotism is not a problem in the South – which isn’t true, but for argument’s sake – why isn’t platforming a South nepokid by itself a problem then? By any objective yardstick, your stand fails. It is one thing to dislike nepokids who are not very good and get loads of chances due to their birth star alone – which I do as well – and another to complain about which nepokid gets interviewed.

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Nappinai (@Nappinai2)

November 15, 2022

Ah! I can see where Jay’s angst is coming from, although I agree that JK should by all means be interviewed.

There is a trend now among stars to talk ‘intelligent’ about their craft when interviewed in general and specifically by BR. I am pretty sure they’re all being tutored by the same set of resources. For some of them, like JK, this comes across disproportionate to the end outcome making the dissonance stark.

To be fair, this is a trend on SM these days. Random folks without any real experience to their credit want to throw gyan around on flow, inner peace, process, long term game and all that sweet stuff. This is also seen with our cricketers today. Most of them want to emulate Dhoni and speak about process, keeping emotions in check. Or, they’ll be a wannabe Kohli and speak about being unfazed by pressure, criticism etc.

To borrow a tending term, audiences BS radar is at an all time high since 2020. The lights just wont stop blinking when one of them start talking.

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Madan

November 15, 2022

“To borrow a tending term, audiences BS radar is at an all time high since 2020.” – I would disagree a little there and say the radar is highly selective and targets people based on an aesthetic. With those who appear spoilt and privileged, it’s ultra high. With others, it’s barely even there. Why does BeerBiceps get so much time of day? Even some of ThinkSchool’s apparently well researched videos are often highly opinionated and they unfortunately masquerade as fact. That’s before I even get to cringeworthy clickbait titles like RBI’s new rupee move will destroy SWIFT or some such nonsense. BS that smells right will get accepted uncritically.

In short, I don’t have a problem with taking JK to task. I only object to asking that she should be denied this platform. That is not and should not be our business.

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Jay

November 15, 2022

@Madan I explained my intent already. I will clarify this again : I don’t care who BR interviews, I just said I won’t be watching the JK one. And yes, an interview with BR isn’t to be taken lightly in my opinion. He is the best movie critic we have and I believe one has to have certain potential or mastery of craft to be selected to be interviewed( Again, my opinion) It is my opinion that the effect of the interview is that it gives JKs and some of these nepos’ journey and craft credibility and yet I am fine with BR interviewing whoever he wants to. Wide angle isn’t the kind of interview where BR is making celebs play games and asking them ridiculous questions .

“It is one thing to dislike nepokids who are not very good and get loads of chances due to their birth star alone – which I do as well – and another to complain about which nepokid gets interviewed.”
So, what’s your point here ? That you will show your displeasure by not watching their movies but I can’t complain about what she has done to deserve a BR interview and deciding not to watch it.

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Madan

November 15, 2022

“So, what’s your point here ? That you will show your displeasure by not watching their movies but I can’t complain about what she has done to deserve a BR interview and deciding not to watch it.” – But that’s not what you did.

You said and I quote:

” But this is a deal breaker for me because these hacks have absolutely poisoned the well and your interview(and I consider you a legend in the field) legitimizes their art and acceptance amongst doubtful viewers.”

“I wished you never took these nepos on board and legitimized their craft or whatever that is.”

So you didn’t just complain that she doesn’t deserve to be interviewed by BR but you, whether you intended to or not, have basically said BR enables her and other nepos as well merely by interviewing them.

And again, if you really must go there, you cannot be selective about it because then it fails any standard of objectivity. You cannot accuse BR of legitimizing somebody on a completely emotional basis or do you really not see how random that is?

Lastly, OK, you want to say no, you will only complain about JK being legitimized and not South nepokids, fine, but then I get to point out that it’s completely inconsistent and whimsical as well. You can’t tell me not to highlight that either.

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Madan

November 15, 2022

And I want to add that you didn’t say in your original comment, the one which stirred the hornet’s nest, that you are absolutely ok and supportive of BR interviewing her and all that. I had to check and scroll downthread to read and yes you didn’t do that. You are saying that NOW after I pointed out that your position is not all libertarian audience-choice as you make it out to be. So forgive me if I find this more to be a convenient backpedal rather than an authentic live-and-let-live position. You wanted to try to impose but now that it’s been pointed out to you, you want to backtrack from the intent of your words. One is allowed to change their mind, of course, provided one says so rather than pretending that the other guy has misunderstood their position.

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Madan

November 15, 2022

Quoting this together in one para as you originally wrote it:

“I haven’t watched this interview nor do I plan to. I like your approach of interviewing anyone and everyone in the movies with no specific criterion. But this is a deal breaker for me because these hacks have absolutely poisoned the well and your interview(and I consider you a legend in the field) legitimizes their art”

Is it my imagination or does this read as if in this case you are not able to extend your usual ‘allowance’ to BR to interview who he wants to. Or does deal-breaker have some other connotation I have never been aware of?

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Jay

November 15, 2022

Madan : Deal breaker here is me not being around to watch it. It was rant and I have clarified what the intent was to you a few times. Sheesh !
You can check somewhere down in the rant that I have mentioned I understand where he is coming from in terms of choosing people for his interviews and more power to him for doing that .
And you keep bringing up other South Indian stars. You said you won’t watch the movies of some of these talentless nepo kids but I am sure you watch Suriya’s movies. I don’t want to give my time to these kids who are simply not up to it and even after 6-7 movies want their godfathers and relatives to keep them relevant

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Jay

November 15, 2022

You can bring up the same thing multiple times doesn’t change anything . It was a rant and I may not have been clear there. What is the point of me keeping on clarifying my intent when you think that my original post is some universal truth ? I have clarified this in my reponse to BR the next day.

“Like I said, you have been consistent with your logic of separating the private life of an actor from their professional life as an actor and kudos to you for that.”

For example, I don’t watch malayalam actor Dileep’s movies or interviews anymore and I fume each time some of these interviews pop up around the time of release of his movie where they behave like everything is normal with the guy’s actions in the case he is involved in.He is undoubtedly a good actor but if BR calls him up, I am going to let my displeasure known.

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Jay

November 15, 2022

Your whole thing is : You won’t watch their movies because they are talentless /privileged/ undeserving but someone else can’t express displeasure at them being interviewed or decides to not watch their interviews
Even if my stand was that I boycott all interviewers (which it isn’t) who decide to give these undeserving bunch a platform,why would it matter to you ? It is a free country, people are free to do what they want to do. In your opinion, that is a line that should not be crossed but hey that is just your opinion. People are getting canceled today irrespective for multiple reasons.

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Madan

November 16, 2022

“Even if my stand was that I boycott all interviewers (which it isn’t) who decide to give these undeserving bunch a platform,why would it matter to you ? ” – No, you’re right it doesn’t matter to me. But:

(a) In any case, this is a faceless forum where most of us don’t know each other so in any case what you and I say to each other doesn’t matter so that’s hardly the motivation to participate in a ‘forum’ anyway; and

(b) I can and will point out to you that it’s absolutely bizarre that with all of India’s problems, you would choose this hill to die on.

Yes people are getting cancelled today for multiple reasons, but that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily a healthy trend. No ‘liberal’ hypocrisy here, I have never suggested that there is something wrong if BR or anyone interviews SRV or VD. And if you desire to ‘cancel’ someone too, you must expect pushback. If you do not want to be engaged on this topic but still want to register your protest, best you email BR then.

And correct me if I am wrong but I have never seen you participate so intensely in a thread before. So it speaks volumes about the extent to which you have invested in this issue. And that is your prerogative but I am still going to be presumptive enough to suggest that it is unhealthy. When you get to the stage where you feel compelled to intervene and tell an interviewer you’d rather this guy not be interviewed at all, it’s best to step back and take a deep breath.

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brangan

November 16, 2022

Also, someone brought up Suriya’s name. He was pretty bland in his many early films, until Bala reinvented him. But even at that ‘early films stage’, if asked to do an interview with him, I would have done so.

Not all interviews are about “craft” and “process” and all. With those who do not have a body of work, even an engaging conversation is interesting. Like here, I loved it when Janhvi said she did not want to sell a middle-class movie wearing middle-class clothes in interviews even though her father asked her to — because that would be “Mili selling Mili and not Janhvi selling Mili”. That, for me, is an interesting POV.

I interviewed Dhruv Vikram and nobody said a word. And he was no great shakes in the “craft” department then… Is this just a hatred for Bolly-nepo kids or ALL nepo kids?

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lurker

November 16, 2022

“I interviewed Dhruv Vikram and nobody said a word. And he was no great shakes in the “craft” department then… Is this just a hatred for Bolly-nepo kids or ALL nepo kids?”

All celebrity kids have had a go in Kollywood, successful or not. Kids of most 80s/90s starts have made a foray – Sathyaraj, Kamal, Karthik, Prabhu, Murali for example (and Prabhu and Karthik were themselves second gen.) Rajinikanth’s daughters have had their shots at film direction, successfully or not is open to interpretation. Nepotism is neither a new phenomenon nor a uniquely Bollywood phenomenon.

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KS

November 17, 2022

“Is this just a hatred for Bolly-nepo kids or ALL nepo kids?”

I think its mostly Bollywood. Nepotism exists in other industries too, and it may be inevitable. But it is most flagrant in Bollywood, and has more to do with the extent of unconditional patronage.

In Tamil, for instance, star kids do get first chances, but apart from their debut (which may be pushed with fanfare), after that they mostly have to fend for themselves, doing less-glamorous projects with other upstarts, competing more with other non-star kids. They attain stardom if and only when they click and prove themselves. Thats how its been with most nepokids, including Surya. Many of them fail and fall on the wayside almost instantly.

But in Bollywood, it seems as if they continue to get special treatment throughout until the audience gives up and accepts them as stars. Even if they keep failing, they still have high-profile producers and directors roping them in high-budget projects. Its as if the Bollywood elite and fawning media keep propping them up indefinitely, like with Rahul Gandhi. This makes the privilege so much more irritating. Even if Jahnvi’s next five movies flop, Karan Johar would still cast her in a high-budget movie, at least until Ranbir-Alia’s daughter is old enough.

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nepo bias

November 17, 2022

“But it is most flagrant in Bollywood, and has more to do with the extent of unconditional patronage”

I think it is the entitlement and the open flaunting of their privileges that is irking for most people. Nappinai in the comments have given a sampling of a bunch of WTF-eries spouted by bollywood nepos. In south, one don’t hear such statement made by any nepos. So people almost forget their nepo-ness and don’t get offended by their star status and privileges.

