‘Would not have survived 21 years in Bollywood with just nepotism’: Kareena Kapoor

After the unfortunate
death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the debate around nepotism has skyrocketed to
the next level. Recently, in
an interview with Barkha Dutt, Bollywood actor Kareena Kapoor Khan spoke about
the much-talked-about issue and how she has survived in the industry because of her talent and
hard work.

The fourth-generation actor from the famous Kapoor family of Bollywood and wife of Saif Ali Khan, Kareena shared her thoughts on the criticism faced by those from film families. She said that instead of looking at everyone from a privileged
background in a negative light, one must look at the ‘larger picture.

She said, “21
years of working would not have happened with just nepotism. It is not
possible. I can take a long list out of superstars’ children for whom it’s not
been able to happen that way.”

She added, “It
might sound weird but my struggle is there. There is a struggle but it probably
is not as interesting as somebody who comes in a train with just Rs 10 in his
pocket. Yeah, it’s not been that and I can’t be apologetic about it.”

After making
her acting debut in the 2000 war movie Refugee, Kareena established herself with
roles in ‘Ashoka’, ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’, ‘Chameli’, ‘Omkara’, ‘Jab We Met’,
‘Udta Punjab’, and ‘Good Newwz’, among others.

She will
next be seen in Karan Johar’s ‘Takht’, and Advait Chandan’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’.

The ‘Good
Newwz’ actor also said that the audience is the final decider of who becomes a
star. She gave the example of Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar, who despite
being outsiders made it big because of their hard work.

 “The audience has made us, nobody else has
made us. The same people pointing fingers, they are only making these
nepotistic stars. Aap jaa re ho na film dekhne? Mat jao (You are going to watch
the films, right? Don’t go). Nobody has forced you. So I don’t understand it. I
find this whole discussion is completely weird,” she said.

The actor added,
“The idea is that today so many of our biggest stars whom you (the audience)
have chosen, whether it is Akshay Kumar or Shah Rukh Khan or Ayushmann Khurrana
or Rajkummar Rao, are all outsiders. They are successful actors because they
have worked hard. Whether it is Alia Bhatt or Kareena Kapoor, we have also worked
hard. You are enjoying our films and watching them. So, it’s the audience that
makes or breaks us.”