20 Celebs Who Claim They Had To Bear The Brunt Of Gangism, Groupism And Nepotism In Bollywood
Nepotism in Bollywood exists, and so does groupism. Here is a list of celebrities who said they were professionally wronged and isolated in the industry because of this. Priyanka Chopra is the latest one to join the bandwagon.
Sushant Singh Rajput's death has opened a can of worms in Bollywood. From conspiracy theories to assumptions, debates refuse to die down. Amid all this, several celebrities have spilled the beans on groupism and nepotism and how it affects people's career in Bollywood.
Here is a list of celebrities who openly revealed how they were professionally wronged/isolated because of gangs, groupism and nepotism in Bollywood.
1. Priyanka Chopra said she was cornered in Bollywood so she moved to America.
AFP
In a conversation with Dax Shepherd on his podcast Armchair Expert, Priyanka Chopra said, "I was being pushed into a corner in the industry (Bollywood). I had people not casting me, I had beef with people, I am not good at playing that game so I kind of was tired of the politics and I said I needed a break.
"This music thing gave me an opportunity to go into another part of the world, not crave for the movies I didn't want to get but I would require to schmooze certain clubs and cliques of people. It would require groveling and I had worked a long time by then that I didn't feel like I wanted to do it. So when this music thing came I was like ¡®fu** it I am going to America."
2. Abhinav Kashyap said Salman Khan and family ruined his career.
BCCL
Anurag Kashyap's brother Abhinav revealed in an interview that Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan and Salim Khan sabotaged his career in the industry. He also said that talent management agencies ruin the lives of many actors. ¡°Mr. Salman Khan and his family sabotaged the release of the film and got their PROs to run a sustained negative smear campaign against me and my film Besharam before release. This scared the distributors from buying my film. Reliance Entertainment and I were capable and courageous enough to release the film ourselves but the battle had just begun. My enemies, which there were many ran a sustained negative Trolling and badmouthing campaign against the film till the Box Office of my film collapsed,¡± he wrote on Facebook.
3. Ranvir Shorey said that he was isolated and false rumours were spread about him.
BCCL
Despite giving breakthrough performances one after the other, Ranvir Shorey says he was professionally isolated and went through trauma. So much so, he escaped India for some time. This happened after his fallout with the Bhatts, he said.
¡°Yes, that (Bhatts) is what I am talking about. I was professionally and socially isolated, equally pressured from all ends. Every chance and every platform they would get, they would be lying about me, saying I am an alcoholic and abuser. You feel so helpless and powerless because these people are so powerful that the press will just listen to them and not even bother calling you for your side of the story. You just feel so helpless and frustrated because you can¡¯t do anything about it. It got really toxic for me at the time and I had to leave the country for a while,¡± he was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
4. Kangana Ranaut said 'suicide gang' said they told her she would be driven to suicide too.
Twitter
Kangana Ranaut who has always been vocal about the favouritism and gangs in the industry revealed that Javed Akhtar told her she would be driven to suicide if she doesn¡¯t apologise to Hrithik Roshan. About Mahesh Bhatt, she said, he threw a chappal at her for refusing to do his film. She claimed her image was maligned by agencies who published false news and rumours. She said she was threatened by Aditya Chopra after she rejected Salman Khan starrer Sultan.
5. AR Rahman said that a gang is not letting him bag Bollywood projects.
Twitter
The Oscar winning music composer who has given music to Sushant¡¯s last movie revealed why he is doing less work in Bollywood. He said a ¡°gang¡± is spreading false rumours about him that is stopping him from getting work. "I don¡¯t say no to good movies, but I think there is a gang, which, due to misunderstandings, is spreading some false rumors," he told Radio Mirchi.
6. Raveena Tandon said that there are bad people who 'plan your failure'.
IMDB
Raveen Tandon revealed that industry has "camps and mean girl gangs" that makes it toxic. She says favouritism prevails in the industry.
¡°There are bad people who do plan your failure; I¡¯ve been through it. They are the ones who would want to see you down and removed from films. It¡¯s literally like classroom politics. They play games,¡± she said in an interview with Hindustan Times.
