After Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise, the topic of nepotism has been extensively discussed. Many actors and producers have been called out and are being trolled on their social media handles. Most actors have either limited or disabled their comment sections to stay from the hate.
Recently, a senior journalist wrote on his column about the ground reality of Bollywood. He penned, director Karan Johar was extremely upset and shocked when his movie ‘My Name is Khan’ didn’t receive any nominations at a particular award function. The journalist then became the receiving end of hurt, elongated and hurt calls as a product.
The journalist wrote “There was an incident every year. I am choosing the few here to illustrate the power of every possible element: A dynasty, a clique or an individual star. In the 2011 awards (for 2010 releases), My Name is Khan was apparently the biggest hit. It did not get nominated in any category. Right or wrong, we wouldn’t know, because we let the jury be.”
Moreover, he said “And the jury that year was headed by someone as widely respected and accomplished as Amol Palekar. Shah Rukh Khan was also a contracted performer and a stage presenter. Trouble began three days earlier, as usual. There were threats of a boycott. I never heard this from Shah Rukh — before, during the awards or later, to be fair. But from people “around the film”. There was panic and I had to field long, pained, hurt calls from Karan Johar, who simply wouldn’t accept that the jury had not found the film worthy of an award, I was told dark theories on why poor Palekar might dislike those who made “the greatest hit in years”. How dare he choose instead a “marginal film” like Vikramaditya Motwane’s Udaan! There were threats of a boycott not just “by us, but the entire industry.
Lastly, he also added “We held our nerve again, and a breather came as the viewers’ choice award, based on an internet poll conducted by our host TV channel, went to the film (My Name Is Khan). We were satisfied because it wasn’t a jury award and our process was clean.”
This shows us that not only most directors want awards, but express discomfort after not receiving them. Actors like Kangana Ranaut has called out award functions for giving awards to ‘Gully Boy’ calling it a mediocre film with a mediocre actress Alia Bhatt.
