Actress Shaheera Jalil Albasit recently spoke about the prevalence of favouritism and nepotism in the country’s entertainment industry.
In an interview with ‘Something Haute,’ she shared her personal experiences with the issues.”Favouritism, nepotism, everything exists in the industry. It is there,” Albasit said, highlighting the widespread nature of these practices.
When asked if she had personal experiences with favouritism and nepotism, she admitted, “I have, especially at the beginning of my career, when I used to go for auditions, I would feel that.”
However, she noted that it can be difficult to pinpoint specific instances, as they often operate within the boundaries of industry rules and regulations. “But one cannot deny the privilege of nepotism. It simply means you are facilitated with all the resources since childhood, even if you don’t want them,” she explained.
“But I’ve also realized that this industry is very cut-throat and often hard work and effort of an individual take over their talent and all the other factors. So one must accustom oneself accordingly and if you have decided to join this industry, just be prepared to give your all to it to prove your mettle,” the actor concluded.
Currently, Albasit is starring in the popular drama serial ‘Burns Road Kay Romeo Juliet’ alongside Iqra Aziz and Hamza Sohail.
Bollywood actress Sara Ali Khan was the latest celebrity to feature on the cover of Vogue India. A comment from the interview went viral where the ‘Zarra Hat Ke Zarra Bach Ke’ actress spoke about wanting to come across as more relatable amidst the criticism that she is a nepo-baby. The actress is the daughter of Saif Ali Khan, as well the granddaughter of Sharmila Tagore, and comes from the family of the last ruling Nawab of Pataudi.
“I wear my honesty with more pride than any designer clothes. In fact, I don’t have a single pair of designer clothing in my wardrobe. I know people initially judged me for it but I’m happy that they can now not only appreciate but also identify with me because of these very reasons.”
Many readers were confused by the statement because how does it prove you’re “relatable” and a normal person because you don’t own designer clothes, when everyone knows your royal lineage, especially the fact that you come from a generation of stars? The statement received backlash on social media, with many calling the actress ‘tone-deaf’ and ’embarrassing’ for trying to prove that she was not a nepo-baby.
Mam, your trend of pretending to be middle class stories won’t resonate with audience. Enroll yourself in acting classes, this will undoubtedly benefit you https://t.co/CGPnH6spfE
Bollywood actor Aditya Roy Kapur has made a string of successful movies like ‘Aashiqui 2’ and ‘Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani’, but he has been met with plenty of criticism that his career has a lot to do with nepotism.
The actor, who’s eldest brother Siddharth is the CEO of UTV Motion Pictures and other brother Kunaal is an actor, comes from a family of Bollywood royalty, dating back to his grandfather who was a film producer in the 1940s.
Speaking to Filmfare to finally address the issue, ‘The Night Manager’ actor said his career wasn’t influenced by his brothers, who did not help him in getting movies as he began his acting journey.
“I think people know that I have kind of made my way into the industry. I started with supporting roles in films my brothers weren’t involved with.”
Kapur, who has gone public with his relationship with Ananya Panday, also pointed out that his career progress has been incredibly public, with people noticing how slowly he went from supporting roles to getting leading roles in films:
“My journey has been a public one. People saw my career develop slowly. By the time I did my first leading role, I had already done three supporting parts. So I think that journey is clear for people to see.”
The issue of nepotism within the Bollywood industry has been a much discussed topic, with several actors like Karan Johar, Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor being subjected to intense scrutiny for the arguments they made in favor of nepotism.
Johar, who had been publicly called ‘the flag bearer of nepotism’ by Kangana Ranaut on ‘Koffee With Karan’ said in an interview with Man’s World India:
“I never said I was running an NGO. I’m running a bona fide commercial entity. I’m very excited to introduce new talents. Some will be from the fraternity, some will not. I’m done with being apologetic about it”
Yesterday, Netflix debuted the trailer of the Zoya Akhtar venture ‘The Archies’ which is adapted from the popular comic series Archie, with Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor and Agastya Nanda making their debut.
You’ve seen them in comics, in books, and in Riverdale — but this time around, you’ll see them in India!
Set in the 60’s, The Archies builds a world that’s both familiar and new. Here’s your first look #TUDUM! pic.twitter.com/KKmGrhTkYN
Although the trailer has already received praise from King Khan, who gushed about seeing his daughter’s debut on screen, not a lot of fans agree with him.
