South Actress Lakshmi Manchu Speaks Up In Support Of Karan Johar, Says ‘Nepotism Is A Time Waste Topic’. Is It Though?
One person this year that didn’t have to even bat an eyelid to land in any or every controversy, was filmmaker Karan Johar. Despite not stirring any news by himself, the filmmaker was made the butt of several jokes and ended up becoming the target of numerous unsolicited digs. Of course most were from Kangana Ranaut and came to the fore only after the national debate of nepotism was picked up. Being hailed as the ‘Flagbearer of nepotism’, a lot of things were said about KJo, mostly unpleasant. But seems like South actress Lakshmi Manchu is one to have his back as she defended him in her recent interview.
Speaking to E times, the actress said, “Nepotism is such a time waste topic. Unnecessarily bringing down the people who are doing the good work.” About the allegations made on Karan Johar, she further said, “My heart goes out to Karan Johar; My heart bleeds for him. Because what they have done to him is not right. It’s just not right what they’ve done to anybody. Yeah, I mean, we have our favourites, when we are casting… I want to cast whoever sells the best. I’m putting in the money. The actors aren’t coming to me saying, please take this money and introduce me.”
She also added, “And if I’m putting my money, I want to see which combination works the best, who are the best casting? We can go into these debates for ever. And, and it’s just sad that we are so easy to just shoot somebody down who’s really done well for himself, if Karan Johar didn’t do anything in his life, didn’t make one movie just was eating off his dad’s money, then you can say look at this man who’s doing nothing and wasting all his dad’s money”.
Lakshmi Manchu comes out in support of Karan Johar; says, 'Nepotism is such a time waste topic. My heart bleeds for him'
#AeDilHaiMushkil #KaranJohar #LakshmiManchu
https://t.co/1gMXhTRqNl— Bollywood Life (@bollywood_life) December 29, 2020
Also Read : Exclusive: Lust Stories’ Producer Ashi Dua Talks About The Emmys, Her Love For Anthology Films And Nepotism In Bollywood
Exclusive! Lakshmi Manchu: My heart goes out to Karan Johar; It’s just not fair to shoot somebody down who’s really done well for himself https://t.co/4Qix6rNEp2
— kashmirpen (@kashmirpen) December 29, 2020
Getting invested in the conversation as it progressed, she made another statement where she said, “He (Karan Johar) has proved himself time and again, in so many ways, and it’s just not fair, man. It’s just not fair. I know, I can get beaten down tomorrow for just saying what I just did. And I don’t care. You can’t beat me down any more. And the more stones you throw at me, the bigger house I’m going to build. So keep coming at me”.
We can understand her sentiment and where she was coming from, considering it is practically impossible to blame the kids for trying to venture into a field they’ve seen their parents spend their lives in, even if it means coming with an added edge. However, we also cannot ignore that when real talent gets supplanted because of such nepotistic acts, it needs to be called out. After all, Karan Johar is not a product of just his father’s money and contacts.
No matter how much truth her statements might hold, this is one debate where we would ultimately find ourselves agreeing to disagree, because any privilege that comes at the cost of someone else’s hard work, opportunity and talent, will never be cherished for too long.