In the south, one sees the exact opposite. Nepos like Surya, Prabhas , Allu Arjun are all so conscious of their legacy and so scared of disappointing their fathers’ fans that they go uber-humble on camera. They lay low and do their work, mostly, though I get the feeling that it will change in the immediate future with the next few generations.
I think since they weren’t quiet sure of the permanency of their jobs, most yesteryear actors in south lived a very humble life and their kids too got a very humble upbringing.

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Jay

November 17, 2022

Madan:
(a) In any case, this is a faceless forum where most of us don’t know each other so in any case what you and I say to each other doesn’t matter so that’s hardly the motivation to participate in a ‘forum’ anyway; and

BR doesn’t really engage on YouTube comments. I do come over here sometimes to check what is going on and have posted something about a Mohanlal topic a long time back. I didn’t think this would blow up the way it did ( I don’t even know if the number of comments here is considered a blowup relative to other posts here) and I loved the engagement on the topic here but in your case my clarifications don’t seem to matter to you. You are going on like a broken record on why I abused BR for inviting JK when I clarified that I didn’t intend to do that. My original post may have been a rant but I did clarify that I am perfectly okay with him calling whoever because I understand where he is coming from. Then why do you keep banging on about the same thing ? And you are one to speak – you have mentioned a few times you aren’t interested in watching their movies and not willing to spend your money on them( or something to that effect). I am taking it a notch higher by not watching their interviews especially in a serious program like Wide angle which I think is a library for folks interested in knowing the personality and process of skilled people in the industry. I seriously don’t want to know the process of privileged nepo kids who have no talent. BR has responded today that not all his interviews are about process and craft and therefore I can make a decision to skip an interview with these nepo kids and wait on for the next Wide angle interview that interests me.

(b) I can and will point out to you that it’s absolutely bizarre that with all of India’s problems, you would choose this hill to die on.

What are you even saying here ?Hill to die on ? That makes it sound like this is the only purpose(and a defeated one at that) I had in my life . It looks like there are a number of people who understand the unfairness of the situation and have let their feelings known on the topic. You’d much rather this topic noy be brought up at all ?Why would I post India’s other problems over here ? I can’t even.
I would love to engage more on a lot of topics here but this format is pretty cumbersome(at least on a phone).

“If you do not want to be engaged on this topic but still want to register your protest, best you email BR then.”

Like I said, I loved the engagement except that you seem to be stuck on something that wasn’t my intention at all. Pushbacks and all are fine but how many times does one explain oneself ?
“And correct me if I am wrong but I have never seen you participate so intensely in a thread before. So it speaks volumes about the extent to which you have invested in this issue. And that is your prerogative but I am still going to be presumptive enough to suggest that it is unhealthy. When you get to the stage where you feel compelled to intervene and tell an interviewer you’d rather this guy not be interviewed at all, it’s best to step back and take a deep breath.”

Do you think this is the only forum in the world where one can express themselves? This is not the only place one posts opinions ,Madan ! Like I said, the format is a bit cumbersome but I am usually lurking around reading up some stuff ( BTW enjoyed reading up your PoV on Kashmir Files files a while back). You have stated a few times that you aren’t going to spend money to watch movies with these kids. So, you are invested in this in some way as well and I am not judging if that is healthy or unhealthy .And I think you obsessing over something that has been clarified multiple times is unhealthy. I will say this again, BR can call over whomever he wants to and he is a very cool guy that way to do that . It is just that I think of Wide Angle as a place for serious movie discussion and I do not know if he has had someone like JK (privileged nepo kid without much of a track record) before this. But I think he clarified today that Wide Angle could have literally anyone who he finds interesting and I have tuned my expectations accordingly .

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Jay

November 17, 2022

BR:
I can only speak for myself . I was indifferent to all this till some time back but all I see in Bollywood is a bunch of mediocre nepos.I think the unique problem in Bollywood is that there is no weeding out of bad talent that happens there. These nepo kids (and there have been a lot of them lately) are shoved on to everyone’s faces by their hyperactive PR till they become totally acceptable. Arjun Kapoor seems to be doing well for himself with his 2 expressions and 90+% flops .

“Also, someone brought up Suriya’s name. He was pretty bland in his many early films, until Bala reinvented him. But even at that ‘early films stage’, if asked to do an interview with him, I would have done so.

Not all interviews are about “craft” and “process” and all. With those who do not have a body of work, even an engaging conversation is interesting.”

Totally get you there and more power to you for sticking to your guns of not following any specific convention in choosing whom to interview. I really think it is admirable that you are able to separate the noise around the individuals and deal with them strictly as film actors. I had formed that opinion based on previous interviewees on Wide Angle that it is a place for actors and technicians with a great track record or great potential to provide insights on what their process is like which isn’t explored otherwise. I thought of it as being comparable to Inside the actor’s studio ( I don’t claim to have watched every episode om it but that seemed to be serious stuff with very talented people). So, JK was kind of left field for me

“Like here, I loved it when Janhvi said she did not want to sell a middle-class movie wearing middle-class clothes in interviews even though her father asked her to — because that would be “Mili selling Mili and not Janhvi selling Mili”. That, for me, is an interesting POV.”

You call this interesting but I think this is problematic. An actress with really no track record to speak of makes the decision on what the movie has to be like. It is funny that the dad and daughter discuss and decide this stuff while the director awaits instructions. It is truly the upside down world with these nepo kids. No fear of being replaced by a better performer, no worries about the fate of the movie at the BO- a glorious 4 cr ROI on 38 cr . They really do have a lot of money to piss away, don’t they ? I am bracing myself for more JK plastered on our faces 24×7 take up for this loss. At least, KJo has promised her more.

“I interviewed Dhruv Vikram and nobody said a word. And he was no great shakes in the “craft” department then… Is this just a hatred for Bolly-nepo kids or ALL nepo kids?”

I haven’t watched the interview but I don’t see the point of the lad either . He got to choose 2 versions of Arjun Reddy to make his debut and tanked both . Nepos getting a chance is inevitable everywhere but Bollywood seems to be different in that these mediocre talents hang in there like a bad smell.In Dhruv’s case, I trust the Tamil audience to make a decision on him depending on how he chooses his next few movies and what acting potential he shows. If I am not wrong, Tamil industry doesn’t tolerate underperformers for too long- Sibiraj, Shruthi Hassan to an extent etc are examples of this. I am not looking for an idealistic world with no nepotism or anything but I don’t think anything compares to what is happening in Bollywood at the moment.

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Jay

November 17, 2022

Lol! You can’t make this up. A launch every week.

https://m.rediff.com/movies/report/scoop-ibrahim-bags-his-first-movie/20221117.htm

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Anu Warrier

November 17, 2022

@Jai – does it bother you that Irfan Khan’s son got a chance purely on the basis of being his father’s son?
https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/what-irrfans-son-babil-wants-to-explore/20221117.htm

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Anu Warrier

November 17, 2022

Also, if we want to go down that route, Ibrahim’s first film is being directed by Boman Irani’s son.

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Madan

November 17, 2022

” If I am not wrong, Tamil industry doesn’t tolerate underperformers for too long- Sibiraj, Shruthi Hassan to an extent etc are examples of this. ” – How long is too long, pardon? Sibiraj and Shruthi had more films in 2021 and 2022 respectively than at the start of their adult career, if anything. The rejection is more in your head than in reality.

You asked in your earlier reply to me why I am obsessed with your comments. It is because I am fascinated, if morbidly, that someone has no problems constructing long comments in flawless English with thoughts ordered logically (more impressive if over the phone, as you say) and yet repeatedly retreats to this fact-free universe and refuses to leave it. I have tried over and over to make you get your story straight, so to speak, but you are so stubborn about it which again is fascinating (again, this is just some film industry topic).

But I give up. I have no more patience with your repeated misdirections or your insistence on something as if it is fact when counter examples have been given over and over to you. Yes, you are acting like it is a hill to die on for you when you do not want to simply concede that Shruti in fact still gets roles when she shouldn’t be (a fact easily verifiable on the internet by the way). When you dub Vicky Kaushal a nepokid who grew up in a chawl (do you even know what a chawl is? And if you think that question is insulting your intelligence, you made it so with your stubbornness) but your Rocky underdog being the son of a restaurant chain owner (and who could afford to live and study in Manchester) is your true blue underprivileged outsider.

It shouldn’t be this important to you that you bull headedly deny facts but it is. And that’s the rub. And that’s where I sign off. And this time, even if you jump back in when I am not engaging you (hint: people indicate whom they are responding to by either quoting the person’s words or naming them at the top), I am not biting. And yes, you have the pleasure of the last word, needless to say. Go forth and have at it.

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Jay

November 18, 2022

@Anu BR brought something similar up almost immediately afterwards and I think it was about Vishal Bhardwaj’s son assembling Tabu,Naseeruddin and a few other great actors for his directorial debut. Of course it is troubling that these kids take this route rather than build an identity for themselves and do things on the strength of their own achievements.( it is even more jarring when you hear stories of the pains that first time directors with no connections in the industry go through to get their first film out there) But the bar seems to be so low that we have kind of accepted that nepos will nepo and will be launched come what may. I just hope that market forces ensure that garbage nepos don’t torture us with their “art” . But I do think there is space for new directors to break through even in Bollywood ( perhaps because directing is a tough job) and in general bad directors don’t survive in the long run in Bollywood. I can think of Rohit Dhawan, Goldie Behl who tried their luck and then faded away. One can’t say that about actors though, they seem to cling on for years .

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Jay

November 18, 2022

@Anu Yep, the overlords of the industry. They get to work as and when they please. I heard the Ibrahim lad was going to be in the remake of Hridayam or something. Wonder if this is the one.

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nepo bias

November 18, 2022

“Mili’s collections are in and it has earned 2.24 crore over a week on a reported budget of 38cr.”

A quick google search tells me that Boney Kapoor is the producer of this movie. Understandable that her dad has vested interest in putting money in his daughters films. Karan johar has lot of money to blow, therefore produces these films. But what explains other producers putting in money into these failing Bollywood projects? If they cant ever recover the cost of production, why do producers invest in these products.

“Ibrahim’s first film is being directed by Boman Irani’s son.”
I know that Karan has bought the rights for Hridayam. I honestly thought that was going to be used for one of the starkids’ launch. I guess not.

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Nappinai (@Nappinai2)

November 18, 2022

“Nepotism is neither a new phenomenon nor a uniquely Bollywood phenomenon.” – What’s the point of stating this though? Everyone knows all of this. I mentioned this before, but I don’t think this issue is about audiences thinking Bollywood is the only one with a nepo problem, they think it has a unique nepo problem. Now, you can debate whether this is a justified perception or not, but my take is, that’s irrelevant.

