The nepotism debate is back. This time in its worst form ever. An old video currently doing the rounds on social media shows Rohit Shetty admitting on The Kapil Sharma Show that he cast Sara Ali Khan after she landed up at his office and begged him for work. Rohit says he was shocked to see “Saif Ali Khan aur Amrita Singh ki beti” asking for work. The Sooryavanshi director was in tears and immediately agreed to cast Sara in Simmba, opposite Ranveer Singh. The video, however, has opened up a can of worms of sorts, with social media branding it as ‘nepotism’.
Twitter has increasingly become aware of the insider vs outsider gap in Bollywood, what is being touted as the ‘cancel culture’ and how surnames take precedence over talent. This video only added fuel to the already raging fire. Soon, Twitter started pointing out exactly what was wrong with this entire conversation. One Twitter user wrote, “Rohit Shetty said he cried and gave the role instantly when sara ali khan asked for a role. Because, she is “saif ali khan ki beti” Thousands of normal kids beg for roles, get rejected and ignored. Clapping on these stupid stories is how we have normalized nepotism,” talking about how outsiders continue to struggle for that first break, while star kids get cast in a flash. Another simply trolled Rohit for casting an actor on the basis of the said incident and not because of their talent. He said, “Anyone looking to make a debut in Bollywood, just go to Rohit Shetty’s office and fold your hands and ask for work..!!”
