Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s brother-in-law Vishal Kirti recently announced the launch of the ‘Nepometer’, a website/platform that focusses on the issue of nepotism in Bollywood. It will apparently give a rating to a movie based on its stars and other aspects like if it is backed by those with industry connections. If a movie has a ‘star kid’ in the lead, it will get a high rating. The rating, however, is expected to be on the lower side if it features ‘outsiders’.
For example, a film like Thappad (starring Taapsee Pannu) is likely to get a lower score on the Nepometer when compared to a movie like the Karan Johar-backed Kalank, which featured Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt in the lead.
One is likely to get more clarity on the Nepometer once it goes live. Either way, this has the potential to change the dynamics of Bollywood by making nepotism the focus of all discussions every time a big film grabs attention.
Sushant, considered to be one of the brightest young stars in Bollywood, died by suicide in Mumbai on June 14 much to the shock of all concerned. Following this, a section of the audience alleged that Bollywood biggies had tried to sabotage his career as he was an ‘outsider’. KJo , in particular came under fire for supporting ‘products of nepotism’ over self-made stars. Some tweeple even trolled ‘star kids’ like Sonam Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha, which ruffled a few feathers. Amid the backlash, ‘Sona’ deactivated her Twitter account to cut out a ‘source of negativity’ from her life.
Actor Manoj Bajpayee weighted in on the controversy and said that ‘outsiders’ need to put in extra effort to make it big in the industry, which added a new dimension to the debate. He added that his presence in Bollywood defeats the concept of nepotism.
Meanwhile, Sushant’s last film Dil Bechara is set to release directly on Disney+ Hotstar on July 24. Fans wanted it to release in theatres but the makers opted for a digital-only premiere because of the Covid-19 crisis.