The debate around gangism, nepotism and groupism started like wildfire. After the untimely demise of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput in the year 2020. It was first mentioned by Kangana Ranaut when she accused filmmaker Karan Johar of being the 'flagbearer of nepotism' in Bollywood. And since then, celebs and netizens have targeted Karan Johar for nepotism.

Let's take a look at celebrates who openly spoke about being corned in Bollywood and shared their side of the story.

Nepotism debate in Bollywood

Priyanka Chopra

Recently, Priyanka Chopra opened up about the reason why she left Bollywood and started looking for a career in the US. Her hour-long interview gave fuel to the already ongoing nepotism debate, and without the actor mentioning anyone's name during the podcast.

During a conversation with Dax Shepherd on his podcast 'Armchair Expert', Priyanka Chopra revealed why she started looking for work in the US, saying, "I was being pushed into a corner in the industry. I had people not casting me, I had beef with people, and 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 grovelling and I had worked a long time by then that I didn't feel like I wanted to do it."

Kangana Ranaut

Supporting Priyanka and taking an indirect jibe at filmmaker Karan Johar, Kangana shared a picture with Priyanka on her Instagram story. In the photo, the 'Fashion' actors are seen holding hands together. Kangana wrote, "Truth remains Cruella has done big favour on us by bullying and isolating us... PC became a Hollywood star and I produced and directed my own film which is releasing this year..."

In a tweet thread, Kangana attacked Karan, saying, "This obnoxious, jealous, mean and toxic person should be held accountable for ruining the culture and environment of the film industry which was never hostile to outsiders in the days of AB or SRK. His gang and mafia PR should be raided and held accountable for harassing outsiders..."

In another post, she mentioned, "Media wrote extensively about her fall out with Karan Johar because of her friendship with SRK and movie mafia Cruella who is always looking for vulnerable outsiders saw a perfect punching bag in PC and went all out in harassing her to a point where she had to leave India."

Kangana spoke about gangism and nepotism Stories to share the video, originally shared by one of her fan pages. In the video, she is seen telling the interviewer, "Nepotism was never my problem. The problem was ganging up on outsiders because of nepotism. There is a difference. If you are doing your job quietly, no problem. But to say 'ye outsider hain, ye yaha nahi hone chahiye because ye humare baap dada ki jagah hai (these are outsiders and shouldn't be here because this is our forefathers' place), isn't it wrong? Ekta has never been a part of a bully gang, that I can assure you."

Abhay Deol

Abhay Deol: Speaking about his privileged background, he said he only did his first film with his family and considers Dharmendra his inspiration. He said: "My uncle, whom I affectionately call dad, was an outsider who made it big in the film industry. I'm glad there is an active debate on the practices behind the scenes. Nepotism is just the tip of the iceberg. I've only ever made one film with my family, my 1st, and I'm grateful to be blessed and have that privileged. I've gone that extra mile in my career to make my own path, something that dad always encouraged. For me he was the inspiration."

He further added, "Nepotism is prevalent everywhere in our culture, be it in politics, business, or film. I was well aware of it and it pushed me to take chances with new directors and producers throughout my career. That is how I was able to make movies that were considered out of the box. I'm glad some of those artists and films went on to have tremendous success."

He had written, "If we are serious about making changes for the better, then focusing on only one aspect, one industry, while ignoring the many others, will be incomplete and possibly counterproductive. We need a cultural evolution. After all, where do our filmmakers, politicians and businessmen come from? They are people just like everyone. They grow up within the same system as everybody else. They are a reflection of their culture.".

Vivek Oberoi

After Priyanka Chopra, Vivek Oberoi recently spoke about how she faced opposition in the Hindi film industry the actor said that the film industry has a "dark side" of bullying and lobbying, which he was at the receiving end of in one of his most volatile phases.

Recalling the time, Vivek told Hindustan Times, "I'm glad that I emerged from that. I kind of came up through the trial by fire and survived it. But not everybody's going be that lucky." The actor said

"In hindsight, I went through a lot of stuff that was unnecessary. A lot of lobbies, a lot of repressive stories – kind of what Priyanka has been alluding to also. That's been a hallmark of our industry, unfortunately. It's been one of the dark sides of our industry. And I've been on the receiving end of it. I know how frustrating it is, it can make one feel extremely, exhausted and tired. You feel like, I've just delivered an award-winning, commercially successful performance in Shoot out Lokhandwala and after that, I'm sitting at home for 14 months, not getting any work."

Vivek said today, "Back in the day when I voiced against it, every 'well wisher' would call me up and say, 'Don't talk about it. It is like a family secret'. But if you have abuse going on in the family and you don't speak up about it because it's a family secret? That's stupid. How will the abuse get fixed? So, it's a systemic issue in the industry which is getting better. People are being more vocal. There is more decentralization of power. Less and less people can play God and the fans are now aware. Sushant (Singh Rajput, late actor) should have never lost his life no matter what. It's just so sad. What a talented young guy and he should have had a better network of friends. You call the industry, a family, then the family should be there for each other."

For the unversed, Vivek, on April 1 2003, had called a press conference where he claimed Salman Khan threatened him over phone calls. Vivek was at that time allegedly in a relationship with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, the superstar's former girlfriend. 

Amidst the ongoing nepotism and gangism debate Kangana and Karan have taken to their social media and are posting cryptic messages.

The Kangana and Karan social media feud

When Anushka jokingly said then, Karan tried to 'finish' her career before it even started

Earlier this week, an old video of KJo resurfaced on social media, where he joked that he wanted to 'murder' Anushka Sharma's career. In the interaction, from the 18th MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in 2016, Karan said, "I completely wanted to murder Anushka Sharma's career because when Aditya Chopra showed me her picture, I was like 'no no, no need to sign Anushka Sharma. There was another lead actor whom I wanted Adi to sign." Anushka, who was sitting next to him, laughed.

During the promotion of 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil', Anushka and Karan both talked about it candidly during a media interaction. Anushka jokingly said then, Karan tried to 'finish' her career before it even started

Karan Johar reacts

Karan Johar penned a cryptic post on Saturday after receiving backlash over claims that he sabotaged the careers of actors Priyanka Chopra and Anushka Sharma.

Karan Johar wrote, "Laga lo ilzaam, hum jhukne waalon mein se nahi, jhoot ka ban jao ghulam, hum bolne waalon mein se nahi, jitna neecha dikhaoge, jitne aarop lagaoge, hum girne waalon mein se nahi, humara karam humari Vijay hai, aap utha lo talvaar, Hum marne waalon mein se nahi."

This translates to:  "Stating the allegations, I'm not amongst those who will bow down. Become a slave to lies, I won't say anything. However much you try to slander and show me in a bad light, I will not fall. My goodness is my victory. You can pick up your sword, I will not die."

Kangana Ranaut reacted, with a screenshot of a social media account that posted Karan Johar's note, Kangana wrote, "Ek waqt tha jab Chacha Chaudhary elite nepo mafia walon ke saath national television pe mujhe insult and bully karta tha because I couldn't speak English (There was a time when Chacha Chaudhary would join the elite nepo mafia and would insult and bully me on national television because I couldn't speak in English)."

She added, "Aaj inki Hindi dekh ke khayal aaya, abhi toh sirf tumhari Hindi sudhari hai aage aage dekho hota hai kya (Today, after seeing your comment, I realised your Hindi has improved. Just wait and watch what happens next)."

Also Read