At some level, audiences are saying they don’t like these nepo kids and that’s all there is to it. You can’t rationalize your way through likes and dislikes now, can you? It’s not the audiences’ obligation to be fair in their choices. Watching films is primarily for entertainment. In an otherwise difficult world, last thing I want to be doing is soul searching on whether my dismissing of Jhanvi as a star/ actress is justified. I don’t like her as either, or any other bollywood nepo kid in that manner, and won’t watch their films. Do I know that Karthi whom I enjoyed watching in PS-1 is also a nepo kid? Yes, and I am okay with this so called ‘unfairness’. Life itself is unfair, no? It’s my money and my time. Just like its KJo’s/Boney’s money.

My question to BR and others is this, what’s the purpose of quizzing the audience on their bollywood nepo dislike? If it’s to understand where this is coming from, then it’s okay. If it’s to point them out as wrong, please do so by all means, but it’s not going to make me watch Jhanvi’s movie.

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Nappinai (@Nappinai2)

November 18, 2022

When Sushant passed away and the nepo discussion hell broke lose, audiences were told repeatedly that it is they who make these nepo stars. Now, that audiences are not watching these people on screen, it has become, why do some people dislike Bollywood nepos specifically. Does anyone here remember the discussion on Arjun Kapoor from 2020? He was being painted as some sort of a bankable star. After all these failures, man is still a star in his head.

Bollywood has tried everything with the audience – describe them as dumb, lacking a sense of art, being jealous, being unfair and even being irrelevant to the industry. So, good everyone seems to be aligned.

I can’t speak for others, personally for me, the tone deafness that followed in the aftermath of Sushant’s death was the breaking point. It doesn’t matter what the level or if there’s any culpability at all. I just don’t want to watch these nepo kids from Bollywood. Now, there may be much worse things happening in other industries, but my perception of them is not colored yet. When something changes, I will revaluate.

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Anu Warrier

November 18, 2022

Of course it is troubling that these kids take this route rather than build an identity for themselves and do things on the strength of their own achievements.(

Why shouldn’t they? They didn’t ask to be their parents’ children. Now that they are, they have closer connections to the people their parents work with. It is obvious that when their children want to work in the field, those connections help. Besides, both VB’s son and Boman’s son have been assistant directors and have learnt the trade on the job.

A business person’s son/daughter will have access to his family’s business contacts. It makes it easier for them to get a toehold in business that an average person can’t imagine getting right out of college. The kids sit on boards of companies and have fancy titles even if the actual running of the company is safely in other hands.

Tell me that the average person doesn’t ‘network’ (a.k.a use his/her connections or his/her parents’ connections) to get a job today? Most jobs even in tech companies depend on who’s pushing your resume to HR. If it is an employee, chances are you will get a leg up over the random chap/chappess who doesn’t know anyone in the company.

Where’s the level playing field there?

At the end of the day, I am not dissing your opinion of nepo kids- I’m hardly likely to watch a lot of these films. But I will watch a movie by Zoya or Farhan Akhtar, as I will movies by Vishal Bhardwaj, Imitiaz Ali and Sriram Raghavan. I will watch movies with Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt or Aamir Khan, as I will movies with Deepika or Ranveer or Vidya Balan. (Sticking to the mainstream here.)

I’d rather not watch Arjun Kapoor or Tushar Kapoor or Ananya Pandey but I also don’t want to watch Kartik Aryan.

And as I asked earlier – how do you decide not to watch? If Jhanvi acts in a Sriram Raghavan or Imitiaz Ali film, with say Ranbir Kapoor, will you watch the film. Or will you avoid it because it stars two nepo kids, and never mind that one is talented as hell?

What do you do if there’s a nepo kid acting alongside the likes of Pankaj Tripathi, Radhika Apte, Rajkumar Rao, Manoj and Seema Pahwa, et al, do you not watch because of the nepo kid or do you watch because all these other outsiders are there?

If Boman Iran’s son makes a film with newcomers, do you not watch it because it is a nepo kid directing? Or do you watch because the film itself stars newcomers who you want to encourage?

Films are a collaborative medium and employ so many people that these choices are not binary. The only question here is why Bollywood nepo kids are somehow worse than nepo kids in any other industry. But ultimately, for whatever reason, whether you watch a film or not is up to you.

p.s. By the way, Rohit Dhawan is directing a Kartik Aryan-Kriti Sanon movie. 🙂

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Madan

November 18, 2022

“Why shouldn’t they? They didn’t ask to be their parents’ children. Now that they are, they have closer connections to the people their parents work with. It is obvious that when their children want to work in the field, those connections help. ” – Speaking of, the current double defending champion in Formula1 is the son of an F1 driver. In fact, as F1 becomes more and more expensive, the ability to buy a seat (either because your dad is a former successful F1 driver or because your dad is just a billionaire) has become more and more vital.

So I will somewhat amend what I said earlier about sport. As long as Lawrence Stroll has money to burn, Lance Stroll, a good driver but by no means the best of the lot, will get a drive even if better teammates have to keep making way for ‘disappointing results’ in a middling car.

Yes, nepotism is less flagrant or even virtually non existent in other sports that don’t have such a steep entry barrier and straight up gatekeeping. The fact that only 20-odd drivers get to be on the starting grid colours the choices of team managements and not always in the direction of choosing the best driver because it costs money and decisions have to be made. In tennis, Prakash Amritraj’s heritage cannot gift him a creamy draw in the US Open – nor would it for Agassi-Graf’s children if they chose to play tennis – because the only entry barrier is points and the only way to rack up points is to win.

So in this way, the film industry works much more like formula1 than tennis. There are nepokids in Hollywood too but at least until recently, even a small-t0-mid budget Holly film had a pathway to break-even or even profit so there are just more options and talented outsiders may get their break after all. And Holly often use ensemble casts with strong parts even for those who only have a few scenes in the film so a Dakota Johnson has more room to hide instead of headlining a major production and dragging it down. Somewhat like Ananya Pandey not really hurting Gehraiyaan.

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nepo bias

November 18, 2022

Funny that the main topic of discussion in all the news channels in kerala for the past few weeks is nepotism. Mayor Arya Rajendran’s job recommendation letter and C.M’s staff members’ wife Priya Varghese’s appointment as associate professor at a University …

Insert Rang de basanthi crying Amir Khan “kuch nahi badlega” gif here.

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RD

November 18, 2022

Nappinai, BR did not quiz YOU on why you don’t like Jhanvi. He is asking HE is being quizzed for a nepo kid interview as if this is somehow so different from the others he interviewed.

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hari

November 18, 2022

Namma thalaivar Rahul Gandhiya next best thing since sliced bread nu last 20 years aah launch pannikittu irukkom, Jahnvi la jujubee. Adangumaaru

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Doba

November 19, 2022

Dear Anu,
We have argued these points several times, so I won’t rehash those arguments here :D. But just a few points, in the spirit of civil debate –

Of course, we all practice “nepotism” – right from hiring household help based on recommendations and in offices. But, it is well known right in social studies that the cost and penalty of wrongdoing up the social/monetary ladder are greater? So a petty thief who robs a wallet on the metro is harming one person (perhaps very very badly). But it is entirely incomparable to a Mallya/Nirav Modi type of person whose actions hurt many catastrophically. Conversely, it is much harder to punish the person up the ladder. So the demand for greater accountability up the ladder is perfectly justified.
Now what is “wrong” with a private film producer giving resources to his family/friends? Absolutely nothing. But the film industry is actively making it harder for outsiders to get in. The same Zoya Akhtar who you mentioned has an awful cousin (I think?), Sajid Khan, who has made the industry hell for so many young women. Not one but so many. People like him are the reason why so many families actively discourage their girls from joining the industry. So the cost of his actions is really great. He is now being welcomed back. That is not right and the Akhtars and Farah Khan, with their social capital, should not be keeping quiet about this. They should treat this with a little bit more grace, understanding, and sensitivity than they have displayed so far.
Finally, why Bollywood and not the other woods. I think, for me, it was triggered by the “jokes” that Karan Johar made about it and the awful letter by Saif Ali Khan who combined non-science (nonsense?) with a pomposity and condescension ala Mr. Collins of Pride and Prejudice :D. If he is regarded as the erudite one in the industry, then …

Dear Jai,
I am with you on almost all these points. The only point that I disagree with is regarding the interview. I don’t think it is the job of the interviewer to separate the wheat from the chaff. A skillful interviewer draws out the person for a discerning audience to judge. The only thing that would bother me would be if the interview was staged (questions shared ahead of time and so forth).

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hari prasad

November 19, 2022

Padathaye theatre ah vittu thooki pala naatkal aagudhu but still people are talking about it and it’s star…

Apo Janhvi (or) Jhanvi periya star aagita dhana Jessie?

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hari prasad

November 19, 2022

Yo , namesake Hari..

Why killing saambumavan?!?

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Jay Krishnan

November 20, 2022

@Madan If you really think Sibiraj is nepo who has made it, then fine. You can look at how his career has gone. Usual launch and good frequency of movies in the first few years and then 3 movies in 9 years in probably his prime(2007-16). If that doesn’t tell you that the market forces or the audience neutralized his leg up due to nepotism, I don’t know what will. And you need to check his movies in 2021 or whatever- one released after being stuck for four years , one was on OTT and one was a theatrical release. He got a headstart, messed up and now will have to pick up the pieces and rebuild his career if he can. He isn’t an A-lister owing to his privilege, he isn’t being chased by big banners and the best directors because he is Sathyaraj’s son. You can keep denying this which I think you will.
I think your point is that the situation is the same everywhere but to me at this point in time Bollywood’s love with nepotism is at an all time high and it is stopping the flow of outside acting talent into the industry which I don’t think is the case elsewhere.

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Honest Raj

November 20, 2022

@Jay Krishnan: I too was wondering about Sibiraj. His biggest release as a solo lead, Lee (bankrolled by his father), sank without a trace. He turned villain in Naanayam, his only film over the next three years. Once again, his father came to his rescue by producing his ‘comeback’ film, when he had no releases for almost the next five years. I doubt if anyone else apart from he himself and Sathyaraj would watch his films.

Coming to Shruthi, she’s not even a ‘proper’ Tamil film actor – like her cousin, for every single film in Tamil she does atleast two in Telugu. Her last major release in Tamil was Singam-3!

