Tolly stars who openly spoke about NEPOTISM and FAVOURITISM

The controversy over nepotism and favouritism in the entertainment industry, both television and Bollywood, refuses to die down. The furore has gained momentum especially after Sushant Singh Rajput’s tragic demise. Recently many actors from the Bengali industry including Sreelekha Mitra, Tota Roy Choudhury have shared their views on favouritism in the film industry. Read on to see what they have said:

Bumba da (Prosenjit Chatterjee) used to control most of the industry. All filmmakers sort of pacified him. Rituparna used to come late on the set day after day, but everybody used to wait for her. While Rituparna was an automatic choice for all films, we had to prove our punctuality. Once, we were on our way to Digha for the shooting of 'Sagar Banya'. Prosenjit Chatterjee and Indrani Haldar were playing two of the lead roles in the film. We had an accident. I was rushed to a hospital in Digha. The director had visited me at the hospital but surprisingly Prosenjit Chatterjee didn't.

Tollywood is a small industry, controlled by a handful of people. I feel, there is no point flowing against the tide by protesting, as that will not take you anywhere. Rather, you will not get any work. It’s a matter of survival here. If an actor wants his son or daughter to join the industry, is that a crime? Parents will always help his/her child. And that’s normal. But the child has to prove his worth in the long run. What is more dangerous than nepotism is blind favouritism. We all know, there are actors whose films flop at the box office. But they still get featured in the next film just because the producer considers him to be a ‘hit’ actor. But now, with the advent of OTT, this is going to change.

Nepotism doesn’t exist in Tollywood. It is a problem in Bollywood. I don’t think Uttam Kumar’s son or Suchitra Sen’s daughter enjoyed more privilege because of their parents. Being stalwarts, they never tried to use their influence to create favourable opportunities for their children. However, I’d say what has always existed in Tollywood is favouritism. But isn’t that true for every profession? One must learn to deal with it. In our time, there was no social media to put the spotlight on lobbying in the film industry. But thanks to technology, word spreads like wildfire now. Some even treat social media as a courtroom. It is good that people are talking about issues like #MeToo openly. This will compel people to think twice before indulging in any malicious activities.

I have been part of this industry for the past 35 years. I have acted in more than 250 films. I shall always remain thankful to two people, Tapas Paul and Chiranjeet Chakraborty, who helped me a lot in my career. Though I was working as a hero, I had to face a lot of politics at one point in time. I was out of work for nine years. I had no option but to work in jatra to earn my bread and butter. I was disappointed and hurt with how the 'hit pair' of the time, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Rituparna Sengupta, played a part in causing serious damages to my career. However, I believe in destiny. I have worked as a hero in several films with almost all the heroines and directors. I am happy that I could make a mark in this industry without any godfather.

Directors didn’t flood me with offers because I was Subhendu’s son. I had to overcome so many obstacles to find my foothold in the industry. It’s not true that a star kid will make it to the top easily becuase they also have to prove their talent. But it’s a fact that there were comparisons with Baba as he had such a magical screen presence and frankly speaking I score zero to that! I don’t Baba’s looks and I knew from the beginning that I would have to win the audience hearts with my acting. Baba couldn’t help me with acting tips as in those days we used to get the scripts of TV shows after reaching the sets. But I am so grateful to Robi Ghosh, who used to praise me a lot for whatever I did. It is because of him that I had grabbed the lead role in Kalpurush, my first Hindi serial.

Let me ask you something if I have the money and power, wouldn’t I back my kids? After all, there are my bloods. But yes, they should have talents so that there are plenty of chances. See, I don’t believe in the insider-outsider thing. If you have talent you will get opportunity. Also, tell me, is Alia Bhatt a bad actor? Can you call Ranbir Kapoor or Hrithik Roshan a bad actor? I enjoy the action films of Tiger Shroff as well. I don’t believe in the nepotism debate that’s trending on social media. Those who have talent will get offers. If you don’t have talent you will be out of the race. It’s a simple equation.