Jisshu Sengupta weighs in on nepotism debate, says talent alone qualifies in industry

Jisshu Sengupta bats for talent in the film industry as he expressed his disbelief in the ongoing debate over nepotism and lobbyism in Bollywood. The actor will be seen playing the role of Shakuntala Devi's husband Paritosh Banerjee in the biopic which is scheduled to release on Amazon Prime Video on July 31. He spoke to a national daily and opined that the film industry is much more democratic as compared to other industries as there's transparency and constant scrutiny between everyone.

Read | Vidya Balan shares how Jisshu Sengupta 'showed attitude' to her, says 'Did not even smile'

He argued that nepotism exists everywhere and said that the film industry is above the insider-outsider debate as talented artists often make a name for themselves in it, irrespective of their contacts. Jisshu Sengupta cited examples of star kids like Alia Bhatt, Ranbir Kapoor, Tiger Shroff and Hrithik Roshan as he claimed that it is because of their brilliance as actors that they are big names in the industry. He claimed that the list of star kids who could not make it to the industry due to lack of talent is longer than that of ones who have made it.

Read | Sushant, Kangana, Irrfan: 10 'outsiders' who defeated nepotism to become successful

Jisshu Sengupta also defended his opinion on nepotism and asserted that one can bet their money on their own blood if they wish to. He said that if his son, or nephew, is talented enough to make a name for himself in the industry, he will invest his money on him before anyone else. He also claimed that people will not suffer losses by investing where there is no talent, even if they are from family.

Read | Celina Jaitly Haag talks on harassment & nepotism Bollywood, says 'faced it for 8 years'

The Manikarnika actor held his view that the industry has also given a platform for people without any 'insider' connection to make a name for themselves. His views have a stark contrast with his co-star Kangana Ranaut who has been battling against industry lobbyism since 2016. Kangana has stirred up the conversation once again in view of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's unfortunate demise earlier last month.

Jisshu Sengupta also revealed in the interview that he was confident in taking up the role of Shakuntala Devi's gay husband for the Vidya Balan starrer film as he had done similar roles in the past. He shared that he had played the role of a bisexual man in the National Award-winning Bengali film Chitrangada and was not nervous to play Paritosh for the upcoming film.

Read | Jisshu Sengupta drops trailer launch date of Vidya Balan's 'Shakuntala Devi'