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Madan

November 20, 2022

Honest Raj: I didn’t say Sibiraj’s movies are running, I said he is still getting a decent pipeline of movies. As does Shruti. Laabam as recently as 2021. If the point is that that is not a major release, then neither is Mili. Nor was Gunjan Saxena. In fact, even the biggest film Jahnvi was part of – Dhadak – was made on 40 cr with Ishan Khatter acting alongside her. So more of a multiplex movie, definitely not A-list anything. And by the way, it made a decent bit of money too so maybe blame the audience for not rejecting the nepo-kid at the first opportunity they had.

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Anu Warrier

November 20, 2022

Doba, I agree with you about Sajid Khan though I am not sure he’s being ‘welcomed’ back. That guy is offensive as hell. And heck, no, I’m not defending the outsiders being pushed out as something that’s inherently good.

What I am saying – and having been continuously saying – is that the lineage doesn’t matter to me. I’m not personally boycotting a movie just because the director/actor is from within the industry. Nor am I watching a film because they are not. I will watch a good actor/director/film because they/it is good.

Again, this is not about “Oh, other industries are the same, why pick on Bollywood?” I agree that Bollywood needs a great deal of introspection/reform. So does the Indian film industry as a whole.

I don’t know about Tamil, but the Telugu industry is as incestuous as the Hindi one. And the tales of abuse that women have to face are many – Radhika Apte has said she wouldn’t act in Telugu again.

The Malayalam film industry faced a ‘come to Jesus’ moment with the actress assault case. The WCC has gone on record with instances of abuse at the hands of leading men to no avail. The perpetrators are still walking free, emboldened by the support of a whole lot of MRAs who call the WCC feminazis. You have to only read the comments under BR’s review of Wonder Women to know that. As Parvathi commented, “Our lives are not worth anything.”

At the end of the day, however, since this thread began with a comment on the interview itself, we can choose not to watch a particular interview; why BR should interview someone or not is not our business. (Not saying that Jay said anything of the sort!)

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Jay Krishnan

November 22, 2022

@Anu Have been really busy and haven’t been able to get back.Like you said, the choice isn’t binary. If someone has potential from the get go, we tend to go easy on them. I think these kids need to be competent at the bare minimum from the get go. Years in, everyone is still waiting to see Arjun Kapoor’s potential.
I am not looking for an ideal world where nepotism doesn’t exist. It exists in all walks of life but how many software engineers do you think get into corporates with nepotism.(It is literally our complete middle class) They need to study, toil hard, Crack campus interviews, beat competition and earn that job.Once they gain experience , it is fine that they go places based on the impression they leave on people whom they have worked with. It is nowhere conparable to what is happening at scale in Bollywood.These spoiled brats don’t do the basics and are woefully underprepared when they come in. What even is their growing up years like?Every single one of them seems to want to be a lead actor or director ? None of these hacks want to act in short films, play the side kick,do theatre, play small but important parts in say a good web series to hone their craft before donning the main role in movies .What else other than the narcissism to be the main character explains this ?
You provided examples of businessmen passing their business onto the next generation and they do so to keep the earnings and profits within the family. Why should art be like that? Why are they trying to privatize art and creating a wall for newcomers? There is no real other side to this than the insatiable need to be famous like the other star kid. It is just a rat race at this point among these star kids.
The entire thing is working like a mafia at this point . All of these kids have their godfather/godmother in Karan,Zoya etc who will keep them relevant for as long as possible .
In general, if a nepo is talented from the get go there wouldn’t be a lot of complaints but these hacks seem just lousy, out of touch brats who are out there just because another star kid has done well and it is beneath them to not be a star themselves. It doesn’t look like any of them are there in it because they love acting or anything. They are winging it till an SLB or Zoya or Dibakar Banerjee will actually make them act.

BTW Arjun Kapoor just won the Filmfare middle eastern best achiever award ( whatever that means)!
And about Rohit Dhawan, I hope he has now done his homework and back better equipped and that is fine. It is just the market making a decision and that is how it needs to be.

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Jay Krishnan

November 22, 2022

@Honest Raj Tell this to Madan .He thinks it is all the same in every industry. Tamil audiences rejected the two and they come every once in a while in movies not a lot of people care about

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Jay Krishnan

November 22, 2022

@Doba I think in mentioning reviewers , I think I put Baddy along with a few other reviewers without separating them out. I was specifically calling out Rahul Desai and Sucharita for their reviews . I am okay with Baddyinterviewing whoever but I just wanted to put across the effect of that interview on me as an avid viewer of his interviews. I thought of wide angle as a place for seriously talented people and it is hard for me to think of many of these nepos as being serious about their craft. They are hacks winging it and living the good life.

I think you should check Rahul Desai and Sucharita Tyagi’s review for the movie : Jhanvi Kapoor’s best. Why is it like that ? I think the 2 of them have integrity but I don’t think any outsider gets this kid glove treatment .It was like everyone decided that this is Jhanvi’s limus test and that is all that matters.No one is asking where Vishal Jhetwa disappeared after Mardani( he finally is in a revathy directed movie after 4 years or something) , Adarsh Gaurav blew everyone away in the white tiger and I think he hasn’t been particularly active ever since.
Bollywood is spitting on the audience’s face who are heavily polarized after SSRs death. They point out nepotism is a problem and Bollywood’s solution is more nepotism

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lurker

November 22, 2022

@Jay In another thread you claim that you don’t comment on anything without watching or experiencing it yourself, but here, you are ‘calling out’ reviewers for praising a performance you haven’t even watched.

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Jay Krishnan

November 22, 2022

My question was why did they literally have the same kind of title for their reviews ? That is literally the thumbnail/ title of the reviews. It just felt way too orchestrated and suspect. They then had a livestrean together discussing the movies of the week with Mili featuring prominently.
You should also check some of the stuff on Arjun Kapoor after that Villain returns movie. I don’t think I will be watching the movie to find out if he was any good in it.
I think it is naive to think that the nepo’s PRs aren’t doing everything they can to keep their cash cows in the news. The movie has tanked big time but her stars haven’t faded and she swiftly has moved on to her next one

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lurker

November 22, 2022

There is also the possibility that she did perform well, and that has no correlation with the box office outcome. Rahul Desai has had his run-ins for unfiltered criticism in the past,. I don’t see why he would hold himself back on Janhvi (if she had acted badly, as you seem to suspect.)

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Jay Krishnan

November 22, 2022

I am leaning towards a mega PR drive looking at where her career is headed with a few more flops. I think I watched a couple of reviews of the movie( one was by Anupama and the other one I don’t recollect ) and it had something to the effect of while it is a given that Jhanvi isn’t nuanced an actor like Anna Ben is in the original she was just about adequate . Keep in mind, Helen was Anna Ben’s second movie and she had no reference to go. Now , there is a Jhanvi standard where she just doesn’t have to embarass herself to call it a good outing . Why do they need these crutches ? This is an actress who for some reason has been given 4 or 5 movies with the title of the movie as her character’s name and the whole circus is around if she didn’t embarass herself in her 6th or 7th outing. What am I missing here ? That it is my responsibility to patiently wait for her to bloom into a fine actress after being given privileges unimaginable to an outsider . It is like these kids have cheat codes to the game that is exclusive to them
If anyone is wondering why Bollywood is garbage at this point in time, then this acceptance and patience towards this mediocrity is one of the reasons. The bar is very low at the moment in Bollywood

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Anu Warrier

November 22, 2022

@Jai, thumbnails are click bait. I haven’t seen either Rahul or Sucharity praise someone to the skies just because they did an okay job. But they also don’t bring in the baggage of an earlier performance when they review a new film.

You can’t eat your cake and have it too – you criticise a performance that you insist you have no intention of watching, and you make a very patronising comment to rsylvania on another post about not commenting on films/interviews you haven’t watched.

I don’t know what bug got into you this time because you don’t usually comment this way, but you have been up and down a couple of posts commenting the hell out of them. On one, you are defending a film that, as rsylvania posited, from the gist of it, women can find problematic, – that you don’t find it problematic seems to be your defence of it. I don’t have to point out the obvious, do I?

On the other, any point that is raised against your diatribe/rant/whatever you call it, you have dismissed out of hand. It’s weird. In any case, I doubt this discussion is going anywhere, so I’ll sign off.

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Madan

November 22, 2022

Anu Warrier: Wait, it’s not Jai, who is/was a fairly regular commenter here before? I assumed from the different spelling that it’s a different person. Colour me puzzled as well if it is Jai indeed.

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Jay Krishnan

November 22, 2022

Who is rsylvania and what did I comment?

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Anu Warrier

November 22, 2022

@Madan, oops! I assumed it was the Jai who usually comments here. I just noticed the different spelling. But he’s showing up as Jay Krishnan elsewhere, so colour me confused.

@Jai, if this wasn’t you, my apologies for addressing it thus.

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Anu Warrier

November 22, 2022

@Jay –

Pradeep Ranganathan’s ‘Love Today’ has a great theme that is let down by the writing, which settles for easy jokes and easy sentimentality

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Anu Warrier

November 22, 2022

@Jay – your comment on the Love Today review.

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Jay Krishnan

November 22, 2022

Nope, I haven’t commented on any post other than this. The only time I have commented before this must have been a couple of years back.

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Jay Krishnan

November 22, 2022

That seems to be Jay S or something.

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Madan

November 22, 2022

So we have a Jai/Jay situation now like venkatesh situation few years back. There’s Jay/Jay Krishnan, then Jay S on the Love Today thread and Jai.

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Jay Krishnan

November 22, 2022

@Madan and @Anu Jay and Jay Krishnan would be me and I have commented only on this topic so far.
Not sure who Jai and Jay S are.

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Nappinai (@Nappinai2)

November 23, 2022

@RD: Madan had already stated this same point you’re making, no? Jay’s question to BR was a debate on the prescription, the larger question on the underlying judgement/fact/sentiment is more pertinent. Hasn’t the discussion on this thread, covered a lot of the latter? In fact, somewhat of a similar question came up some time back when Alia received a lot of flak for her interview to Mayank. So, I don’t see why this discussion has to be centered ONLY around whether BR can interview nepo kids or not.

