No, BW Star Kids, You Dont Get To Have An Opinion About Nepotism

Recently, Kangana Ranaut made headlines for calling out Karan Johar on Koffee With Karan for blatant nepotism.

In response, Karan asked Kangana to "leave" the industry subsequently launching an industry-wide debate about nepotism.

While everyone has had an opinion on the topic, star kids seem to have come up with the most problematic defences to the debate.

In a recent interview with NDTV, Varun Dhawan defended Johar's stance by basically normalising the leg-up his father's position in the industry gave him.

Varun, who is acclaimed director David Dhawan's son, made his debut with Mahesh Bhatt's daughter, Alia, in Karan Johar's Student Of The Year. He also later went on to act in Main Tera Hero directed by his father.

In January while on the newcomers roundtable with Rajeev Masand, Harshvardhan Kapoor defended himself when asked about his father's influence on his career.

Jim Sarbh of Neerja fame checked him on that:

Sarbh was successful in the theatre circuit in Mumbai for years before he bagged the role of a terrorist in Neerja.

What Sarbh said isn't far from the truth. But, there has always been a clear pattern of defensiveness or altogether shirking the privilege star kids are born with.

Sonam Kapoor has supported Johar's ideas in the midst of this debate:

FYI, she debuted as a lead with Ranbir Kapoor, who also is a star kid, in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2007 film, Saawariya.

In the past, she has also defended her brother, Harshvardhan, for not using their father's (Anil Kapoor's) or her name to get ahead in his career.

Harshvardhan's debut film, Mirzya was directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who has directed Sonam in Delhi-6 and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

It's not just the Kapoor siblings; Tiger Shroff has also sanely responded to similar questions about nepotism:

Side note: His debut film Heropanti was a remake of his own father's hit film, Hero.

Aamir Khan defended the idea of helping your loved ones out with their careers as well:

Just a reminder: Aamir Khan debuted in his father's production Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and also launched his nephew, Imran Khan, in the film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na.

Last year too, Rakesh Roshan lashed out against Kangana Ranaut for saying his son, Hrithik, depended on him:

Yes, Mr. Roshan. You have cast your son in his debut film, a franchise film series about an Indian superhero AND another love story. PHEW.

In a world that is begging for more representation, it wouldn't hurt for Bollywood star kids to understand that their success is partially owed to their lineage.

We do have the Priyankas, Kanganas and Deepikas in the industry. But, let's remember that their stories had a space to be told when there was some made FOR it.

It's a great step that Bollywood is even having a conversation about its nepotism. Now, those who have benefited from it would do well to acknowledge and accept the advantages they've had.