Nepotism is one topic that has been talked about the most in Bollywood. There have been several allegations against the Star kids stating that they are in the industry only because of they belong to a film family, only because their father or mother hold an influential stature in Bollywood. Even though most of the star kids, who are active and relevant in films nowadays, are there on the basis of their talent or fan following, they are made to feel and believe that it is not their talent or hard work but their strong lineage that’s helping them survive. If that was true than Jackky Bhagnani, Uday Chopra, Shiv Darshan, Karan Sharma etc would also have been superstars today.

Anyway, even though nepotism exists in Bollywood, but tell me an industry where it doesn’t? But it doesn’t run Bollywood for if that was the case, we wouldn’t have a Shah Rukh Khan or a Akshay Kumar.

Here I am going to talk about those young superstars for whom nepotism didn’t matter and they made it big despite not being a star kid…

Ranveer Singh

His father is a businessman and yet he is one of the biggest young stars of Bollywood. He has proved his acting mettle time and again. He is not a star kid or son of a powerful producer, yet he gets best of the roles in films and is signed by biggest of the producers. Some might say he a cousin of Sonam Kapoor but again he had to go through the acting schools and auditions. These videos might clear your confusion.

Sushant Singh Rajput

Sushant Singh Rajput made a successful transition from TV to films and proved his acting mettle with films like MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, Kai Po Che etc. Just like Ranveer Singh he, too, has become a sought-after star with an interesting line up of films. If nepotism was so prevalent he wouldn’t have been offered Befikre, a film directed by one of the biggest filmmakers of India, Aditya Chopra.

Deepika Padukone

She is indeed the true blue superstar of Bollywood. Her father is an ace badminton player, Prakash Padukone, with no connection to Bollywood. Despite being an outsider she was launched by Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om and became a top star with each passing film. With her power-packed performances and superstar stature she has transformed into a Hollywood star with xXx: Return Of Xander Cage and will next be seen in its sequel. Also read: Varun Dhawan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt – Are they in the industry because of nepotism?

Sidharth Malhotra

His family had nothing to do with Bollywood and interestingly he was launched by Karan Johar, who has become a face of sorts for nepotism in Bollywood. He’s been working with biggest of the production houses – be it Dharma, Fox, Balaji or Red Chillies etc.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui

His is a success story like no other. He had to struggle a lot before making it big in Bollywood but once he did he has becomes a formidable force at the box office. Who better than him can talk about nepotism and this is what he has to say about it, “As an actor, I have struggled in the industry. So, if my child wants to become an actor tomorrow, it’s only natural that I will help him. But that doesn’t mean ki woh mehnat na kare. Tiger is Jackie Shroff ‘s son alright, but we can’t overlook the hard work he puts in. It would have been his biggest mistake if he had thought, `Main toh Jackie Shroff ka beta hoon, mujhe aaram se kaam mil jaayega.’ It is easy for star kids to get opportunities because of their parents’ goodwill, but that applies to every profession.” It’s self explanatory.

Anushka Sharma

Just like Deepika, she, too, is one of the biggest stars of India and has worked with big production houses like YRF, Dharma etc. And in fact has now a production house of her own. True, she was rejected initially by Karan Johar during her struggling days, but later Karan Johar went ahead and signed her for his 2016 Diwali hit, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Nepotism didn’t matter to her, and she became the star based on her talent.

Irrfan Khan

He is probably India’s most versatile actor. He is a Bollywood as well as a Hollywood star. After the initial struggle, Irrfan impressed everyone with his acting talent. Today he has become one of the top stars of India. And is even going head on with Hollywood stars like Tom Hanks.

Rajkummar Rao

He is brilliant in every film he does. He is doing films with most noted directors and has won a National award too. He is doing diverse roles in each of his films and is favourite of many filmmakers. Also read: While Kangana Ranaut-Saif Ali Khan-Karan Johar debate on ‘nepotism’, Sunny Deol is blissfully unaware about it

Nepotism may exist in Bollywood but it doesn’t run it. If that was the case we wouldn’t have got stars like those in the above list. Either one can crib about nepotism or can believe in their talent, hard work and themselves, and success will follow.