The internet is divided with some slamming Zoya Akhtar for white washing Indian history and choosing to make a film with actors who have nepotism connections, and others actually looking forward to Zoya’s take on the beloved comic.
Some users were criticising the film, comparing Zoya Akhtar to Karan Johar for picking people with no talent instead of actors who were struggling to find roles in the industry today.
Karan Johar gets so much flak for launching one star kid after another, Zoya Akhtar said hold my Nepo Milkshake aur aik hi dafa pura batch launch kardiya Archies mein. Khud hi subkay maa baap promote kartay rahaingay muft mein
Others had to draw out how unrealistic the portrayal of the 60s was in the film, pointing out that India in this era had a completely different style and aesthetic than what the film was portraying.
In 60’s India faced 1962 war , 1965 war and another limited war in 1967-68 . Indians had to eat Red wheat given as aid . PM Shastri ji called upon adults to forgo food one day of week . Famine, starvation deaths were common . Where did this Utopia exist ? https://t.co/ZpXXNkI96l
— Nidhi Bahuguna (मोदी का परिवार) (@vinirish) June 18, 2023
Some slammed the film for being completely white washed and not being adapted as an Indian interpretation.
Not impressed at all bollywood always show indians will see rich society in movie and start with elite class doesn’t look Indian this is the case when you don’t explore more about culture and environment outside south bombay https://t.co/lO54QdTPzt
A few fans were enthusiastic for another film by Zoya Akhtar, and said they were set to watch the film
I am highly intrigued by this. The way they have recreated that era is truly remarkable. I am eagerly anticipating the opportunity to watch this film. #TheArchieshttps://t.co/CptYHhgjU3
Director Sofia Coppola and her husband singer Thomas Mars are known for being a power couple in Hollywood. The notoriously private pair have two daughters. Coppola, who is the daughter of ‘The Godfather’ director, Francis Ford Coppola, revealed in an interview that she wants her daughters to live a normal childhood without the pressures of fame.
Yesterday, Coppola’s daughter, Romy Mars, took social media by storm with a 50 second TikTok video where she revealed that her parents had grounded her after she tried to board a helicopter from New York to Maryland in order to visit her camp friend. She also further revealed her babysitter’s boyfriend in the video who was helping her make a pasta, and called them her “replacement parents”, because Coppola and Mars were never around.
Although the video has since been deleted, Twitter users are crowning Mars as “nepo baby of the year” and saying that the video was proof that the powerful storytelling capabilities of Coppola and her father are reflected through her.
Francis Ford Coppola: The Godfather Sofia Coppola: Marie Antoinette Romy Coppola Mars: Make a vodka sauce pasta with me because I’m grounded for trying to charter a helicopter using my dad’s credit card and visit my friend
Her grounded teen daughter making a single TikTok and being immediately acclaimed as a filmmaking genius across the web has gotta feel like a worst-case scenario for Sofia Coppola.
New York magazine cover story “The Year of the Nepo Baby” broke the internet, providing audiences with an in-depth investigation in to how nepotism thrives within Hollywood. The article explored how young stars with connections within the acting industry because of their famous parents or relatives, were able to quickly cement a career for themselves in comparison to anyone else with limited networking.
The article and it’s implications have now made its way to Pakistani Twitter, where one user decided to ask her followers about Pakistani entertainment figures who were able to break into the industry because of their familial connections. And the numbers are extraordinarily large.
We need to do a vulture inspired nepo chart for Pakistani celebrities too! To start off: Sethi siblings Shafi siblings Asim Azhar Danyal Zafar Ahad Raza Mir Azaan Sami Khan Haroon Kadwani Zaviyar Ejaz
Meesha Shafi and Faris Shafi are the children of veteran actress Saba Hameed. In February, Meesha defended her brother against academic Nida Kirmani’s complaints that he was an “elite rapper” by saying that both had been raised by a financially stressed single-mother, and had worked hard to arrive where they are now.
