Yes Nepotism Exists, Without My Uncle It Would Have Been Difficult: Emraan Hashmi On Nepotism

Emraan Hashmi clearly doesn’t believe in mincing his words, and more so when he is speaking his mind about an on-going controversy. The nepotism debate has rocked the film industry, and the infamous chant ‘nepotism rocks!’ at a recent film awards ceremony only added fuel to the fire.

Emraan unapologetically says that it was his “inside connection” that landed him his first film Footpath (2003). “Yes, nepotism exists in our industry, and I got a break because of it. If my uncle [Mahesh Bhatt], who is a producer and director hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have been an actor.”

However, he insists that initially he didn’t want to take up acting as a career option. “My case was different. There was no dying need for me to become an actor or be a part of this industry. My college had got over, and I stepped into films.”

The actor feels that people will definitely have biased views about their own family. “I wouldn’t push my seven-year-old son, Ayaan, now into Bollywood. But tomorrow, if he wants to become an actor, it will be a lot easier for him because his father is an actor and producer.” However, Emraan feels that the easy start could later pose a risk to his son’s career. “The industry will try to box my son into an image that his father had and completely snatch away his individuality. They won’t let him start afresh, like an outsider.”

Emraan will next be seen in the upcoming film Baadshaho, along with actors Ajay Devgn, Ileana D’Cruz and Esha Gupta. On the kind of role his fans can expect him to play in the film, he says, “People have a lot of expectations, since the team of Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (2010) is coming together after a long time. The audience will be expecting some kind of a conflict between me and Ajay, like we had in OUATIM. But what I can guarantee is that it will be a total surprise and one hell of an entertainer!”