MEDIA RESEARCH THESIS

Asian School Of Media Studies

Submitted By Submitted To Shubham Chauhan

Gaurav Chabbara

DECLARATION
This project is my original work attained through research, learning and with the full
support of my Faculty-“Gaurav Chabbara”

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Date …………………

Declaration by the Supervisor This project has been submitted for examination with
our approval.

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DEDICATION
I dedicate this project to my parents Mr. & Mrs…….. and to my Faculty Mr. Gaurav
Chabbara for each and every effort they put by providing guidelines and help me to
complete my research on “Nepotism in Bollywood vs strugglers are struggling” .
Thanks for your encouragements and support I am thankful to be associated with
you. I also dedicate this project to my friends ,near and dear ones who support me.

INTRODUCTION
Bollywood, an industry that has taken India to an entirely new level and has given
us moments to be proud of, seems to have come to a standstill with lack of novelty,
almost 100 years later since its origin. Gone are the days when actors were known
to be artists, their aura served as a light to many and their art was not only a source
of entertainment but an inspiration to many. It was many decades ago when no
‘Kapoors', ‘Khans' or ‘Bhatts' used to rule Bollywood, the fact that performance and
stardom used to walk hand-in-hand is no more completely valid these days. While
‘Kapoors' are known to be the flag bearers of nepotism, almost every second actor
in the Indian film industry is the flag bearer of families which have produced some
of the greatest actors, ironical is the fact that these flag bearers are not born actors.
We saw the seeds of nepotism easily sprouting in Bollywood. Actors with pure talent
are sidelined due to first priorities given to recommendations. And the worst part is,
if an outsider tries to raise his voice, he is slammed, cursed and denoted a wannabe
seeking attention.

The process of struggle in Bollywood

When an aspiring actor comes to Mumbai he goes from one production house to
another looking for jobs. He then, on advice of those in the know of things, enrolls
himself into an acting institute. It's only then does it gradually dawns on him what
the industry is all about. Even after completing the acting training his struggle
continues. Post the acting course his struggle picks up momentum. He learns about
an ongoing casting for a film or TV project. He goes to the production house and
takes the audition to land a role for himself. Thereafter, all depends on his talent and
luck if he bags the project.
Generally, most aspirants do not get to meet the director. Therefore, a struggler
meets the casting guy who assures him that he decides who is taken in by the director.
But a source says that the casting people only select for smaller roles. The roles for
the main hero and heroine are left on the captain of ship - the film's director - and
without his nod the casting guy cannot take anybody, in films. At the most the casting
guy recommend can recommends actors for small roles.
For TV soaps, it's the channel airing the serials that normally has a say in whom to
cast from among the new comers. The channel arrives at its decision after watching
the auditions of the aspirants.

