Months after Priyanka Chopra opened up about experiencing nepotism and losing projects due to industry politics in Bollywood, her mother, Madhu Chopra, recently shared her thoughts on the matter. In a conversation on the YouTube channel Breaking Stereotypes, Madhu said that nepotism is “a term coined by frustrated people,” and stressed that talent should always be the most important factor, regardless of one’s background.
She said, “When you bring in talent, merit, then you can’t talk about nepotism. It has been going on for generations in every industry. You would want to give the same opportunities to whom you love. Every parent thinks that way. But your responsibility is to hone their talent to deserve that place. Undeserving people get thrown out, nepotism doesn’t last. Nobody will put money on you if you are somebody’s son, you have to have talent. I feel nepotism in a word coined by frustrated people who don’t see this.”
Last year, in an interview with Dax Shepherd, Priyanka spoke about how she and her mother were deeply worried when she experienced a string of flops in 2008, given that she was not a “nepo baby” and didn’t have industry support to fall back on. She explained, “I was terrified when those six movies did not do well because I’m not a nepo baby. I didn’t have that kind of support which exists in a big way in Bollywood movies. They are multi-generational actors that come in and get multiple opportunities vs the ones that come in from outside. You don’t have your uncle making a new movie for you just because your last one tanked.”
In another conversation with Indianexpress.com, Priyanka emphasized the importance of a merit-based system in the film industry. She noted, “I think having conversations around opportunity and merit is important.” She also highlighted the positive shift in the industry, observing how many outsiders have emerged over the past few years. “You have so many talent – writers, directors, actors that come from outside the industry. When I first started, that was not the case, at all. So I think having conversations around the fact that the workplace should be merit based, that the workplace should be a positive environment, that casting should be a casting director’s job instead of the politics and the drama,” the actor said.
On the professional front, Priyanka has Head of State, where she stars alongside Idris Elba and John Cena, in the pipeline. She also has The Bluff, directed by Frank E. Flowers, coming up.
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