Jyothi Venkatesh

Well-known television casting director Rupesh Sonar has been discovering talent for the industry for the last 20 years. The seasoned casting director says that the debate of nepotism doesn’t hold relevance to the television industry.”In television, we always give chance to new people. There is hardly any case, with some exceptions where a producer’s son or daughter became stars,” he says.

Pointing out the difference between the journey of a star kid and someone who doesn’t have a backbone in the film or television industry, Rupesh says, “Of Course struggle is more for outsiders. People who come from outside the industry need to be told that they should take an acting workshop or grooming workshop. So, they need to learn. They come here and learn but star kids are groomed in a certain way from their childhood. For them, they don’t need to learn so much. Of course they also work hard but their grooming happens at home. But that doesn’t mean that newcomers don’t get work or star kids don’t work hard.”

However, he feels it is normal for actors to push their kids in the same line of work. “I don’t think nepotism is that much. When someone like Rajesh Khanna came into the industry, he didn’t have anyone in the industry. Now when he became a superstar, he would obviously want his children to be in the industry. If I am a sonar and I have a Gold shop, then I will definitely take care of it as my parents did. If this is nepotism, then it’s everywhere,” he says.