Even though Bollywood might deny its existence time and again, there is no denying that nepotism is prevalent in the industry, or for the matter, in entire Indian cinema. Especially, what with newcomers being launched by the week. One of the main accused (by fans) of promoting nepotism in Bollywood is director-producer Karan Johar. He has launched star kids like Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Ishaan Khatter, Janhvi Kapoor and in the process of doing so for Ananya Panday with Student of the Year 2 through his production house, Dharma.

Why, during an episode of Koffee With Karan, the director was even called 'flag-bearer of nepotism' by Kangana Ranaut, leading to a huge controversy that culminated with Johar, Varun Dhawan and Saif Ali Khan chant 'nepotism rocks!' at IFFA stage, albeit in jest. Wonder what Karan Johar has to say about his mentee, Alia Bhatt's comments on nepotism.

In an interview to Deccan Chronicle, Alia Bhatt revealed that she empathised with the struggles of outsiders and that nepotism exists. She said, "Of late, I have realised that there is no need to defend the nepotistic nature of the industry because it does exist. The reason why it has become an emotional debate is because it is difficult for those who don’t get a chance. If I was on the other side, I would be heartbroken. I may have felt the same way. Yes, it does exist everywhere, but this is the only business where there’s no fixed funda. You need to be at the right place at the right time."

She even revealed that she was lucky for her debut movie. Alia continued, "As far as I am concerned, I won’t even say that I was more prepared because I was so and so’s daughter. I just got very lucky with my first try (‘Student Of The Year’), but you can only get lucky with that first chance. After that only bhagwaan bachaye."

Well, at least Alia, a product of nepotism herself who has now gone way beyond that, has the guts to say it exists!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 23, 2018 08:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).