Naseeruddin Shah, who is a veteran Bollywood actor and an outsider himself, brushed off the latest nepotism debate saying that nepotism could take one only at a certain point but survival happens through talent.
Shah also indirectly dismissed Kangana Ranaut who is the flag bearer of the current debate. She had also targetted many celebrities along with being involved in a Twitter war over the same topic.
As per a report by Hindustan Times, Naseeruddin Shah called the nepotism debate ‘absolutely sickening’ and that “every person who has any little frustration in his mind, in his heart, about the commercial industry, has been vomiting it out to the press.”
Shah stated, “It is absolutely sickening. I have not followed it. I felt deeply grieved when the young man died. I did not know him but he had a bright future and it was a waste of life. But I did not bother to follow the nonsense that’s being spouted by a whole lot of people. Every person who has any little frustration in his mind, in his heart, about the commercial industry, has been vomiting it out to the press. It is absolutely disgusting. I mean, keep these complaints to yourself, no one is interested.”
Throwing indirect shade at Kangana, Naseeruddin says, “No one is interested in the opinions of some half educated starlet who decides to take it upon herself to, you know, get justice for Sushant. If there is justice that needs to be done, I think we need to have faith in the process of the law and if it is none of our business, I think we should not concern ourselves with it.”
Adding that nepotism gets you to a certain point after which it takes talent for survival, Shah mentions, “I don’t understand this insider-outsider nonsense that’s going on. I mean, it’s a whole lot of rubbish and we should be put an end to this, it’s bulls***. Why would I not, who have had a secure happy life as an actor, encourage my son to go into the same profession? Would not an industrialist do it, would not a lawyer do it, would not a doctor not do it? Would not anybody do it? You mean to say that Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s descendants should not have become singers?“
Naseeruddin Shah also mentioned that the so-called ‘movie mafia’ that Kangana Ranaut insisted she was targetted by does not exist. He says, “This is all a concoction of certain imaginative minds, ‘the mafia in the industry’. Naturally, I’ll give preference to people I like and the people who I work well with. If they also happen to be famous, or they happen to be the children of famous people, how the hell is it their fault? There is no mafia. I have not ever felt any obstacle to my work. I’ve made very slow progress over the last 40-45 years in my profession, but I’ve never felt that there’s some obstacle that is preventing me from getting to where I deserve.”