Taapsee Pannu: ‘Nepotism will never go away so we need to learn how to deal with it’

Bollywood star Taapsee Pannu is joining the longstanding debate of nepotism in the industry, urging all outsiders to rely on their strengths to succeed.

Pointing out how actors with no film background have more of a relatability factor than the star kids, Taapsee revealed how that can be used to their advantage.

Talking to Hindustan Times, the 32-year-old said she believes the lack of a close mentor in the industry is an additional challenge that outsiders face in Bollywood.

“But it will be wrong to say that one is not aware of it beforehand. And once you are aware of the challenges, you will be facing, you make sure you develop the strength to deal with it,” she said.

“If star kids milk their advantage, I don’t understand why don’t we outsiders rely on our strength and use it to our advantage as well? We have the largest relatability factor with the audience, we have their support constantly because they feel we are one of them,” she added.

“Yes, the journey will be harder and longer, but every inch of success we achieve in our journey will be ours. No one can claim a stake in that. That’s a beautiful feeling in itself,” she went on to say.

“No matter how many countless discussions or debates we are going have on it, it’s never going to go away, so it’s better we learn our ways and means to deal with it and our audience and media becomes smart, unbiased enough to give us an equal opportunity, and a chance to get their love and attention,” she concluded.