Nepotism thrives in B-town: Sushant

Latest Bollywood heartthrob Sushant Singh Rajput and the new diva Kriti Sanon were in Hyderabad to promote Dinesh Vijan directed film 'Raabta'. Speaking on the sidelines of the presser Sushant, who was last seen in biopic 'M.S Dhoni: The Untold Story', said that nepotism in Bollywood does exist and it thrives.

“I was a TV actor and I was told that TV actors don't make good film actors. And first of all I couldn't understand what is a TV actor or a film actor. In my view both are actors. But having said that nepotism is here and it's thriving. They would make sure that you feel the nepotism and you can't do anything about it.

And I would go to an extent saying that it is not just the few films it is throughout your career that nepotism does help you in a big way,” he shares and adds, “not to take credit from anybody but all I am saying is that especially in an industry like Bollywood where bad films do well and good films don't do well.

How this bad films are selling and are doing well. It is just because they create this perception of these stars and constant bombarding of acknowledgment and just the confirmation and they are stars a few years before the debut. As they all are with them.” Kriti Sanon who also does not come from a film background concurs with Sushant and says, “Obviously nepotism does exist and it does exist in every field.

For example a son of businessman becomes a businessman and everywhere it is like that. When you come from a film background you have a upper hand. Film fraternity knows you and when filmmaker is looking for a fresh face they will surely go for the face which they know from a long time rather taking a person who is a complete stranger to them. In my opinion after this is just for 4-5 films but after that it is purely based on talent.”

However, Sushant differs with Kriti and states that it just not end after 3-4 films. “The sheer momentum these star kids get helps them a long way throughout their career. The entire crew technicians are with you even before you become a star. And when you are successful as an outsider it is discussed in very hushed tones.

And if you are successful as an insider they would keep reminding you again and again and very conveniently forget about their failures. And the day we fail it is gonna be right there so saying that nepotism does not exist either you have to be completely blind or or be in a very powerful position to make that statement.”

About the roles in their upcoming film 'Raabta' the duo say that they have two distinctive roles as the film switches to past and takes one into another world. “These two characters are two different characters in the film. And they are diametrically opposite and at the same time we as an actors we made sure that every tool we use as actors to show that there is not even an iota of similarity between the two,” Sushant says.

Kriti says, “For the current time character I sort of spent a little more time on character because the flashback comes for 20-30 minutes in the film and the story starts in the current time. It was very interesting character for me I think because she was very different from what I have done so far and also very different from me. She is someone who stays in Budapest and makes chocolate. So I learned chocolate making for that and she is abrupt, quirky and she is hydrophobic, so there is something off about her but at the same time she is very enduring.

The flashback characters, all of us did not have reference of that world. We did not know how it would finally look like. Of course once we were in hair, makeup and costumes we did feel like we belonged to another world. But the character in particular is more like a warrior princess. So you cant be very lady like and you need to be much more stronger.

The body language is a little bit of hand to hand combat. So bit of martial arts kind of helped me to get help to get the stance and body posture. I think we also sort of tried our best to go a little away from the current time characters in terms of the voice quality, like taking little bit hoarser or lower tone to the voice to sound different and of course the way we look is so different that makes you feel.”

“It was very deliberate from the beginning because we knew that it was just 20 minutes in the film but we were sure that each and everything in that world needs to be so convincing; it is an easy and also a delicate job to make you believe into that as people know that it is not real. Once that illusion is made then it is easy to tell the story,” Sushant adds.

The duo went extensive martial arts training for the film and they spent a month in Bangkok to undergo training. “For martial arts training we went to Bangkok for a month. It was very intensive and exhaustive training. If you see me doing that you will think that this guy has been doing it for all his life bu that was not the case,” Sushant informs.

Kriti states that they had two months break before shooting the two different characters and informs that it helped them to get out of one character and get into another easily. “We did a lot of training. We learned horse riding, for the flashback characters. Although the flashback is a very small portion but when you have to do you have to do it right,” Kriti says.

“Both of us did not know how to swim. So we learned how to swim and we had a few underwater scenes and water does play an important part in the film. So we had to be calm and very comfortable so we could concentrate on the scene not on the fact that I am under water and I cant breath. We shot for 4-5 days for about 8-10 hours underwater and it was so hectic,” she adds.

Speaking about his stint with Hyderabad Sushant says, “I am coming here for the third time. The first time I came here to sit for an engineering entrance exam, second time when I was doing prep for 'M.S. Dhoni' and there was a match here, and now I am here to promote 'Raabta' and for the first time I am wanting to eat authentic Hyderabadi biryani (laughs).”

Kriti, who was seen in a few Telugu film says that, “The first time I had come here was for reading out a research paper that I was writing on my final year project for IEEE. And then for a film I was in Ramoji Film City for 15 days and it was like my second home,” she concludes.