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Nappinai (@Nappinai2)

November 23, 2022

Given there’s so much talk on Bollywood nepostism, Saif gave his version in an open letter some years back:
“Eugenics means well born and in a movie context, the genes (the DNA we’re born with, not the blue trousers we wear) of, let’s say Dharmendra’s son or Amitabh Bachchan’s son or for that matter, Sharmila Tagore’s son come into play.”
“We take a derby winner, mate him with the right mate and see if we can create another grand national winner.”
“As for the girl from Elle: I’m sorry you found words like eugenics in a conversation about nepotism misplaced. Perhaps if you got your head out of the hemline of the actress of the month and read a book, your vocabulary might improve.”
“What’s at play here are three systems. Aristocracy, the rule of the best, which is what this industry is. Ruled by the best. Also, meritocracy. It is ruled by the people with the most talent and it’s also ultimately tempered by democracy, which is people power.”
“And to the idiot who gave the example of Arjun Kapoor for nepotism, I would just like to say that every film he has done, has worked. He should be an inspiration as an unlikely hero, not pulled down for nepotism. ”

Now, all this condensed basically is, children of stars are the best in the business, bestowed by strong genes, universally loved by everyone and rest of us ordinary beings must look up to them as inspiration. Before someone says that’s Saif being stupid, please refer to a series of statements from other star kids in a comment below.

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S

November 23, 2022

All that wasted money spent on saifs education in expensive foreign schools with money looted from common people by his nawab ancestors. All it did is give him a fake accent , a good vocabulary and made him capable of giving a couple of politically correct statements for camera in his interviews that seem to impress regular folks.

But honestly it makes for good reading..All the stuff that come out of their mouth and their absolute loathing for the dirty unwashed masses.

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Raghu Narayanan

November 23, 2022

@ Nappinai: Wow! Did Saif Ali Khan actually say these things!!! Whoa!

To confess, I came across the word Eugenics for the first time while reading your comment and so I Google-d it…here is what came up:

“Eugenics is the scientifically erroneous and immoral theory of “racial improvement” and “planned breeding,” which gained popularity during the early 20th century….”

And he says “Eugenics means well born…”!!! So is this why he married Kareena? To make ‘well born’ kids??? Cant believe my eyes, the statements that he made in that open letter. Well, that letter was indeed ‘open’ in many ways, I guess. And these guys have fans, who blindly follow them, pay their hard earned money to go get some entertainment!

Jeez! If I was already prejudiced towards the ‘Bollywood’ mafia ‘industry’, this does take my dislike to another level.

Sometimes I wonder, and with great hesitancy I will put it out here, even though I will run the risk of BR kicking me out of this group :-). What if the entire Bollywood ‘industry’ closes down? What will be the collateral? Makes me recall the epic and evergreen dialogue from Mahanadhi where Kamal says to Poornam V (I think!)..”Gundu pottu sagadikarathula thappey illa..yenna sagarathula nallavanga konjam per thaane iruppanga!”

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Jai

November 23, 2022

@ Madan, Anu – I have not been commenting of late 🙂 neither as Jay, nor as Jay S. My nick is Jai (with the i and not the y) !

Hope all is well with you guys.

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Doba

November 23, 2022

Dear Anu, thanks for responding. Yeah, I don’t know anything about the other industries. They don’t seem to make news on the front pages as much. Did a little reading up on the Malayalam industry after your comment and my reaction is yikes!! :(. Sad situation overall.

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Madan

November 23, 2022

Raghu Narayanan : The arts are, for all that cine and other philes may romanticize them, entirely superfluous from an utilitarian point of view. As Kavithalaya Krishnan himself wrote once on this blog during the peak of lockdown, films are a luxury when people are struggling to survive. Ergo if somehow a bomb fired by Ukraine meant for Russia found its way to South Bombay or Juhu and wiped out all of the Bollywood elite in one fell swoop, it would make zero difference to the world. Absolutely zero. People might remember some of them wistfully – with the ranks of these some being ever dwindling – but we would just get on with our lives. Whereas imagine the chaos if somehow the Bhatsa reservoir in Mumbai would run dry. Millions would literally, actually die of thirst.

Of course this again applies to any film industry anywhere and the only reason we would resist such a conclusion is we feel more attached perhaps to artists in some of these other industries. But you don’t actually need Ilayaraja, Kamal Haasan or Mani Ratnam to survive. It has always been the case that anybody seeking to make a living from art is completely dependent on the audience and on the ecosystem giving them lucrative opportunities to showcase their art.

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Madan

November 23, 2022

Jai : All well here. Hopefully Novak finally gets to play at his happy hunting ground next year.

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brangan

November 23, 2022

Madan: The arts are, for all that cine and other philes may romanticize them, entirely superfluous from an utilitarian point of view.

As you might expect, I SO disagree with this. And not as a cinephile or musicphile or whatever – but as an ordinary human being.

There are so many times I have been in a troubled state of mind and found calmness and peace after listening to MSV-Kannadasan songs.

There are so many times I have found company in people from books, when I thought there was no else like me in school.

There are so many paintings whose colours give me joy, elevate my mood.

There are so many movies that have made me travel to other places and expand my knowledge of human behaviour — and thus examine my own.

This is not a class thing.

I could be the poorest person listening to a film song on the radio in a hut, and feel elevated from my misery by a song or by watching an entertaining movie.

The arts go beyond “technique” and “craft” or anything else. Science and money are what make us live — but the arts are what HELP us live.

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Jeeva Pitchaimani

November 23, 2022

@Rangan I think you are plagiarizing from Dead Poets Society. 😛

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lurker

November 23, 2022

I mean, if you say arts are not essential to survival, you can extend that to say ‘X is not essential to survival’ and replace X with anything other than food and water.

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Jai

November 23, 2022

@ Madan – Yeah, hopefully. The last couple of years – right from the USO 2020 default – have been a crazy rollercoaster ride for Novak. I think seldom has there been a personality who seems otherwise so self aware and articulate, so divorced from reality on some scientific topics. It’s been simply maddening as a fan of his to see the amount of self goals he’s kept scoring. Let’s see what 2023 brings!

Have been staying completely out of TT tennis warehouse, coz apparently it’s a crime to be a keen fan of a player while simultaneously disagreeing (strongly) with his views on vaccination. That entire forum is filled with extremists these days, no place for a person like me who prefers polyamory as regards Tennis fandom! 🙂

Regarding the topic of this thread – the ever popular Nepo debate! 🙂 Yeah, I can’t deny that I find the likes of Sonam Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Ananya Panday to be absolutely, frustratingly maddening. As for Jhanvi- well, someone made the pithy remark that the difference between her and her Mom is, that while Sridevi was a born actress, Jhanvi was born to an actress.

It really sticks in the craw that they get /(have got) film after film – the list is probably soon going to get worse what with Agastya Nanda, Suhana Khan and Shanaya Kapoor shortly to make an entry, with (who knows) Navya Nanda and Khushi Kapoor to follow? I for one would love to see Tripti Dimri in more roles – found her mind bogglingly amazing in both Bulbbul and Laila Majnu. The fact that she is getting less roles – and even a much narrower window for opportunity than, say, Ananya Panday, is just teeth- gnashingly irritating.

And yet…..As I think Anu mentioned in a post – there’s Ranbir. Prithviraj. Dulquer Salmaan. Fahadh. All have been an absolute joy to watch in various films. Alia has been great in several films apart from the putrid SOTY (am not a fan of hers, but can’t deny her talent).

An instance which is not relevant to the talent discussion, but will mention this here since another fact often critiqued about star kids is their arrogant sense of entitlement. While this may be true in many cases (Saif’s open letter defending nepotism using “eugenics” being a prime case in point), it’s not true of all. We were once seated right next to Dulquer on an Indigo flight, and found him an amazingly down to earth person. Not even a smidgeon of star airs.

So I guess the “sifarish culture”/ “easy foot-in-the-door” in the film industry has thrown up at least some people who have proved themselves . All these people could have well made it on talent alone, but doubtless their early challengers were comparatively smooth because of their connections. Is that unfair? Well, yes- but then the world is never really going to be a utopian one, with a completely level playing field for all. In fact, it could even be argued that the impulse towards nepotism is a relic of our shared ancestry – it’s been scientifically proved that “nepotism” exists among our primate cousins – ranging from lemurs to marmosets to macaques to chimpanzees ! 🙂

The only solution I can think of is to not go and see a film if the star in it happens to be a limited-talent-star-kid. Provided a repeated number of these films don’t work, even the most thick skinned producer/director parent ought to (hopefully!) get the message. Audience rejection seems to have worked in restricting the opportunities of say, an Aditya Roy Kapur (he should have been a model and not an actor to start with!) or Sonakshi or even Sonam. Hopefully it should winnow out several of these other entrants as well?

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Madan

November 23, 2022

BR: The difference is you are relating to my argument from your personal perspective whereas I made a global one. As in, do I believe EVERY human being needs the arts in some form or the other to survive? No.

For some, art is something nice to have. They don’t mind it but don’t depend on it.

Some may be so engaged by their work they have no time for art and are long past the point of missing it. My ex CEO was like that.

There are many more in the above categories than we would like to admit.

And then there are those who are held captive, by imprisonment or otherwise, who must find it within themselves to survive without such attachments if they are to escape their confinement at all.

I agree with you that art CAN be democratic in that it can reach out to the poorest man and provide him solace. But HE must want it for himself first.

The only thing people everywhere universally need for survival – and that in varying degrees – is food and clothing. And maybe shelter. Everything else is an attachment and the producers or everything in this ‘else’ basket depends on people feeling the need to acquire something they can, objectively, survive without.

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Raghu Narayanan

November 23, 2022

@BR: Am loving this now :-). Not taking sides at all, and not coming to Madan’s defense, but jumping in to respond to your comment just to express my thoughts here.

Firstly, I feel the line from Madan and your response to it are slightly on different planes. Meaning, while all that you have mentioned about the beauty and aesthetics of art (in any form) and how it can help heal us from a soul-level cannot be debated or disputed, his comment was more from an ‘utilitarian’ point of view. Simply put, all the finery of art and craft and entertainment will and can be enjoyed only by someone (and his/her family’s as well) with a full belly.

Secondly, if I think about why there is such a negative POV about Bollywood specifically while other ‘industries’ of the tribe seem to be getting a better deal from the people, it could possibly be explained in this way. Cinema, holistically, is a mixture of art, commerce and some BTS science. Now, wherever there is a mixture, the outcome is determined by the proportion of the ingredients in the mix. The fantastic examples that you provided (yes, the MSV-Kannadasan era) probably have a predominant ingredient of art, ably supported by commerce and science. Whereas, the Bollywood that we see today (and I am not a connoisseur, but just a end of the line consumer) seems to have a top heavy commerce, built on science and with a smattering of art. I may be wrong, but it seems this way. And in this scenario, people talking about taking their ‘art’/’craft’ seriously seems to be a joke on us.