7. Resul Pookutty said no one gave him work after he won an Oscar.
TOI
After Shekhar Kapur wrote on Twitter that Oscar is the kiss of death in Bollywood, Resul Pookutty said that he suffered a "near breakdown" because the Hindi film industry gave him no work after he won an Oscar.
Dear @shekharkapur ask me about it, I had gone through near breakdown as nobody was giving me work in Hindi films and regional cinema held me tight after I won the Oscar... There were production houses told me at my face ¡±we don¡¯t need you¡± but still I love my industry,for it.... https://t.co/j5CMNWDqqr
¡ª resul pookutty (@resulp) July 26, 2020
8. Tigmanshu Dhulia said that two strong groups in the industry are making money but doing nothing for cinema.
Titter
Tigmanshu Dhulia, popular for playing the role Ramadhir Singh in Gangs of Wasseypur and the man who mouthed the dialogue ¨C ¡°Beta Tumse Na Ho Payega¡± is behind several acclaimed films like Paan Singh Tomar, Haasil and Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster among others. He recently revealed that groupism is not allowing Indian cinema to go forward.
"The two strong groups in the industry did not take cinema forward. They were capable of changing the taste of the people but they did nothing for the art of cinema. They made money, which is great and essential, but cinema is an art form. What happened to it?" he told Hindustan Times.
9. Amit Sadh said that the TV industry banned him for being outspoken.
Twitter
Amit Sadh said that he was banned by the TV industry and was blacklisted for being ¡°outspoken¡±. "They called each other and said isko kaam mat do. Toh phir maine kaha, ¡®Achcha? Nahi de rahe ho? Toh phir main picturon mein jaaunga,¡± he told Bollywood Hungama in an interview.
10. Sonu Nigam says 'Music Mafia' crushes talented musicians.
Twitter
In a series of videos on Instagram, Sonu Nigam spoke about how the music mafia is bigger than the film industry. He says they manipulate the business and ruthlessly ruin the career of inspiring singers. ¡°The producer, director, and the music composer, all are ready to work but then the music company says, 'this isn't our artist',¡± he said. In another video, Sonu Nigam accused T-Series and Bhushan Kumar of being the music mafia. Singers like Kunal Ganjawala, Monali Thakur, Kailash Kher and Salim Merchant among others agreed with him.
11. Sona Mohapatra said she never got a second chance even after a blockbuster song Ambarsariya.
AFP
Sona Mohapatra said that she was never given a second chance in the industry even after she gave a superhit blockbuster song like Ambarsariya.
"Not very subtle.( FYI, Ambarsariya; both Javed & Farhan Akhtar were hostile/hated it.Only song Excel didn¡¯t bother to shoot a music video for,montage got cut after much. Long story there but of course it¡¯s no surprise why I never got a ¡®second chance¡¯. Stood up to the master,¡± she wrote on Twitter but deleted the tweet soon and issued a clarification on the same.
Deleted a previous tweet I had written in the conversation. Realised I¡¯d rather keep names out of conversations & not fall into a trap of pettiness or fuel trolling. There is a systemic issue in the industry. Hoping open conversations & reflection on all sides help a change. ??
¡ª Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) July 27, 2020
12. Ram Sampath went through hell because of a gang working against him.
Twitter
After AR Rahman claimed that a gang is working against him in the industry, Sona Mohapatra revealed her husband was wronged by a gang too. She said her music composer husband Ram Sampath went through a tough phase and she was heartbroken seeing him suffer for two years.
¡°This illiterate self-important gang works against any genuine, classy, dignified, talented creative professional. Felt heartbroken seeing Ram Sampath go through hell, worse, finally, plug out of this toxic biotope 3 years ago. The final straw was #Raees. Took him 2yrs to recover post.¡±, she revealed on Twitter.
This ¡®illiterate self-important¡¯ gang works against any genuine,classy,dignified,talented creative professional.Felt heartbroken seeing Ram Sampath go through hell,worse,finally plug out of this toxic biotope 3 years ago.The final straw was #Raees .Took him 2yrs to recover post https://t.co/0VNpldRSdb
¡ª Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) July 26, 2020
13. Madhur Bhandarkar says his professional obituary was written on the day his first film had flopped.
Twitter
Madhur Bhandarkar said that he willingly stayed away from various groups in Bollywood. He says groupism is a reality in the industry. After his first film flopped, people isolated him, he said.
