In Netflix’s latest documentary, The Romantics, ace filmmaker Aditya Chopra has opened up about the topic of nepotism that has surrounded Bollywood for many years, more lately than ever. He agreed that if one is “born into a film family,” it will always be easier for them to get “an audition or a break. But it stops there.” Referring to his brother Uday Chopra’s “not a very successful” acting career, Aditya said that it is the audience who decided who will be a star, irrespective of the person’s “privileged” or common background. He added that YRF “has launched so many newcomers,” yet, they could not make Uday Chopra, the son of an illustrious filmmaker, “a star” because in the end, it all comes down to the audience’s choice.
“One of the things that people tend to ignore, is that every person who comes from a privileged background–everyone is not successful. I can articulate it without mentioning other people. I can just articulate it mentioning my own family. My brother is an actor, and he’s not a very successful actor,” said Aditya Chopra in the documentary. He added: “He is the son of one of the biggest filmmakers. He’s the brother of a very big filmmaker. Imagine a company like YRF who has launched so many newcomers, we could not make him a star. Why could we not do it for our own? The bottom line is, only an audience will decide ‘I like this person, I want to see this person’. No one else.”
Aditya Chopra further said, “Yes, if you are born into a film family, there’s no doubt that there could be an easier in to getting an audition or a break. But it stops there.”
During his initial years as an actor, Uday Chopra delivered some hits like debut movie Mohabbatein, Dhoom film series and Meri Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai. However, later on, his films such as Pyaar Impossible and Neal ‘n’ Nikki failed to impress the cine-lovers and were box office debacles.
In the documentary, Uday Chopra also talked about his debut film and what was the experience of working alongside big stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. He was told he had to work extra hard to mark his presence and learn dancing to be an actor and it all appeared “so easy” to him.
“When Dhoom happened, I was still trying to be a mainstream actor. I should have taken Ali as an example and done roles like that,” said Uday Chopra and added that he got many offers after Dhoom but he denied them as he was “trying to get into a space” which he said wasn’t meant for him. Addressing the criticism he received in the light of nepotism, Uday said, “When I started acting, I was very naive. I thought everyone would like me. I didn’t imagine that people might not like me.” On being called the “child of nepotism,” he said, “It did affect me a lot.”
As per Aditya Chopra, the audience loved Uday in comedy roles but the actor himself did not want to work in comedy films. “They loved him in comedy, but he didn’t want to do comedy. He probably realised on his own that this is not for me because I am not going to be able to find the kind of success that I want,” said the filmmaker.
Uday Chopra, who is now a producer, maintained that he is not looking at acting as a career but more like a hobby now.
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