To take a line from one of my favorite of Kannadasan’s “yedhanai kandaan panam thanai padaithaan…”

I used to work with a guy in one IT org, many years my junior and an extremely talented artist. Some of his drawings of temples and idols would be stunning to say the least. But he will never venture to sell any of his works, not teach art for money. He used to say that the art should never be done for money.

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Madan

November 23, 2022

lurker : Of course it does extend to literally anything that is not essential. That’s why people running businesses that livelihoods depend on don’t USUALLY act with nepokid like entitlement and pretend as if people have no option but to buy their wares. Oh no, people got plenty of options and consumer is always king. Yes there are chad warriors or whatever is the word like Elon but they stand out only because their behaviour is so unusual.

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Jai

November 23, 2022

@ BR, Madan – nice debate about the “essential” aspect or otherwise of art. Madan, while I get what you mean about existential needs versus a need which may be judged less “basic” – that’s again something like the Maslow’s hierarchy isn’t it? Art in its various forms gives some meaning to life, lifts it above plain existence. My life would be much poorer without Sir David Attenborough’s documentaries or my cherished music playlists or books like Wuthering Heights or Suitable Boy, to take some examples. And it’s not exactly a class/education thing either- the watchman and gardener in our building complex love to listen to songs on their phones, for example. Art does give a keener sense of purpose to life, I would think.

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brangan

November 23, 2022

Madan: Okay, I am not arguing because I am unconvinced. But that’s fine. Maybe I am not following the full thread of where this began….

But about this line: As Kavithalaya Krishnan himself wrote once on this blog during the peak of lockdown, films are a luxury when people are struggling to survive.

Of course. But even the poor have TV sets and access to films and music. So they don’t have to go to a theatre and spend money. So that way, yes — spending money on art is “superfluous”, as you put it.

But freely available art? I can’t think of too many people who don’t want some kind of artistic diversion in their lives.

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Jay Krishnan

November 23, 2022

@Anu You can give Rahul and Sucharita the benefit of the doubt but I think it would be naive to think that her PR team isn’t pulling all stops to ensure she stays in the public memory even if the movie doesn’t. The movie flopped and like clockwork there is a video out by Vogue about her home in Chennai ( Probably Sridevi’s home) . Inch by inch they ensure she stays in public memory and gains acceptance in the long run. I have seen this happen with Ananya Pandey in the past as well. Soon we will forget JK and focus on Suhana,Nyasa,Khushi, Bachchan’s grandson etc and JK will be all set by then. I don’t think I have seen PR blitz at this scale for nepos in other industries.
The rest of what you have mentioned seems to be directed to the other Jay.
When I started the topic, I didn’t intend for it to have closure . It was just a way to reach out to Baddy but the engagement was a pleasant surprise. There is obviously a nepotism problem in many industries and all walks of life but I don’t think it is as blatant,relentless and widespread as it is in Bollywood at this point. From my perspective, I am not saying the problem doesn’t exist elsewhere or that I yearn for a nepo free movie industry, it is just that to the naked eye Bollywood seems to be doing the nepo thing at a scale I am not seeing elsewhere and it is honestly disgusting at this point.

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Jay Krishnan

November 23, 2022

@Nappinai2 Saif is a piece of work, isn’t he. Always fed the hype about his Nawab genes and what not.
Most of them nepo kids are high on their own supply and in their heart look down upon the common masses.

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Doba

November 23, 2022

BR, Madan, nice discussion 😀 but I must push back against the slight to science/math. There is nothing cold and sterile about either nor are scientists and engineers always working towards humdrum utilitarian ideals. A good teacher, podcast, or book can beautifully evoke the beauty and romance (yes I am deliberately using the word) of science. The last book that I read that brought me to tears was a children’s book on dugongs, whales, and turtles eating plastic! I have always hated it when movies portray a buttoned-up engineering type escaping to the freedom of the arts as though the former job requires an uncreative bore grinding away at files and presentations all day!

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R

November 23, 2022

@Madan: I would just like to quote Dostoevsky from Brothers Karamazov, Man doesn’t live by bread alone. Dostoevsky was targeting both Utilitarians & Marxists, who are also a sort of Utilitarians.

It is not only art, but we all require in different measures religion, spirituality, myths, ideology etc., I have also seen many like your ex-CEO who have no need for any sort of art/ entertainment. But just ask whether he has no need apart from food, clothes, work, money etc., It could even be the love of his children. Take that from a man and he will definitely survive, but will he live?

I do think art & ideology, or the lack of it, defines both an individual and a society. Both define your outlook on life & if you don’t have one, others will be thrust on you.

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Madan

November 23, 2022

BR: “But freely available art? I can’t think of too many people who don’t want some kind of artistic diversion in their lives.” – Well you’d have to pay my ex-CEO to divert his time to art from . However difficult it may be to believe it, there are people like that and not a small number either. He would probably turn around and ask why don’t you have the same 24/7 involvement in the org that I have.

Jai: Again, I am not talking about my personal experience. Obviously, I wouldn’t have 200 CDs that I don’t know what to do with (I mean if art didn’t mean a lot to ME. But you kind of have your answer when you cite Maslow’s hierarchy. Evidently, fourth level ‘needs’ aren’t for everyone, right? And this isn’t about poverty or wealth, some may simply stop at the second or third level. There has to be a societal aspiration to rise above ‘plain existence’. It is highly questionable today whether such a need exists and to the extent it does, do people necessarily seek to fulfil that aspiration through art. R mentioned Dostoevsky and while I will come to his comment, Dostoevsky didn’t live in a time when technology enabled businesses to bombard consumers with every conceivable kind of product and to simultaneously saturate the marketing of it. If this satiates the stimuli of people, they may not ‘need’ art to find it. In this very blog, I have seen people push back against the argument that today people would pay for an expensive phone but grumble about a cinema ticket. Does that make for a very convincing argument about how much people need art? Yes, sure, if it’s served up free of cost, then it’s ‘free mein kya jaata hai’. But how much do you really need art if you cannot shell out a penny for it?

R: You are addressing the question of what art can do for man and that therefore, every man ought to engage with art. I am not talking in terms of ‘ought’. The question was what, hypothetically, would happen if Bollywood was just wiped out by a bomb blast or something. I maintain that my answer is nothing much, if anything at all. Because as you acknowledge, there are many like my ex CEO who do perfectly well without it already. We can say he is missing out on something vital in life but he doesn’t find it vital and he is now retiring from the org. And if there was no Bollywood, we would also simply adjust our lives around it. For another, as Raghu Narayanan said, Bollywood is not Dostoevsky anyway. At the popular level, art largely operates through titillation anyway and as I have said above, there are all kinds of products today to provide that titillation instead.

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Madan

November 23, 2022

“I have always hated it when movies portray a buttoned-up engineering type escaping to the freedom of the arts as though the former job requires an uncreative bore grinding away at files and presentations all day!” – I think people conflate engineering/science with corporate. Which isn’t completely wrong in the case of engineering because the cost and scale of developing and producing a product now requires significant investment so one has to spend a lot of time presenting to men in suits. Maybe wearing a suit oneself.

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Raghu Narayanan

November 23, 2022

There are two different dimensions of life here and they have gotten mixed up to an extent that we can hardly see them as different now. The dimensions are – existential and social. The existential dimension itself consists of two further subs – survival and evolutionary. Survival needs require human endeavor in order to be met. Evolutionary needs take care of itself. The social dimension is the world we have created for ourselves. It’s the self-glorified world where we have ascribed importance to the many things that we have ourselves created for making life interesting. And art falls right into the middle of this social universe.
Animals, for example, don’t need many of the things that we have created in our world – clothes, hair stylists, etc. because their world is largely existential with very minimal social structure. But for us humans, our world begins when our survival needs are met.
Indeed, through the many millenia we have so secured our lives against threat to our survival that barring an alien attack, nothing can wipe us out. Maybe the more plausible threat to our existence will be we ourselves (Carlin!). So now that we are so secure, our world has largely become filled with the many things that we have created for social relevance that we feel we actually need them, and we go round and round in our social world trying to find a purpose for life! Till date the best answer to the purpose of life question that I have heard is, Carlin again, “Plastic!”.
So, art is good, it helps us in many ways when the social world we have created for ourselves becomes too difficult to handle, and so on. But it does not have any existential relevance – which includes both survival as well as evolutionary.

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S

November 23, 2022

“My life would be much poorer without Sir David Attenborough’s documentaries or my cherished music playlists or books like Wuthering Heights or Suitable Boy, to take some examples. ”

My life would be much poorer without the energetic dance numbers in films and the dancers (in colorful attire) moving in unison to the fast beats of kuthu / bollywood / bangra / garba or whatever latest item that the films are churning out . How colorless and boring my life would be without Indian films.

Going by the number of views jhanvi interview has gotten, it is obvious that her interviews bring in a significant amount of traffic and viewership . Whether one likes it or not, this young nepo crowd is going to star in most of the major productions coming out in the immediate future, since producers are willing to put in huge money into their movies. The younger audience who admire them and follow them on SM will give their movies a try. Most are not going to watch these movies for great performances or its artistic values. They are going for the fluff & star value provided by these nepos and to have a good time in general.

Regardless of their talent, seniority, or nepo-ness, bollywood films are flopping left and right. Wasn’t Akshay or a Mahesh Babu called wooden/furniture shop or something for their bad acting. Look at how long they have stayed in business and how much their films are making at the b.o. Salman has been selling the same old trite successfully since eons.

Bollywood is popular entertainment. People come to watch good looking people, big dance numbers and the spectacle.Isn’t it the same in Hollywood? It is just overgrown boys/men having fun flying around and kicking asses in costumes with underwear over pants and leather nipples. Those are the kind of movies bringing in the money and the crowd to theater , not award winning performances or actors.

Can BR afford to condescend and ignore this young crowd and not interview them? Even Anurag Kashyap who used to put down and write constant hate blogs about Karan johar became best buddies and collaborated with him once he got the opportunity. Anurag isn’t as prolific as before but Karan is still going strong. They are right in your face with their money and clout, that it isn’t even practical to ignore them when working in film industry.

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Nappinai (@Nappinai2)

November 23, 2022

@Raghu: Haha, as if this open-letter was not weird enough, Saif followed this up with some sort of an apology after a backlash. I don’t recollect all the details now, but to Anupama or someone, he said he was tone-deaf. He didn’t say that the tune itself was problematic though. Further, he mused that maybe he was reading Greek philosophy and that inspired him to write this without realizing that rest of us ordinary mortals may not be exposed to such grand ideas and hence not open to these ‘facts’. He felt silly, he said.

