A little late to the discussion, but can we talk enough about this topic? Maybe not!
Nepotism, or the act of granting an advantage, privilege, or position to relatives or close friends, has literally existed forever. But it was only in recent years, that it garnered such a great deal of attention.
An episode of a popular talk show called Koffee With Karan, ignited conversations all over social media when apparently the show’s guest Kangana Ranaut expressed her agony as to how easily the star kids get entry into films as compared to the outsiders, despite the talent pool. Being the victim of this trend herself, she unapologetically called out this unfair practice.
She mainly spoke about this harsh reality in Bollywood, but is it just this here, where we get to see it?
In a corporate office, many times it’s not the most hard-working or deserving employee, who gets that coveted promotion or increment. In the hiring rounds of an interview, sometimes the best candidate faces unfair rejection only to know that someone well-known to the hiring manager has bagged the job.
But we don’t see the same situation in a competitive exam.
This is because exams like these follow a specific protocol, which is not only fair but also highly transparent to judge an examinee’s potential. A student gets a higher rank and eventually a better college, only when he scores well and not otherwise. Unfairly getting a certain rank in a competitive exam can be bluntly questioned, because rank allocation complies with a specific process, and any diversion from it can be easily called out and rectified.
Who do the film production and other decision-making authority choose to cast for their films, and how is it done is not complacent to any pre-decided protocol per se. The director might want to take some auditions and screening rounds or just select someone out of the blue!
Defending himself, a well-known film director once boldly said in an interview that “it’s his films, and he can cast whoever he wants in them.”
It was pretty audacious of him to say such a statement without remorse, but how do we question this?
Although this practice must be highly discouraged, but since the matters mainly lie upon the morality of an individual, there are hardly any substantial steps that could be taken.
Giving an opportunity in jobs, films or politics to the undeserving, might continue to exist. Instead of ranting or holding pointless debates around it, the best way to deal with this is to promise to ourselves to never favour anybody unfairly, whenever we could have the privilege to easily do so!