That’s a bit flat and problematic as a general perspective. Faris and I were raised by an extremely hard working, very financially stressed single mother. We do not come from money. Are you suggesting, just because she put her sweat and tears into
Asim Azhar is the son of veteran actress Gul-e-Rana and musician father , and had spoken in an interview with Dawn Images in 2018 about how nepotism allegations did not take account of how hard he had worked in order to establish his career:
. I have put in a lot of hard work into my career. For about three years, I was just spending money on music that I would put out on the net and earn nothing back from it. And yes, I managed to get popular with a niche, mostly female, crowd but there were many more people who hated me and they were very vocal about it.”
Singer Danyal Zafar is the brother of singer and actor Ali Zafar, and has also addressed nepotism privileges. In an interview withDawn Imagesin 2017, he stated that he had a different style from his brother, so he won’t be using his sibling for connections. “I just feel the shoes are not in the same spot. One thing that he made sure I knew was that my struggle and journey will be my own. I will use my own style to mark my own space in the industry,” Danyal had stated at the time.
Ahad Raza Mir, the son of famed veteran actor Asif Raza Mir, during a talk show with Anas Bukhash, pointed out that no one bats an eye on nepotism in fields like medicine or military, not in the same way everyone criticizes children of actors for following their parents footsteps. “I was doing well so people said it’s because I’m a star kid. But there are doctors whose kids are doctors, there are generations in the army and generations in politics, no one bats an eye. But as soon as there’s a child of an actor who starts doing well, everyone starts yelling ‘nepotism’,” he said of his critics.
Azaan Sami Khan is the son of acclaimed singer Adnan Sami Khan and famous actress Zeba Bakhtyar. The actor was accused of nepotism when he was cast for the Hum TV drama Ishq-e-Laa with Sajal Aly and Yumna Zaidi. However, the director of the series had addressed the controversy on an interview with Fuchsia magazine, and revealed that Azaan had been cast in the role only after he had passed a screen test.
Haroon Kadwani is the son of actor and founder of Pakistan’s leading production house, 7th Sky Entertainment, _. He was accused of nepotism after he was cast in the drama “Ruposh”. but he rejected these claims in an interview with Fuchsia Magazine, saying that being the child of a star parent means a lot of expectations are placed on you. “People think it is easy to be a star kid but instead it is very hard for me. Being a star kid has its pros and cons. My father can give me one or two roles but after that it depends on talent. If your audience accepts you then you don’t need to be afraid of anything. However, if you are not talented, your audience will reject you and you will surely be aware of it,” Haroon emphasized.
Soon other users began naming famous celebrities within the Pakistani entertainment industry who have benefited from having famous parents and connections in the industry.
Ammar Khan is the daughter of veteran actress Fariha Jabeen. The actress had been questioned about the existence of nepotism in the industry last month in an interview at the show “Hasna Mana Hai” and simply said she was not a by-product of nepotism.
Zara Noor Abbass is the daughter of powerhouse actor Asma Abbas and is the niece of superstar Bushra Ansari. In the show Time Out with Ahsan Khan, Abbas and her husband Asad Siddiqui discussed the topic of nepotism with the actress sharing that she had stopped asking her aunt from picking her up from school after realizing how famous she was:
“Bushra Ansari was always just my khala to me. It’s only when I grew up that I realized the level of her popularity and would ask her not to pick me up from school. That’s when I really understood,” she said.
Ushna Shah is the daughter of radio and television actress Ismat Tahira, and had previously addressed the pressence of nepotism and the casting couch in the entertainment industry in an interview with The News, stating that she saw a lot of girls exploited in the business. “It is not necessarily by the top level people but the lower tier that these girls have to go through to get to the meetings and auditions,” she revealed, then went on to detail the sexism that actresses have to deal with. “Men like to pass comments that at some point were considered funny by our society. But it is not funny anymore.”
Several musicians like Bilal Maqsood and Jaffer Ziadi also made an appearance on the list. Bilal Maqsood is the son of veteran television scriptwriter and presenter Anwar Maqsood, while Jaffer is the son of lehendary singer Nayyar Noor and actor Shehryar Zaidi.
Nepotism doesn’t define a person’s career as a whole as a Twitter user wrote in reply to the thread that people like Bilal Maqsood and the Shafi siblings had worked hard and created their own career without the press linking them to their famous parent. However, it is also a shocking fact how the demand for connections lead to adults from ordinary families to be pushed to the sides. Last year, it was actress Saba Bukhari who had shed light on the prevailing discrimination based on family background in the entertainment industry. In an interview with BBC Urdu, the actress revealed instances of bullying she had encountered from actresses who demanded that she leave acting because of her limited connections. “There are some actors who make film sets a quite difficult place. I remember this accomplished actress was sitting right in front of me and she began insulting my face, and complained ‘where do they even pick up these useless girls from’. She said it directly to my face that I should leave acting, because I will never be able to make it here,” Saba revealed.
