Farhan Akhtar on Arjun Tendulkar being trolled for nepotism: ‘Don’t weigh him down before he’s begun'

Farhan Akhtar has defended Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun Tendulkar and has asked trolls to not murder his enthusiasm and weigh him down before he’s begun with their accusations of nepotism.

Farhan Akhtar has spoken in defense of Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun Tendulkar who is being called a 'product of nepotism' after his selection into the Mumbai Indians. Sachin was earlier a part of the team before his retirement from cricket. Arjun was bought for ₹20 lakhs in the Indian Premier League auction held on Thursday.

Farhan Akhtar has spoken in support of Arjun Tendulkar.

Farhan took to Twitter to speak in favour of Arjun. He tweeted, "I feel I should say this about #Arjun_Tendulkar. We frequent the same gym & I’ve seen how hard he works on his fitness, seen his focus to be a better cricketer. To throw the word ‘nepotism’ at him is unfair & cruel. Don’t murder his enthusiasm & weigh him down before he’s begun."

Film exhibitor Akshay Rakhi also came out in his support. Reacting to Farhan's tweet, he wrote, "His performance in the domestic scene has earned him what he’s got. And like in the movies, his performance is the only thing that will pave the course of his career! Armchair critics will keep talking & that shouldn’t matter! Hope he rocks the IPL! #ArjunTendulkar."

Arjun was trolled on social media after his selection. However, many cricket lovers claimed that nepotism cannot survive for long in a sport, unlike films. A fan said, "Cricket hai nahi khelega toh drop ho jaega. Movie hoti toh 10 flop ke baad 11 bhi ban jaati (This is cricket, if he will not play well, he will be dropped. If this was a movie, he would have still got his 11th film after delivering 10 flops)." Another said, "Irrelevant trolling. if he's good, he'll play, if not, he'll be dropped... cricket h Bhai. bewajah koi tmhe 11 me ni rkhega (this is cricket, no one would keep him in playing 11 without a reason)."

Meanwhile, Farhan will be seen in sports drama, Toofan. He will be seen in the role of a boxer in the film and has been training since long to play his character with conviction.