Abhay Deol talks about privilege: ‘Nepotism is prevalent everywhere in our culture, be it in politics, business, or film’

Abhay Deol, who hails from a prominent film family, as a nephew of actor Dharmendra, expressed his views on nepotism and the very nature of privilege in India.

Actor Abhay Deol took to Instagram to post his thoughts on the contentious issue of nepotism. He spoke at length about being privileged (he is the nephew of veteran actor Dharmendra) and about how nepotism can be found in all walks of life in India. He was happy that it was being debated.

Abhay Deol is the nephew of veteran actor Dharmendra.

Speaking about his privileged background, he said he only did his first film with his family and considers Dharmendra his inspiration. He said: “My uncle, whom I affectionately call dad, was an outsider who made it big in the film industry. I’m glad there is an active debate on the practices behind the scenes. Nepotism is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve only ever made one film with my family, my 1st, and I’m grateful to be blessed and have that privileged. I’ve gone that extra mile in my career to make my own path, something that dad always encouraged. For me he was the inspiration.”

Abhay believes while nepotism is a part of every country, in our culture, it takes the dimension of ‘jati’. “While it plays a part in every country, nepotism has taken on another dimension here in India. I suspect caste plays a major role in it being more pronounced here than in other parts of the world. After all, it is “jati” that dictates that a son carry on the work of his father, while the daughter is expected to marry and be a housewife.”

He believed that if the system is to be changed, then hitting out at just one industry won’t help. “If we are serious about making changes for the better, then focusing on only one aspect, one industry, while ignoring the many others, will be incomplete and possibly counter productive. We need a cultural evolution. After all, where do our filmmakers, politicians and businessmen come from? They are people just like everyone. They grow up within the same system as everybody else. They are a reflection of their culture.”

He added, “Talent everywhere deserves a chance to shine in his or her medium. As we have learnt over the past few weeks, there are several ways in which an artist is either uplifted to success, or beaten down to failure. I’m glad more actors are coming out today and speaking of their experiences. I’ve been vocal about mine for years now, but as a lone voice I could only do so much. It’s easy to smear one artist for speaking out, and I have been at the receiving end from time to time. But as a group, a collective, that becomes difficult. Maybe now is our watershed moment.”

First mentioned by Kangana Ranaut, when she accused filmmaker Karan Johar of being the ‘flagbearer of nepotism’ in Bollywood, the topic came back into circulation after the shocking death of actor Sushant Sing Rajput, who died by suicide in June this year.

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