The New York magazine published a cover story today titled “The Year of the Nepo Baby” which shed light on the various ways nepo babies had utilized connections to make their name in the Hollywood entertainment industry.
A nepo baby is someone who is born to famous parents, and later these connections benefit them in establishing their own career in Hollywood, or to create a large following on their social media accounts.
The article broke down how different popular actors benefited from their parents connections in cementing their own mark in Hollywood. For instance singer/actor Miley Cyrus is the daughter of famous country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and actor Dakota Johnson the daughter of established actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith.
The article shed light on how children of celebrities are able to get roles in movies of their choice without auditioning since they name drop their parents, which grants them access that many people are unable to achieve.
Bollywood actor Janhvi Kapoor, the eldest daughter of Sridevi and Boney Kapoor, debuted in 2018 with Karan Johar’s Dhadak.
Being a star kid many felt she has several privileges. However, in a recent chat, the actress has opened up about the ‘biggest misconception’ people have about her.
During a recent interaction with GoodTimes, Kapoor reacted to people thinking she takes her position for granted. The Gunjan Saxena diva said, “People think I take my position for granted. That’s the biggest misconception they have about me. They think because I’m privileged that it makes me unaware of what it’s like to work hard.”
She continued, “I may not be the most talented, or the most beautiful; I may not have many skills to offer; but I can promise you that I am the hardest working person on the set. And this is something I can give in writing in blood, so you don’t doubt my work ethic ever again.”
Speaking about the films she chooses to be part of, Janhvi stated, “I can’t do the same thing over and over again because I get bored easily. I hate repeating things and have to set up challenges for myself because that’s when I know I’m growing. Otherwise, I feel like a waste of time.”
On the work front, Janhvi will star opposite Tiger Shroff and Akshay Kumar in Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has stated in a recent interview that the greater problem in the Indian film industry is racism, even more than nepotism.
The Kick star while speaking to Bollywood Hungama praised his Serious Men co-star Indira Tiwari for her phenomenal role in the movie, hoped that she gets similar recognition in the future, blaming Bollywood for having a problem of racism.
“Sudhir Saab [Sudhir Mishra, director of film Serious Men] has immense knowledge about cinema, and his thought process is very practical. He cast her as the heroine, and I can guarantee you that there is so much racism in our industry,” said Nawaz
Sudhir Mishra did it, but what about the head honchos in charge? More than nepotism, we have a racism problem,” added the Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor
“I fought against it for many years, and I hope that dark-skinned actresses are made heroines; it’s very important. I’m not even talking about skin colour; there is a bias that exists in the industry which needs to end for better films to be made.”
“I was rejected for many years only because I’m short and I look a certain way, although I can’t complain now. But there are so many other great actors who fall prey to this kind of bias.”
Aspiring actor Saba Bukhari, who is also part of TV One’s Dil Na Umeed Toh Nahi, has alleged that senior actors only promote their children and discourage newcomers.
In a recent interview with BBC Urdu, the actor opened up about her difficult experiences in the industry, saying: “Sometimes senior actors also give tough time to newcomers.”
Recalling her encounter with a senior actor, Bukhari said: “A senior actress was sitting beside me while we were waiting for our next scene and she said samajh nahi aata zara sa chehra hota nahi hai or aa jati hain moun utha kar.”
Bukhari further said: “Some senior actors have also advised me to leave the acting profession altogether.”
“They say that there is no nepotism in the industry, this is not true at all,” said Saba. “These senior actors and their family members are in the field and they promote their children and show their work. This is what my son/daughter is doing or have done.”
“After hearing that girls like me can not survive in the industry, I kept wondering if I should continue working in this profession or not,” lamented Bukhari.
Earlier, in a social media post, Bukhari had opened up on her harrowing experiences with the casting couch and shared the advice she got from different ‘men’ and ‘directors’ in the industry and how those words broke her from inside.
Faryal Mehmood, in a recent interview, had also talked about the casting couch in Pakistan and asserted that it exists.
