On the occasion of Valentine’s Day, a documentary series that celebrates the legacy of veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra was released. The series called – The Romantics also features his sons Aditya Chopra and Uday Chopra.
Aditya Chopra is the successful heir of The Yash Raj Films. The four-episode series has interviews with Aditya Chopra, where he opens up about the debate on nepotism, and his brother’s unsuccessful career, despite having been privileged.
Nepotism Unable To Make Uday A Hero
People always tend to ignore that every person coming from a privileged background is not successful. Aditya Chopra gave the example of his brother Uday Chopra. He said, “My brother is an actor, and he’s not very successful.“
Aditya Chopra reiterated that even a company like YRF, which has launched many newcomers, could not make Uday a star. The company could not do anything for Uday Chopra, who is their own. Uday Chopra also explained that he tried hard for his debut film Mohabbatein which featured Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan in lead roles.
Only the Audience Can Decide What They Want
Aditya Chopra emphasised that if one is born into a film family, he gets the privilege of getting an audition or break. This privilege is limited till the point the film goes to the audience.
He acknowledged his brother’s talent, but he also mentioned that the audience did not see Uday as he saw himself. He said, “The bottom line is only an audience can decide ‘I like this person. I want to see this person.’ No one else.”
Uday Chopra added that he was looking forward to mainstream roles as he was “trying to get into a space” that wasn’t meant for him. He said, “When I started acting, I was very naive, I thought everyone would like me. I didn’t imagine that people might not like me.”
The audience wanted Uday in comedy roles, but he never wanted to do comedy. Uday realised that he won’t be able to find the kind of success he wants for himself. On being asked if he wished to get back to acting, he replied that he would follow acting as a hobby, not as a career.
Also Read: Watch: Unsuccessful Bollywood Actors Who Are Products Of Nepotism
Aditya Chopra Praised For His Honest Opinion
As the film clip went viral on Reddit, fans began to share their opinions. A Reddit user commented, “I remember when Mohabbatein first came out, most girls had a crush on Jimmy Shergill.
Plus I think Jimmy- Preeti’s story had more material than Uday- Shamita’s, theirs was just he fell for her, and then she did… Jimmy and Jugal had more material, though screentime might be more or less the same. Maybe ’cause Aditya knew the other boys were better actors.”
One comment read, “The times are different. The current nepo kids are shoved down our throats, whereas Uday wasn’t.”
Another user shared, “He basically indirectly called out the audience because the audience hypes these Nepo kids and then blames Bollywood that outsiders aren’t allowed like SSR.”
One Redditor shared, “Man, that’s deep imagine someone like Adi Chopra saying about his own brother. Honestly, I liked Adi Chopra and his views.“
Uday Chopra’s Filmography
Leading filmmaker Yash Chopra’s younger son and Aditya Chopra’s brother, Uday Chopra, debuted in the YRF film Mohabbatein in 2000.
He acted in films like Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, Pyaar Impossible, and Neal n Nikki, which tanked at the box office. He earned acclaim when he played the role of Tapori Ali in the superhit Dhoom series.
The fact that the audience is the king and nepotism doesn’t work after a point is true to some extent. But getting several chances to reach the audience because of certain privileges is the actual question of nepotism, which has been asked for so many years.
The importance of acknowledging nepotism in the industry is huge, but justifying it by saying that it cannot make someone a superstar, is lame.
Nepotism is not limited to becoming a star, but it is about the faces a filmmaker is presenting to the audience to be made a potential superstar. It is time to stop the justification of nepotism in the name of unsuccessful careers.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: Indian Express, Times of India, India Times
Find the blogger: Katyayani Joshi
This post is tagged under: Uday Chopra, Aditya Chopra, Filmography, Netflix, series, docu-series, Yash Chopra, Yash Raj Films, Mohabbatein, Nepotism, Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Dhoom, Romantics, Reddit, praise, hobby, career, acting, actor, mainstream roles, star, superstar, comedy, comedy roles, SSR, unsuccessful, king, audience, movies, romance, Bollywood, entertainment, India, star kids
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, or copyright, over any of the images used. These have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
