Nepolitics and nepollywood

Nepotism: The practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.

This is how the Oxford Dictionary defines the term that has been in the news lately.  I have already raised this prickly issue in Angst.

In Hindi we have a more colourful description of the term: Allah meherban to gadha pehelwan!

Politics and Bollywood (I prefer Hindi Film Industry, but this term fits in here) abound in instances of shameless use of power and influence in getting one's own kith and kin plum posts/roles.

There are countless examples.

Very recently, before they were ousted, two sons of a 'foddersome' politician had occupied prominent posts in a northeastern state.  One of them, if news reports are to be believed, was the health minister even though he had flunked his school exams.  His elder brother had tried his hand at cricket, found it too much hard work, and went... 'hey, never mind! there is always politics..!'

The grand-old-but-irrelevant-in-the-present-context party continues to hold on to the family that has usurped the Mahatma's surname.  That the 'young scion' is not only young anymore, but is also completely unfit to remain in public life, leave alone lead a party, doesn't seem to matter.

No prizes for guessing who I am referring to.

Cut to the land of dreams and glamour: Bollywood, or any of the umpteen 'woods' that have sprung up across the country.  The story is the same in each of these regional editions.

I need not go into the details since I have already written about this long ago.

Recently, a star-kid - a failed actor - had written that she barely survived Bollywood and the bad things it did to her.  Sorry, what?  Who asked her to be a part of it?  Is Bollywood some kind of family jagir that needs to be thrust upon the heirs against their will?  

These gadhas have a simple choice of saying 'no'.  Instead what most of them seem to do is to take the plunge - after all, when the apple is dangled in front of you, why not savour it?  If it works out, fine; if not - 'hey, it is such a bad field..!  I barely survived it!'

Another star-kid - a successful one - was reported to have said, 'it's a free world, there's opportunity for anybody to make it big.'  Sorry, lady; beg to differ!  A rank outsider who has no prior connections with Industry insiders, who has no godfather/mother to guide him/her, who has no chance of getting a well coordinated grand launchpad, has NO opportunity to make it big - not as much as a star-kid who is blessed with all these criteria (minus looks and talent), anyway.

What does this tell us about ourselves?  Nepotism that is so rife in our public life implies that when it comes to handing over the 'family heirloom', we would like to keep it in the family.  We like to pass on the baton to our own ilk as we feel insecure about somebody else gaining an upper hand in our chosen professions.  When there is an easy route available to instant fame, recognition, loads of moolah and power, how can one say no?

So, it's my family, my son, my daughter, my nephew, my niece, my jagir, my fiefdom, my constituency, my money, my fame, my big fat EGO... that's all that matters in the end.  Fairness be damned.  Merit be damned.  'Strugglers' - that hapless breed of wannabe actors who have to jump through hoops to land a bit-role - can take a walk! 

Reservations, newer castes and religions, demands for new states and secession from the mainland... as if these were not enough, you can add a couple of other exclusivist, divisionist, selfish phenomena to this list: nepolitics and nepollywood.

'Nepotism rocks!' did someone say?  

No sir, nepotism sucks!!



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