Now, you’d think Bollywood would have universally and strongly condemned this letter given it’s racist and imperialist under tones. After all, it was Saif, a prominent member of the industry who penned this. Nothing of that sort happened from what I recollect. If there’s so much contempt for the consumer who buys your ticket, what did they think was going to happen by airing them?

Also, someone has to ask him, why he decided to sacrifice his post as Indian cricket captain. Given he is Pataudi’s son, surely, we missed out on the best and most talented captain? It’s a tragedy that we had to instead bear the likes of Dada/Dhoni or whoever his contemporary would have been. None of them were ‘born well’, you see. Face palm!

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Nappinai (@Nappinai2)

November 23, 2022

“Going by the number of views jhanvi interview has gotten, it is obvious that her interviews bring in a significant amount of traffic and viewership” – I’d be interested to see the co-relation stats behind SM followership/ viewership and box-office success. There are so many handles that have a terrific reach – cute baby hedgehogs, financial advice, cooking and travel vlogs, brilliant comedy sketches etc. Now, just because I watch these reels doesn’t mean I want to watch a three hour movie on them, no? They’re different mediums really despite the objective being entertainment. If you take this very thread as an example, sure, there’s a high volume of comments and clicks on the interview. How many however said, they’d watch her film, though?

On a separate note, I don’t think mainstream Bollywood takes itself seriously, let alone consider their films as art. A case in point was the Shamshera promotion. The teaser received a lot of flak, yet, the movie promotions focused on RK and his relationship with Alia, who wasn’t even part of the film! As a promo video, one may check out what RK has to say on this, but how many will be willing to give the film a try at the movies? We know how that turned out ultimately.

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S

November 23, 2022

“I’d be interested to see the co-relation stats behind SM followership/ viewership and box-office success”.
It makes sense to me that producers would rather invest in a star kid who has lot of SM followers than a rank new comer whom no one has ever heard of.
“I don’t think mainstream Bollywood takes itself seriously, let alone consider their films as art.”
Exactly. SO it doesn’t make sense if a producer is going to invest in a new face only on their talent and not on their popularity which the star kids come with.

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Jay Krishnan

November 23, 2022

But the producers for her movies have been Karan,Dinesh Vijan,Zee studios and now Boney Kapoor. I don’t think SM is factoring in here. It is just good old save the nepo baby at play.

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S

November 23, 2022

“It is just good old save the nepo baby at play.”
And it looks like a lot of them have lot of money to waste on these nepo babies. And no escaping them or their movies as long as there are people to put in money into their movies. SM, more you tube views , curiosity factor for star kids, rich producers backing their films one after the other… that’s how it is going to be.
Unless someone puts money where their mouth is and is going to venture out to produce movies with talented non-nepos one after the other like Karan does for nepos. I am sure Karan and their ilk has monopoly over theaters too.

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Jay Krishnan

November 24, 2022

So, no one in the audience is putting money into their movies. Mili has collected 2.5 cr for a budget of 40 cr. Of course, there are their Godfathers and fathers who don’t seem to be worried about these losses. They want to keep the profits and losses in their little nepo island .

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Karthik

November 24, 2022

I could be the poorest person listening to a film song on the radio in a hut, and feel elevated from my misery by a song or by watching an entertaining movie.

I’m reminded of this anecdote from Abhinandan Sekhri (of Newslaundry). On one his travels while shooting for Highway on a Plate, he’s in this remote village in Nagaland, that doesnt have a lot of basic needs like electricity or modern medicine. So he asks the villagers what should be the first thing that a government should invest in for their village. The answer he got was— a movie theatre. As it turns out, because of poor roads and bad visibility, every year the village lost kids who traveled long distances to watch movies, and they would rather use the money to build a movie theatre in their village.

Interesting as this anecdote was, it did not surprise me much because I’d known a similar anecdote from my father’s childhood. My father’s upbringing wasn’t exactly economically privileged, and so movie watching in their (largish) family was beyond a luxury. But my father just loved movies, and so, whenever he needed to take a bus to get somewhere, he would choose to walk those long distances, save on bus ticket money, and spend that on movies.

I may be in a minority here— a naive minority perhaps— but I think there’s something spiritual in good storytelling, and cinema is one of the most powerful mediums there is to tell stories well. So even with all sorts of new age media sprouting up, the power of good cinema to draw people in, connect to them, and move them is still unique and not easily replaced.

This extends to movies in a native language. I watch movies in so many languages, and some of the greatest films I’ve watched are in languages that I am never going to understand. Even so, the way in which a good Tamil film connects to me is just not replaceable. And I’d like to think— again naively, perhaps— that there are lots of film goers who connect to movies like that. So despite how Hindi cinema or any particular language films are doing today, or if, as Madan says, any film industry were to be “wiped out”, I believe there would be enough demand for it to spring right back up.

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JPhil

November 25, 2022

@Karthik-agree.
One of the first movies I saw as a very young child, with my parents was ‘Sadma'(not MP). I bawled when Kamal slipped and fell in the platform. I have never fallen out of love with movies since …

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Moviemagic

November 26, 2022

Therapeutic effect movies have in people’s life is so underestimated, especially in a country like India where awareness of mental health and therapy sessions are low. Completely understandable why people would prefer movies over a lot of other things in life.

A very clichéd thing to say, but movies give beauty and hope in an otherwise bleak life to many people. A movie theatre gives one a 2 to 3 hour break from life, when it gets unbearable and overwhelming.

When one feels like things are going haywire in one’s life , watching a movie where the protagonist is doing unhumanly stunts, mouthing punch dialogues and fighting against the villain/ the system/ the world and winning in the end, is exactly what one needs to watch to not go into hopeless despair. . Seeing a movie hero having absolute control over his life , while one doesn’t feel like one is in control of one’s life gives one the strength to move on and fight. Movies have helped me through difficult times and sleepless nights and help me get back into life more rejuvenated and hopeful.

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Honest Raj

November 26, 2022

I didn’t say Sibiraj’s movies are running, I said he is still getting a decent pipeline of movies.

But then, it’s a recent phenomenon. Between 2007 and ’15, he just had a single (low-key) release. His next two films were once again backed by Sathyaraj. During this time, the only film which was made without his father’s intervention was Kattappava Kaanom (couldn’t have been better titled!). And, I’m not talking about BO success or critical appreciation – in terms of public attention, ALL of his films were absolute duds. I’m sure it would be difficult to even find reviews for his films.

As does Shruti. Laabam as recently as 2021.

Are you saying this purely based on Laabam? It’s her only release in almost last six years (of course, there was PPK). It’s thanks to Bollywood and Telugu cinema that she’s able to keep her career afloat!

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Madan

November 26, 2022

“And, I’m not talking about BO success or critical appreciation – in terms of public attention, ALL of his films were absolute duds.” – And I am not talking about any of those things but just that he is doing films. Period. Likewise with Shruti. A film is a film is a film. Why is it for her to score a film with Vijay Sethupathi, even if just one? What has she achieved to deserve it? You can’t have different standards for Tamil and Hindi. There is a projection in those whole argument of Jahnvi hogging every available A list role for heroines and that’s pretty far from the case. I listed out what she has done to date and though you skipped right over it conveniently, I will repeat: even her biggest film to date Dhadak was a 40 cr budget film and actually did well at the BO. None of her subsequent films including this here Mili have been big films at all. Just because she has scored a few reviews and interviews doesn’t make her this big star or anything.

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Honest Raj

November 26, 2022

Likewise with Shruti. A film is a film is a film. Why is it for her to score a film with Vijay Sethupathi, even if just one?

Wait, this was your response to Jay’s comment:

“Sibiraj, Shruthi Hassan to an extent etc are examples of this. ” – How long is too long, pardon? Sibiraj and Shruthi had more films in 2021 and 2022 respectively than at the start of their adult career, if anything. The rejection is more in your head than in reality.

I believe Jay was talking about under performance/rejection of both the actors. Besides, my original comment had nothing to do with yours – it was a mere observation on the career ‘growth’ of the actors (also, I was addressing Jay in my comment).

I listed out what she has done to date and though you skipped right over it conveniently …

I skipped over it because it seemed like shifting the goal-posts. Regardless of BO results/critical response, look at the kind of roles she gets to play in every film. Frankly, even the men (Vikram Prabhu, Atharvaa, Gautham Karthik, et al) do not enjoy that kind of privilege here.

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Madan

November 26, 2022

I am not talking about box office or critical response even in Jahnvi’s case. When I say small or not big, I mean the budget alone. These are small or medium budget films only. And what’s “all of these films”? She’s done five or six films to date. And AFAIK Vikram Prabhu was lead in Kumki and Gautam Kartik the lead in Kadal so I don’t know what roles you are talking about that Jahnvi has done which “even they don’t get”? Unless you are confusing her with some other actress. And my goalposts have been consistent throughout. The privilege of nepotism is measured through the availability of roles and whether these are in small or big films, not audience reception of the same. I mean if the argument is that nepokids get films in spite of audience rejecting them, then the box office fate of Sibi and Shruti’s films is not an argument against there being no nepotism in Tamil cinema. OTOH rejected actors repeatedly getting roles because of their famous surname is the best evidence of nepotism.

The argument isn’t that there is no nepotism in Bollywood but that it’s there in Tamil too. Audience being ‘OK’ with the existence of it (as you, an ardent leftist at other times seem to be) doesn’t mean there is no nepotism. As in, audience not watching films of mediocre nepokids but not conflating that into a larger grievance against the film industry the way they have in the case of Bollywood.

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Honest Raj

November 26, 2022

And AFAIK Vikram Prabhu was lead in Kumki and Gautam Kartik the lead in Kadal so I don’t know what roles you are talking about that Jahnvi has done which “even they don’t get”?

So, you admit that you’re not aware of their body of work?

Nobody is saying that the Tamil film industry is totally free from nepotism (sure it exists), but it’s no way comparable to Bollywood/Telugu cinema. In fact, the Tamil film industry would be the last place for a star-kid who aspires to build a career in cinema.

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Madan

November 26, 2022

“So, you admit that you’re not aware of their body of work?” – Why, am I wrong? I have seen Kumki. Again, which roles of Jahnvi Kapoor are roles not even afforded to Vikram Prabhu? Can you be specific please?

“In fact, the Tamil film industry would be the last place for a star-kid who aspires to build a career in cinema.” – And yet, one of the biggest stars of the last 20 years is the son of a director. Jeeva is the son of a producer. Karthi and Surya are sons of a top actor. Oh, and do you think VP and GK would get a grand launch in a lead role (under Mani’s baton at that in the case of GK) if Tamil industry was oh-so-hostile to star kids? What are you even on about?