There is a recent example which sparked the nepotism debate on a bigger level.
When actress Kangana Ranaut with her 'Rangoon' co-stars Saif Ali Khan and Shahid
Kapoor appeared in an episode of ‘Koffee with Karan', she didn't shy away in
tagging Karan Johar as the flag bearer of Nepotism. In no time this divided
Bollywood in two groups, the feminists and the ones supporting Johar. Much has
been said and done till date and this issue has become a wider phenomenon.
However, Kangana is one of the few people to have given an opinion. The idea of
nepotism is wider than we believe it. So why did, in the first place, Karan Johar
choose to launch Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan through ‘Student of the Year' despite
of the fact that their (Alia and Varun) fathers have remained well known directors-
producers in their times? Was there a dearth of good struggling actors, who could
have deserved the stardom? And now there are speculations about who would bag
the lead role in ‘Student of the Year' sequel, let us tell you that Jahnavi Kapoor
(Sridevi's daughter) and Sara Ali Khan (Saif Ali Khan's daughter) are already in
discussions for the role.
No doubt Ranbir Kapoor is a good actor and has proved himself after giving a few
flops, no doubt Alia Bhatt has nurtured herself to become a better actress, but what
about those who after years of struggle bag just the side roles and are never
considered amongst the royals? We are proud of the fact that we have people like
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ayushmann Khurrana, Priyanka Chopra, Randeep Hooda and
Richa Chadda to name a few, whom we can refer to as actors with real acting
capabilities.
Even after working under good banners and having spent years in Bollywood, some
of them have just taken their privileges for granted. They have neither been able to
speak up for themselves to the least, nor have they worked hard enough to keep up
the names of their filmy ancestors. Becoming an artist who not only brings the
glamour to you but also brings a change in society, is no more existential,
‘competition' seems to be a dull word, particularly for those who have not even tasted
the essential crisis which the word ‘struggle' itself holds.
If Bollywood is not about nepotism and favouritism, then why a major number of
actors do not reach one level up, where the world starts noticing them. Why till date,
we do not even have a good number of Bollywood stars with international
recognition? Reason is as clear and bitter as ice – For years and years we get to see
the same sparkling yet hollow faces who do not even know the number of
opportunities they have snatched, just because they belong to a good old Bollywood
clan. If we see the ratio, the percentage of outsiders in Bollywood, it would not even
be fifty percent.
Boredom has already set in with no good scripts, less good actors and almost no
experimentation. Look at Hollywood, Bollywood! And notice the gap if you can.
Sooner or later, the Indian audience would wake up to let you know that they are no
more interested to see the two and half hours of nonsense being presented to them
in the name of big directors or actors. They would stop loving you for not being able
to present your art which you were supposed to do, because now they have
something called Netflix which would anytime replace a boring Karan Johar drama
with an interesting original series.

LITERATURE REVIEW
“Nepotism” is the practice of favoritism based on kinship. The word finds its
origins from the Italian nipote, which means nephew. It was first used in the
context of bishops granting favors to their “nephews”, who were often their
illegitimate sons. The preferential treatment could range from bequeathing jobs,
wealth, property, or even priesthood upon them.
As filmmaker Sudhir Mishra once said, while nepotism is prevalent in Bollywood,
the journey of an actor is not defined by his or her first film which a famous
surname can get you and so, one should always concentrate on individual effort.

Abhishek Bachchan was once asked how he could afford a vacation as he was
workless. Abhishek’s career graph, since his debut with Refugee, has seen many
highs and lows. The 42-year-old actor, who is hoping to strike a chord with the
audience with his upcoming release Manmarziyaan, opines: “It doesn’t matter
whose child you are — if you deliver a flop, filmmakers stop taking your calls.”
Alia Bhatt, whose career graph has been soaring, recently said: “If I was on the
other side, I would be heartbroken. I may have felt the same way. Yes, it
[nepotism] does exist everywhere but this is the only business where there's no
fixed funda. You need to be at the right place at the right time”.
Since his first movie, Shah Rukh Khan has successfully carved a niche among
viewers both in and outside India. He has been enjoying the tag of King Khan of
Bollywood for many years.
Our favorite Bhaijaan Salman Khan is loved, admired, and idolised by many. But
his brothers Sohail Khan and Arbaaz Khan are barely considered actors.
Recently, there was an uproar over SRK’s daughter Suhana Khan featuring on the
cover page of Vogue magazine. Many, including me, felt this was an example of
nepotism, as so far, she has little or no work to her credit. But there is always a
possibility that if she joins films, she will make it big.
The latest to join the debate on nepotism is the “dhai kilo ka hath wale” actor
Sunny Deol, who is busy launching his son Karan Deol in Pal Pal Dil Ke Pass. The
actor has said the nepotism debate is kept burning “out of anger and frustration” by
“people who are weak and can’t achieve anything”.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
We selected the students of media studies to fill the questionnaire which will help
in my research on “Nepotism in Bollywood vs Strugglers are struggling”.

Population
Students of media studies has been selected for the survey.

Research design
The research design that’s been used is descriptive research.

Sample
The target population of this study is students of media studies.

Sample size
With the help of convenient random sampling technique 50 students of media
studies, both male and female has been selected.

Data Collection Tool

For the purpose of data collection Questionnaire as a Tool is used.