¡°The minute Trishakti bombed, people who used to take my calls ¡ª they were not even big people ¡ª they simply disappeared. They were suddenly nowhere. It was difficult for me to again get a foothold. People advise you ¡®Your career is over¡¯. My professional obituary was written that day,¡± Bhandarkar told Hindustan Times.
14. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub says false problems are made to outsiders.
Twitter
Zeeshan Ayyub said that the problem is deeper than nepotism. He said outsiders are often lied to about movie roles and poster credits. He says fake promises about crucial roles are made.
¡°You¡¯re told that you have this projection and sometimes you¡¯re promised a poster, too. The makers sell you the character like it¡¯s the poster character and one of the main leads, but while shooting, it becomes a side character,¡± he told Hindustan Times.
15. Manoj Bajpayee said that the industry doesn¡¯t respect outsiders at all.
Twitter
Bajpayee admitted that the industry is wasting its talent. ¡°I have said it before that this industry has wasted talent; so much that in any other country those talents who have not been given their due here,¡± he told Wion in an interview and added that she struggled to bag good roles too.
Sharing who the industry operates and differentiates to outsiders, he said, ¡°How come I survived in this industry, an industry that doesn't have respect for people from outside? So much so, if a good film is getting bad box office then forget about the industry as they will anyway criticise you whether you make a good film or a bad film, whether you give a good performance or a bad performance -- the mainstream critics and the trade analysts will jump on it and they will try to prove that it¡¯s a bad film because the box office is not that great.¡±
16. Govinda was shunned by Bollywood during his bad phase.
AFP
Shatrughan Sinha in an interview with Republic TV revealed that a brilliant actor like Govinda was shunned by the industry after he witnessed a bad phase in his career. ¡°I saw how his film, which was in production, was taken over due to some people. The film was already made but he still had to suffer through all of this¡±
17. Adhyayan Suman says 14 of his films were shelved because of groupism.
BCCL
Calling himself a victim of groupism, Adhyayan Suman, the son of Shekhar Suman, said that many of his movies were shelved because of groupism. ¡°Power dynamics and groupism are there in the industry for years. It happened to me too. My 14 films were shelved and the box-office collection of my films were projected wrongly. People haven¡¯t paid attention to this earlier. It¡¯s very unfortunate that we required a Sushant Singh Rajput to commit suicide for people to realise,¡± he told Bollywood Bubble in an interview.
18. Upen Patel said that ¡°they¡± cut him out suddenly and he felt left out.
Twitter
Upen Patel, who has acted in films like 36 China Town, Namastey London and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani among others, said that he was cornered in Bollywood. So much so that his mental health had started to affect.
¡°That¡¯s exactly how it happened.. Suddenly they decided to cut me out and I was left in a corner. I was lost. Confused. Hurt. It was very toxic for my mental health .. suddenly I was not needed in the industry.¡±
19. Shreyas Talpade said that Karan Johar and YRF never showed interest in working with him.
Twitter
Accepting that nepotism and favouritism exist in the industry, Shreyas Talpade revealed about his struggle days when he didn¡¯t have money to pay rent. He agreed that star kids have it easy.
¡°Nepotism and favouritism are here to stay. But we can't just focus on that while moving ahead. At least I don't want to. I've never done a Karan Johar or a Yash Raj film, I've never approached them, nor have they shown interest in working with me,¡± he told Hindustan Times.
20. Divya Dutta says she was replaced in several movies.
Twitter
Expressing her views on favouritism and groupism and talking about her own struggle in Bollywood, Divya Dutta told ETimes in an interview, ¡°It used to feel like a huge sense of loss, coming and being rejected or being told on the phone that someone else has been roped in. I've been dropped out of many movies at the last minute so that hurts because you feel sheer helplessness because you know how good you could've been in that role.¡±
A lot of dirty secrets are out in open!
Garima Satija leads the Entertainment vertical of Indiatimes. A storyteller at heart who enjoys the thrill of writing, she is sometimes found daydreaming about living the lives of movie characters. Also, she hates talking about herself in the third person.
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