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Honest Raj

November 26, 2022

Again, which roles of Jahnvi Kapoor are roles not even afforded to Vikram Prabhu? Can you be specific please?

Janhvi has played the central (read title) character in most of her recent films (Gunjan Saxena, the KK remake and this one). Vikram Prabhu was last seen in a minor role in PS-1. Perhaps Taanakkaran, which again is not a hero-centric film, is the only noteworthy film he’s done in ages. He’s played supporting roles in several films (Vaanam Kottattum, 60 VM to name a few). Yuddha Satthham, Gautham Karthik’s most recent outing, had Parthiban (he even gets the top billing in the opening credits) playing the pivotal character.

And yet, one of the biggest stars of the last 20 years is the son of a director.

Vijay is an exception but SAC was never an A-lister (although he’s directed Superstars across multiple industries). Kumki is not a big film – the director himself had his breakthrough in his previous film after having been in the industry for more than a decade (fun fact: he was the director of the Sibiraj-starrer, Lee). Had Kollywood functioned the same way as Telugu cinema, both Suriya and Karthi (they have a bigger fanbase in AP/TG) would now be in the league of Vijay/Ajith. If you really think Jeeva is big star, it’s safe to assume that you do not follow Tamil cinema at all!

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Madan

November 27, 2022

I didn’t say Jeeva is a BIG star but he is a bigger star than Jahnvi for sure. The problem isn’t me not following Tamil cinema but you, like Jay, projecting a star power onto Jahnvi that she doesn’t have, based on her getting to be interviewed by BR and pretty much nothing else.

The fact that she gets lead roles in small and mid sized films is simply a function of the strong roles Bollywood writes for actresses that Tamil doesn’t, other than an exceptional Gargi. Kriti Sanon and Sania Malhotra have also done plenty of lead roles maybe more in number than VP and GK in number. So at the most, JK is a beneficiary of Bollywood doing better by its actresses than Tamil. But going by the fact that actresses, unlike actors, are able to break into Bollywood even if they don’t have star signs, nepotism is not such a big problem when it comes to actresses. Something you would know if you were following Bollywood.

That’s what makes this obsession with JK bizarre – the real problem is giving more and more roles to Arjun Kapoor. JK and Ananya aren’t anywhere near as omnipresent in Bollywood as you seem to think. The actress who got the best roles this year is Alia Bhatt and yes she comes from film lineage but she has a track record so nobody can argue she drives the films she is part of to doom.

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Honest Raj

November 27, 2022

I didn’t say Jeeva is a BIG star but he is a bigger star than Jahnvi for sure.

And your point being?

The problem isn’t me not following Tamil cinema but you, like Jay, projecting a star power onto Jahnvi that she doesn’t have, based on her getting to be interviewed by BR and pretty much nothing else.

No, I’ve never implied anything of that sort. My original comment wasn’t even about her. I repeat – it (addressing Jay) was about Sibiraj and Shruti.

The problem with your argument is that you think it’s all the same in every industry (as Jay says).

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Madan

November 27, 2022

“And your point being?” – The point being you vastly overestimate what the Bolly ecosystem is doing for JK or the reach of the films she’s worked on.

“The problem with your argument is that you think it’s all the same in every industry” – I didn’t say that at all and in fact I said to Jay that it’s less of a problem in Malayalam. But I maintain that star kids do get many more chances to fail compared to outsiders even in Tamil and it just so happens that the Tamil audience is OK with this. Based on Vijay and Surya’s extremely average endeavours early on, they should have been written off but they weren’t and were allowed much more room to learn the ropes than an outsider would have been.

Hindi audience used to be OK with nepotism as well (which is why they made a commercial success out of the JK starrer Dhadak) but after SSR’s death, they look at nepotism with a magnifying glass. Which is not unjustified and rather it’s welcome but what is both unwelcome and hypocritical is to pretend nepotism is not an issue in other Indian film industries. You minimize Shruti getting a role in Laabam because according to you, it’s just one film but by the same argument with which you attack good roles going Jahnvi’s way, why shouldn’t Shruti’s role have gone to a more deserving actress too? Why is that somehow OK? I really find it difficult to understand your defensiveness on behalf of the Tamil film industry and especially so when you stretch to project star power on JK that she doesn’t even have. Again, if your yardstick is interviews and reviews, Priyanka Chopra must be a massive star in the US because, after all, she appeared on Jimmy Kimmel and Ellen.

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Honest Raj

November 27, 2022

My point was not even about any film industry – I was particular about the two actors. One of them had a single release in about eight years and the other one has done just one film over the last six years (you still think Tamil cinema has been kind to her while the majority of her releases were in Telugu and Hindi). On the other hand, Janhvi, who is still in the early stages of her career, has had an impressive filmography thus far.

About Vijay and Suriya, it appears that you probably have no idea about their (especially Vijay’s) earlier films (and struggle). Otherwise, you would not have brought their names up here.

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Madan

November 27, 2022

“My point was not even about any film industry – I was particular about the two actors. ” – Fair enough then. I don’t agree with you but that’s ok.

“About Vijay and Suriya, it appears that you probably have no idea about their (especially Vijay’s) earlier films (and struggle). Otherwise, you would not have brought their names up here.” – No, I watched their mostly godawful films in the 90s/early 00s, so I have a pretty good idea. I don’t think you understand what nepotism and privilege is, at least in the context of Tamil cinema. One doesn’t have to have risen to superstar status to have been afforded opportunities that nepotism provides (and if that was the case, Janhvi shouldn’t even be discussed anyway). In an actually ruthless industry where your film background doesn’t matter, you won’t get brownie points for merely showing up with mediocre performances while public patiently waits for you to mature and rise up to your ‘true’ level which naturally you possess because of your lineage. If your acting skills leave a lot to be desired, you should probably be stuck in bit roles until you improve, instead of second leads or strong supporting roles (even leads in the case of Vijay).

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Jay Krishnan

November 28, 2022

@Honest Raj Why bother with this back and forth ? It is difficult to convince anyone who thinks Sibiraj ,Shruthi Hassan are doing well for themselves in the Tamil industry and their career trajectories are similar to J at this point in time. No one here is saying nepotism doesn’t exist elsewhere but he just keeps going on and on about the same thing.

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Honest Raj

November 29, 2022

@Jay: Yup, and frankly after a point, I didn’t even know what to say!

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nepo bias

December 3, 2022

I watched a trailer for maarrich with Tushar kapoor – the dead eyed nepo spawn OG. I immediately thought of this comment section .

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brangan

December 9, 2022

“Sriram Raghavan has signed Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson for his war drama, Ikkis.”

(grins and grabs popcorn)

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Anu Warrier

December 10, 2022

@BR – Hah! 🙂

(Do you watch the film because Sriram Raghavan is an ‘outsider’ or boycott it because the lead is a nepo kid? Or is he? His parents are, after all, ‘outsiders’.)

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Jay Krishnan

December 11, 2022

@brangan Must have taken a Bachchan saaheb call to Sriram Raghavan . Sriram Raghavan is going to make even a donkey act and he gets the producer and budget for his movie. Win win for all concerned.

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Jay Krishnan

December 11, 2022

Yeah, must be his great talent that no one has seen that got him a role in a Sriram Raghavan movie

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Anu Warrier

December 12, 2022

@Jai – since Bachchan (Sr., Jr. or Missus) has never acted with Sriram Raghavan before, I figure that any phone call to him would have been for any of them before the grandson, n’est ce pas? [AB has famously refused to make a call for his son. Whatever else you might accuse him of, he’s been way hands off on his son’s career. ]

Besides, when an ‘outside’ newcomer is cast for a role, what great talent have they got to show in an audition, pray?

As I said, do you watch for Sriram (an outsider) or boycott for Agastya (nepo kid)? Of course, feel free to boycott the film as well, because.

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lurker

December 12, 2022

“Whatever else you might accuse him of, he’s been way hands off on his son’s career.”

@Anu – Half of AB sr’s Twitter feed are quote retweets of his son getting praised. I think ‘hands off’ is quite an exaggeration.

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Jay Krishnan

December 12, 2022

@Anu You haven’t been keeping up. You should check AB Sr’s Twitter. It is a temple for self and AB Jr praise . It is literally nauseating the extent to which he is promoting a 45 year old AB Jr.

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Jay Krishnan

December 12, 2022

So, you are trying to tell me that the grandson got the role just like that , eh ?
BTW I saw AB Sr promoting and imploring some jury to give AB Jr best actor award for Dasvi . You really need to check AB Sr’s Twitter ( Also, he curiously forgot to send a tweet out on PS1 for his daughter in law)

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Anu Warrier

December 12, 2022

So, he’s a proud father. Not being on social media, I wouldn’t know. But,
isn’t retweeting praise for his son slightly different from asking people to cast him or engaging in furthering his career?

I am just curious about how much you are invested in interpreting objective facts to fit whatever you have made up your mind is the ‘truth’.
In any case, nothing I or anyone else can say is going to change anything. So I’ll bow out. Peace.:)

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Jay Krishnan

December 13, 2022

@Anu I think it is just naive to think that these guys just let their children and grand children out in the wild without wielding influence. Your truth is their sound bite and of course they only speak the truth always 🙂 You are trying to play the devil’s advocate in the face of a painful fact that is upon bollywood at the moment. You can continue denying this and call me someone who is creating a narrative to suit my version of the truth. It doesn’t take a genius to figure how these kids keep getting these big banners out of nowhere.

And for the all important question on whether I will watch the movie or not, I think I won’t and that is because I am not a big fan of Sriram Raghavan movies ( Blasphemy ?) . I have just watched Andhadhun and found it to be good but overhyped. I do not quite enjoy his multiple 80s references and bollywood pop culture references as I do not know many of them myself to go about enjoying them.

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Anu Warrier

December 14, 2022

You win, boss!

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Raghu Narayanan

December 16, 2022

Just saw the teaser of Shehzada…Rohit Dhawan directorial featuring Kartik Aryan and Kirti Sanon. Well, who removed the word ‘ORIGINALITY’ or any of its synonyms from the dictionary that Bollywood carries???!!! Whoever stole it, please stop this sick joke on Bollywood and put it back there!! These guys have forgotten what that is…I mean Originality…do we still need to see the Bollywood Kartik Aryan version of Alo Vaikuntapuramlo???

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Interview: Janhvi Kapoor (Mili)

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