Film families and Bollywood royalty have always existed in the film industry. But it was back in 2017 that the infamous nepotism debate came into the spotlight when actor Kangana Ranaut graced the coffee couch of Karan Johar’s chat show with Saif Ali Khan. Imran Khan, who began his acting career with Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008) backed by his superstar uncle Aamir Khan, has now opened up about the same as he gears up to make his comeback to Bollywood after a decade long sabbatical.
In a chat with News 18, talking about the nepotism debate, Imran Khan shared, “If I made my debut today, I think it would’ve been the same, really. But I certainly heard those things even then. It has been a part of the discourse when I joined the business. In the Indian film industry – I don’t want to single out only the Hindi film industry – there has been a long-standing pattern of it being a family business and there being a lot of incest within (laughs). That has historically been a feature of the industry. So, that conversation has always been around.”
Explaining how nepotism only becomes an issue when star kids deliver flops, Imran gave Ranbir Kapoor’s example, as a talented actor who reframed the conversation with his hits. Imran shared, “Ranbir’s from film royalty. His family founded the film industry. But he’s a fantastic actor and nobody has any complaints about that. I really think that the issue comes in when people don’t like the quality of their work. If they don’t think that you’re a good actor or a filmmaker, then they’ll criticise you very rightly.”
{{/usCountry}}Explaining how nepotism only becomes an issue when star kids deliver flops, Imran gave Ranbir Kapoor’s example, as a talented actor who reframed the conversation with his hits. Imran shared, “Ranbir’s from film royalty. His family founded the film industry. But he’s a fantastic actor and nobody has any complaints about that. I really think that the issue comes in when people don’t like the quality of their work. If they don’t think that you’re a good actor or a filmmaker, then they’ll criticise you very rightly.”
{{/usCountry}}Interestingly, Imran and Ranbir were often pitted against each other ascompetitors back in the early 2000s. While Aamir’s nephew Imran began his acting career in 2008, Rishi Kapoor’s son Ranbir made his debut with Saawariya in 2007. Soon after their first films released, Imran and RK emerged as national heartthrobs. Currently Imran is gearing up for his comeback film Adhoore Hum Adhoore Tum. Ranbir, on the other hand, has Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love & War, Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana and Animal Park in his line up.