The new episode of Koffee With Karan 7 marked the return of the 'N' word (as in nepotism). On the koffee couch, Karan Johar asked his guest Anil Kapoor about the "reality" of nepotism, to which the Mr India actor replied, "I don't take it seriously. You just keep on doing your work and your work speaks. If you are an actor you can't pass on the legacy to your brother or your son. It's either you have it or you don't have it." Anil Kapoor recalled how Jackie Shroff, who is an "outsider," was a bigger star than him when when they started their careers. "Jackie was an outsider in a way but still he got the first break from Subhash Ghai. So he himself became like an A-lister just with that one announcement. I, at that time, was doing bit roles, I was doing south Indian films. I did feel kind of, not feeling good about it. Why?" said Anil Kapoor.
When KJo asked Anil Kapoor: "Did you feel, Jackie who was not an insider, he was an outsider who had the privilege of being launched by Subhash Ghai? You felt a little...?" To this Anil Kapoor replied, "I still felt it ya. The day I signed Yash Chopra's film, I felt, Oh now I'm fine." Karan Johar then asked: "Did you feel insecure about Jackie's success at that time?" Anil Kapoor replied, "Well yeah. He became a huge huge success."
Anil Kapoor, recalling an incident, said, "I remember so well that and he (Jackie Shroff) was such a sweet guy. We would be shooting and whenever any autograph book would come to him, he knew they are taking his autograph." He added that Jackie Shroff would pass it on for others to give autographs. " He would say 'Sign karna (Sign it). I knew that actually all of them had come for him but he would give it to me. Then I would sign and then he would sign."
Anil Kapoor and Jacki Shroff famously co-starred in Subhash Ghai's 1989 hit Ram Lakhan. They also worked together in Andar Baahar, Kabhi Na Kabhi, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, Trimurti, Parinda, Yudh and Kala Bazaar.
When Varun Dhawan (David Dhawan's son) was asked about his take on nepotism, he said, "It is something that definitely exists and as society evolves and you go ahead, you can't turn a blind eye to these things and you need to respect these things is they are coming with so much force from the public but as time has gone, I have decided to stay in my own lane and I just want to focus on what I am doing. Like he said, 'You ignore it'. It exists. There is an advantage."
Varun Dhawan also spoke about the "only person" that he feels competitive with and that is his Student Of The Year co-star Alia Bhatt. "The only person I feel evenly closely competitive with is Alia Bhatt." He added, "As a society, we also need to start accepting that our female leads can also be bigger than heroes. With Alia Bhatt's smashing big openings, as a male actor, I seek inspiration from that and aspire to do it too as a performer."
