Richa Chadha 'Laughs Out Loud' On Nepotism: Film Industry Only Divided Between Kind & Unkind People

Richa Chadha On The Insider-Outsider Debate

The actress wrote, "It is being said that the industry seems to be divided between "insiders" and "outsiders"? In my opinion, the Hindi film industry and its entire ecosystem is only divided between kind and unkind people. The spectrum of unkind begins at mild displeasure, thieving and at its worst, at the underbelly-level manifests as a desire for sociopathic retribution. But if one's lucky, kindness too is expressed in a straightforward manner. Genuine people tend to gravitate towards one another and often make lifelong bonds."

"There are insiders who can be kind and generous, and outsiders who are punitive egomaniacs. In the nascent phase of my career, I was often "cut to size" by outsiders. It took me all my strength to recover from various forms of subtle sabotage. But this is not about me. The tragic part is that everyone here has experienced a version of this," she wrote in her blog.

Richa Chadha Compared The Film Industry To A Food Chain

"In the brief time that I have spent here as the first person of my lineage, my assessment is that the industry operates like a food chain. People are scoundrels when they know they can get away with it. Those who are anguished today have themselves been cruel to their subordinates. You hate your bully for not being ethical with you, while bullying someone working under you as though it is a rite of passage for them. This is an acceptable MO in this dog-eat-dog world. Not feeling of remorse is considered a leadership quality; decency, sensitivity is considered a handicap," Richa shared in her blog.

Richa Says Acting Is A Deeply Isolating Profession

Talking about it, she explained, "We are expected to work without being afflicted or getting drawn into the phantasm. And we must make heartwarming entertainment for we tell stories! Our livelihood depends on being creative and expressing our emotion truthfully. But it is no secret that we ourselves are imperfect, vulnerable and bruise easily as artists. It is a deeply isolating profession, wherein success and failure are both public and bring their share of dilemmas. Ours is a business where personal life is invariably affected by public life. Sometimes, for no real reason, actors dominate national headlines for a disproportionate amount of time."

Richa Chadha Shares Her Opinion On The Nepotism Debate

The actress shared, "As for nepotism, it just makes me laugh out loud in real life. I don't hate "star kids". Why are we expected to? If someone's father is a star, they are born into that household the same as we are to our folks. Are you ashamed of your parents? Is it right to expect someone else to be ashamed of their parents/families/legacy?"

She added, "This is a hateful and nonsense argument. I am a self-made person in this business. Will you tell my children to be ashamed of my struggle to reach where I have, for instance? "Star kids" have to deal with rivalry within their own clans. Often this is an inter-generational, unforgiving and all-encompassing contest. There exist hierarchies within the clan too, wherein say the grandson of a legendary singer or the son of an ace stuntman maybe thought of as lesser than that of a director or actor. Knowing how deeply rooted caste is in our country, why does this unstated ranking system surprise anyone? We may never know what someone else may be dealing with here. I empathise but I won't know that pain, unless I am standing in their shoes."

The actress further said, "If our industry understood the difference between nepotism and legacy, we would truly be world class."

Richa Chadha Recalls A Memory Involving Sushant Singh Rajput

"Sushant and I started out by workshopping together in a theatre group. I was sharing a 700 sq ft apartment in Andheri West with a friend from Delhi. Sushant would pick me up on his bike and we would head to the rehearsal, for which I was grateful. I wasn't poor or broke. But I can't say money was not a consideration when I had to head out to do an ad audition for a skin brand. I would worry about my make up melting in the auto rickshaw before I even arrived. This was would NEVER happen with a ‘star-kid', and if it does, they will be lauded for being humble enough to take the rickshaw in the first place. But I don't resent their privilege."

She wrote, "The thing with privilege is, it is invisible to those who have it. We cannot have a sincere discussion about equality before confronting entitlement. And it will not happen by blaming ‘the privileged' for a man's death or calling for actresses to be raped."

Richa Chadha Expressed Disappointment Over Hateful Messages Being Sent To Sushant's Friends

The actress wrote, "I am surprised by our collective lack of dismay or shock at how low we have stooped in our discourse. The social media timelines of the deceased actor's friends and girlfriend are littered with filth! Who are these ‘fans'? I checked out a few profiles online. The same gutter mouths that abused Sushant when he took a stand on the Padmavat issue are now abusing his loved ones for ‘not being there' for him."

Richa Chadha Calls Out Bollywood's Hypocrisy

"Several directors were seen sharing condolence messages a month ago. So many among these have run down movies of their peers pre-release, have replaced actresses who refused to sleep with them at the last minute and several have in fact repeatedly forecasted "iska kuch nahi hoga". Invariably, many such soothsayers only end up making bhurji with the eggs on their face. You're not God. Stop infecting the world with your jadedness and cynicism," the actress posted on her blog.